Monster Sock Delivery - Updated

Aug 20, 2007: To see details on the AUGUST CHALLENGE to collect holiday messages for our deployed soldiers, go HERE.

Otherwise, just email your hellos and good wishes to this address:

letters-to-send AT mindspring DOT com

Thanks, Rog!
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Only 5,291 pairs to go!

Check this out. With help from Angel-helper Warner, who drove to North Carolina to pick it up, the Holiday Project received a monster donation of socks last week!





Haven’t you always wanted to know what a pile of 14,709 pairs of socks looks like…? This is close! It would be more fun if the socks were out of the boxes, but much too messy… Darn.










Angel Diane and Company









I’ve updated the items still needed here – Diane will have a more comprehensive update in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned.

Cha-ching! 6000!

and counting!

YAY!

See, it wasn't so hard was it?

If you were lollygagging or missed the original requests, don't despair! Leave it to a marine - they're gunning for 10,000 and then 20,000 messages.

Seeing as there are around 300 million of us back home, that SHOULDN'T be too hard, right?!?

And no surprise, the RCT-6 is spreading the love around. From the comment section in Grim's "6000" post:

Comment below written by: rct-6 public affairs
No photo of the stack at 6000! I've already started handing them out. Gave out probably... 1500? tonight. A huge stack to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, and another to 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment (US Army). There's a stack for our Marines working in combat operations center, and I made sure a stack got out to our Police Transition Teams.

See? They are awful busy over there (see the latest from Bill Roggio and Michael Yon), but our troops would still love to hear from *YOU*.

Check out the RCT-6's blog and their official site.

Now go write that email message.

Don't know what to say to a Marine?

Well, here's the message I sent to the RCT-6, if that will help...

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Hey Marine!

Greetings from Arlington, VA :-) I hope this finds you safe and well.

I don’t know exactly what you’re up to, but I’m grateful you’re willing to be there for all of us back home. I live within sight of our nation’s capital and work at XXXX. I moved here about two years ago, and I am really enjoying the DC area. The Mall with its monuments and museums never gets old, especially the Lincoln Memorial, which is my favorite. And the Marine Corps Memorial is just a 10 minute walk from home, which is pretty cool. It’s a regular reminder of you all and what you’re fighting for. I always feel remarkably blessed to have been born an American citizen, and since “there but by the grace of God, go I”, I do feel compelled to champion the efforts of those who are not so fortunate. We can’t always do a lot, but we can always talk the talk. And we can’t always send you guys in to try to kickstart a “do over” for a whole nation. However, when we do, your dedication and willingness to tackle the job are humbling. I’ll do my part back here as what I like to think of as your distant rear guard. I’m behind you 100% - don’t ever forget it. I can’t change the evening news or newspaper headlines, but as a member of Soldiers’ Angels and as a fledgling blogger, I hope I’m helping send a different message. :-)

At the very least, know that I am SO proud to call you “ours” and include you in my prayers each day.

Take care and God bless,
Lisa

Not for Nothing, Take 4

I wonder why we don't talk more about events like this? (HT: Major John at Miserable Donuts/Milblogs). The plight of Afghan women was big news in the mid-1990's. What happened?

As an over-educated, all-American girl, who's attended 12 schools/colleges/universities and has two diplomas and three degrees, I simply can't imagine life without school.

How fortunate I am.

Thanks all for giving the women and girls of Afghanistan a chance.

Update! Only 1000 so far...

or, according to Grim, about "2 inches". Check it out - he's got photographic evidence to prove it.

Go on, get on that keyboard and send a little love to a Marine.

Care to shout out to a Marine...?

...nicely, that is. Really, there are a bunch of Marines that would love to know that you support their efforts and appreciate the amazing work they've done in Anbar province. (HT: Grim at Blackfive.net)

Not up to speed on the latest from Anbar? Bill Roggio to the rescue, as usual, HERE. Thanks, Bill! And THANK YOU to the United States Marines, and the Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen, who are giving some brave Iraqis a chance.

