Supporting Current and Former Members of Our Military

Veterans Day is closing in, and each year, our school sends letters, cards, and pictures to veterans, to let them know they are appreciated and not forgotten.  This year, we are going to be sending letters to organizations who provide care packages to current and former members of the military to be distributed all over the country!

I am so excited to start this project!  I usually have my students make some kind of picture using hand prints and fingerprints.  One year, we made flags out of fingerprints, and another year, we made bald eagles out of hand prints.  I have not decided exactly what we are going to do this year, (I know we are going to make cards, I just do not know how we are going to decorate them yet!) but I am thrilled to work on this with my class!  My students are going to be very excited too, once I explain everything to them!  They have kind hearts that really enjoy helping other people!

I wrote a post about these organizations before, but a revisit seems appropriate!  I have sent cards to Military Missions, Inc.  I am working on my second package of greeting cards, and I am excited to start writing out Christmas cards!  Military Missions accepts Christmas cards in October, November, and December.

Operation Gratitude and Military Missions both accept cards and letters specifically addressed to veterans.  This is the route we are taking for our outreach project at school.  There are guidelines about letter writing on both of the websites.

They also accept a variety of other products, including crocheted hats and scarves.  For a complete list of accepted donations, you can visit the Military Missions, Inc. list here, as well as the Operation Gratitude list here.

While these two are the organizations I am very interested in contributing to, here are a few others that also collect and distribute letters to service members:

A Million Thanks

Hugs for Soldiers

For The Troops

Forgotten Soldiers Outreach, Inc. – This organization has a form online that you can fill out and the members of the organization print it out and mail it.  This eliminates the need for people to pay for postage to send their letters.

Letters to Soldiers – This organization also provides an online letter form.

These organizations provide an address to send your letters and a few guidelines as to what should be written and what should be avoided.

If you would like to write letters specifically for veterans, Operation Gratitude, Military Missions, and A Million Thanks seem to be the organizations that will send special cards and letters to veterans.

I know that writing letters does not seem like a lot.  But everyone loves to get “thank you” cards and letters!  So I have to believe that the soldiers on the receiving end are grateful and it brightens their day!  Even though it may not be much, I am doing what I can to help.

Which brings me to my next point.

I do not want this post to become political, but I think now, possibly more than ever, current and former members of our military could use our support.  There is all sorts of turmoil on the home front.  And while it seems like many people are using whatever platform they have to shout their opinion, I have chosen to DO something.

I could type until my fingers fall off, telling everyone else to support the military.  But if I am not doing anything myself, what is the point?

I challenge everyone out there to also DO something about the cause that they feel so strongly about.  For me, I have a heart for supporting the military.  And if military members weigh heavy on your heart as well, that is great!  But maybe your cause is underprivileged members of the community you grew up in.  Maybe it is your church.  Maybe you have a heart to go help those who have been affected by natural disasters.  Maybe you want to reach out to children in need.  Maybe you want to help at animal shelters.  Whatever it is, don’t just talk about it.  Do something to make the situation better!

Please consider this carefully!  Even a small gesture could mean a lot to someone in need or not expecting it.  Just one letter could brighten a soldier’s day!  This world is a much more enjoyable place when we show love and kindness to another human being!