Post-Holiday Season Giving

Just because the holiday season is about to come to a close, that should not dictate that we pack away all generosity and philanthropy until next year. Post-holiday season giving can be can be a great help.

About this time last year, my husband was just finishing up the holiday season by his lonesome—7,000 miles away in South Korea. While I missed him for the holidays, and I know he was even more bummed about not being able to come home, I was at least comforted by the fact that he had a very strong support system, sending him a decent amount of holiday cheer from the States.

His being gone made my thought process change a bit, though, and I was looking for a way to give back to the military community during the holidays to perhaps help out those service members that aren’t as fortunate to have people flooding the mailroom with packages, boxes, or bags. Having the opportunity to give joy to others is what the holiday season is all about, after all, and I found some wonderful ways to be able to accomplish my goals and brighten one of our hardworking American service member’s days at the same time.

Here’s a few fabulous ways to remind our service members that we care:

1. Volunteer at a veterans’ hospital. 

And if time doesn’t allow volunteering, then donate needed supplies. Many facilities will allow you to donate both your time and your goods to help out their staff and patients. If you’re looking for a way to productively spend your time volunteering, consider donating that time to chatting with a veteran. If you have some extra books, games, or furniture laying around taking up space, call your local VA facility and see if they could make use of it. I bet you they will probably take it to boost their recreation options or help furnish a room of a vet who may not be so fortunate.

2. Send a letter or card.

There are many wonderful organizations willing to forward your letters of support and care to a service member. Seek out Operation We Are Here, which runs a list of all organizations that participate in these type events, then get to writing. Cards and letters are one of those bygone forms of cheer that make us all feel good to receive—service members especially! Remind them how much we appreciate their service, include a cartoon or a news update, or even some pages from the puzzle section of your newspaper.

3. Donate to military-related causes. 

Have some spare cash in a change jar you’re not sure what to do with? Found $20 in your ski jacket from last year? Got a Christmas bonus? Think about donating some of that found money to organizations like the USO or Operation Homefront. They do fabulous work for our men and women in uniform, and they don’t ask for much to keep doing what they do. Help them out, especially with the holidays ending, so they can keep helping out our servicemen and women all year long.

4. Send a care package.

Care packages are an amazing lifeline for many deployed service members or those in OCONUS locations where certain American products are scarce. I love using SoldierSend and AnySoldier, because it allowed me the freedom to choose where to direct my package and what to include in it. Last year, we took up a collection where I worked and were able to send out four giant care packages to soldiers in Kuwait and Afghanistan, full of much-needed supplies.

Need some ideas? These are big ticket needs for most deployment areas:

  • baby wipes/pre-moistened cleansing cloths
  • toothbrushes and toothpaste
  • Q-tips/cotton swabs
  • Hair products (especially some female geared ones—we can’t forget our ladies in uniform)
  • Some pampering items like nail polish, hair brushes, mirrors, and chapstick
  • SOCKS!
  • Books, games, and entertainment

Most often service members or unit chaplains post on these website with their specific needs, so be sure to choose a unit that you can help. Remember, you don’t have to send everything, but that little something you can send might be everything to those service members. Also, the U.S. Postal Service offers flat-rate box discounts for packages going to APO/FPO addresses to make this easier on your wallet.

 

I wish you all a fabulous holiday season, a very happy 2015, and the hope that we can all have our men and women back home for the next round of holidays to come!

How do you like to give back to our men and women in uniform? Share with us! 

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Retired Blogger

Retired Blogger

Army Wife Network is blessed with many military spouses who share their journey through writing in our Experience blog category. As we PCS in our military journey, bloggers too sometimes move on. Their content and contributions are still valued and resourceful. Those posts are reassigned under "Retired Bloggers" in order to allow them to remain available as content for our AWN fans.

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