So drop them an email at RCT-6lettersfromh AT gcemnf-wiraq DOT usmc DOT mil

(for the novices, remove the spaces and replace the "AT" with an "@" and the "DOT"s with ".")

Go on, do your part to clog up their new inbox. :-)

Georgia (Soldiers) on My Mind ---- UPDATED 08-07-07!

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Fear not! For all of you who've already readied your shopping list, I've got the address where you can ship all those stocking goodies:

Det-1 HHC 1-108th, ATTN: SOLDIERS' ANGELS, 6784 W. Church Street, Douglasville, GA 30134

Thanks, Diane! (see, I told you she was organized!)
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Candy canes? DONE!
Tissues? DONE! !
Lip balm? DONE! ! !
Non-chocolate candy? DONE! ! ! !
Toothbrushes? DONE!!! :-)
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When I first joined Soldiers’ Angels, I was a Georgia Angel. There are some terrifically enthusiastic Angels at work in the Peach State, and I’m still on their e-mailing list so I hear what they are up to. They always have plenty going on, because, well, Georgia has a BUNCH of Army bases. And you know what? By next Christmas, there will be around 20,000 Georgia-based soldiers overseas.

So what are my Georgia Angel buddies up to? They’re halfway through a year-long prep to ship 20,000 Christmas stockings to those 20,000 soldiers. Angel Diane has got the lead and is fabulously organized. I decided to post about this for two reasons: 1) to inspire you, and 2) to prompt your participation if you’re interested. I think it’s going to be one of my main Soldiers’ Angels holiday projects.

Home base for this effort is in Douglasville, GA, which is about 20 miles west of Atlanta. If you’re going to be in that area on July 4th, they’ll be collecting items at the Armory from 9am to 1pm. The Armory is along the parade route, so bring your donation and then stake out a spot to watch the festivities!

What can you donate? A list of what Diane is collecting is below. The “still needed” numbers will change when Diane does her July inventory, but this gives you an idea of what’s to be done. So, how EASY would it be to do a small collection or buy something each week until you had a box full of donations to send?

Candy (chocolate) (still needed: 60,000)
Candy (non-choc) - DONE!
Mini Candy Canes - DONE!
Hot Chocolate (still needed: 17,000)
Snacks (still needed: 18,000)
Socks (still needed: 5,223)
Toothbrushes - DONE!
Lip Balm - DONE!
Tissue Packs - DONE!
Pens (still needed: 14,000)
Christmas Cards (still needed: 39,162)

Short on cash? Then have I got a deal for YOU.

How about committing to writing a few Christmas cards? No, don’t just sign your name. Write a note. You could even make your own cards and throw a “Christmas in July” party so that some friends can write a few notes, too.

As someone who barely managed to coordinate and assemble 270 holiday goody bags for delivery to a Navy ship last December, I totally understand the need to collect these items for TWENTY THOUSAND stockings long before December! Heck, assembly and packing take TIME. Trust me. But! it’s well worth the effort! I shipped my 23 packages full of goody bags to that Navy ship late one night in December. It was last minute by the Post Office’s holiday shipping schedule, so it all had to go Priority Mail. The National Capitol post office is open until midnight during the week, so I went about 9:30pm to ship my packages. Done! And it all arrived in time for a little extra cheer somewhere in the Pacific on Christmas morning (I’ve got the emails to prove it!).

But anyway, I was in that post office about a week ago and happened to have the same postal worker help me again, though with just one care package this time. I said, “You might remember that you helped with a bunch of care packages for a Navy ship back in December…?” He said, “Oh, yes, I remember YOU.” LOL! I was pleased to tell him that the effort had been a spectacular success (more on that in a later post, but yes, that’s a pic from the post office last December – gotta love picture phones!).

So make yourself a to-do list with “Georgia Soldiers” at the top and write down what you’re going to do before August 10th. Buy some items to ship to Diane? Make some cards or write some letters?

I’ll be back later in the month with details on how to get your contributions to Angel Diane.

Ready. Set. Go! :-)