Great Tips for Extending Encouragement to Our Soldiers and Their Families

There are very few people today that don't have some sort of connection to a soldier in the United States military. This war against terrorism can go on for years to come. We'll know more and more people who are involved as time goes by.

As a mother of an Army Reservist, I feel it is very important for our country to support these men and women in uniform, who have willingly stepped up to serve for the cause of freedom. We don't want another "Viet Nam" issue where our soldiers were treated badly for their service! We want to continue to offer support and encouragement, prayers and well wishes for every serviceman and woman in our military.

Each and every soldier is someone's son or daughter, mother or father, uncle or aunt, sister or brother. Service involves not only the soldier, but the soldier's family as well.

Below are some helpful hints in supporting our troops. Use them! Bless a soldier and his/her family today

1. Visit the website www.letssaythanks.com and send a card quickly and easily!

2. Go to your local post office and ask for a pre-paid mailer box. You can ship this box with any amount of items or weight for about $7.70 to any soldier anywhere overseas. All packages are delivered to a US military base for distribution.

3. Items to include in boxes: international phone cards, chap stick, baby wipes for wiping sand off arms and face, puzzle books, magazines from home, newspapers from home, gum, candy, home-made fudge, duct tape, batteries, razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, individual flavor packets for bottled water, breath strips, cd's, dvd's, small games like decks of cards, and dominoes, balloons and suckers to give to kids, punch balloons, disposable cameras, letters from children, hand-made cards, seasonal items, ink pens and paper/stationary, stamps, etc.

4. Allow about 3-4 weeks for shipment to arrive to soldier. Plan ahead of time in sending seasonal material.

5. Attend or start a military support group for families in your area who have loved ones in the service.

6. Send encouraging poetry, books, or cards. Our troops get discouraged in that environment!

7. Let them know they are not forgotten! Let them know they are loved and appreciated!

8. Send them pictures from home…this is a big wish item. Send pictures of the family pets, children, nieces, nephews, grandparents, parents, sisters or brothers. They want to be kept up on the family news.

9. Ask your soldier to let you know of those in his/her unit that may not get much mail from home. Make an attempt to send encouraging cards to them. You may never know the impact this can have!

10. Tell your soldiers you are praying for them. Ask any soldier in enemy territory if we want to take "under God" out of our U.S. pledge! You better believe they want and need prayer. Our soldiers want God's presence and protection!

11. Send notes to our military chaplains. They have a big job overseas! They have to handle discouragement, exhaustion, frayed nerves and homesickness on a daily basis. They too, need our support!

12. Wear flag pins or put patriotic magnets on your vehicle. Most of all, don't take out your own opinions of this war on our soldiers! They need to know they are not fighting heat and dust and insurgents for nothing. They need to know their work is valued and appreciated. Freedom does not come easy, nor is it free. It comes with the hard work of our soldiers in uniform!

13. Support our families who have lost loved ones in this war. They too, need to know their sacrifice is not forgotten.

14. Put prayer boards up at church with any military families the church might be connected to.

15. Have a soldier come to your classroom and talk about their service. Children are 'in the know' more than you think. They don't need "gory details," but they are interested in what our soldiers do. They look up to them! They are in awe of our troops in uniform!

16. Google military support in various wordings. You will find tons of information online for ways to support our soldiers!

17. Call your local recruiter and ask him or her for contacts/methods of support.

18. Take your classroom on a field trip to your local reserves center or recruiting office. Generate positive feelings for our men/women who serve this country!

19. Remember, you have the freedom to express your opinion simply because of the sacrifices made by our men and women in the military!

20. Participate in Memorial Day and July 4th celebrations such as parades, dedications, etc. Create your own if there isn't one locally for you to attend!

21. Do what you can for the families who are doing without their loved one's presence during a tour of duty. It's hard for the children, and especially hard for the parent left to handle everything alone. I've even known of grandparents taking responsibility of children who have two parents in active duty overseas.

We desperately need to continue to build up our sense of American Pride and Patriotism. War can take its toll on a country's emotional state. We are fighting a new kind of war, one in that our soldiers aren't always sure who the enemy is! It's mentally exhausting for our men/women, and they need a lot of encouragement.

Send a card. Send a box. But most important, send TLC and hugs. Send prayers and uplifting words. Their families will appreciate it more than you know.