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OPERATION AIR CONDITIONER -

Those people are great! You can submit your soldier for a free ac unit, the soldier can submit himself, or you can adopt a soldier.
Relying on donations only - they have an easy to use donation platform imbedded.
Who they are:
"non-profit Delaware company operating on donations only, sends 110v single phase air conditioners to our troops in Iraq. They also send medical supplies to the Combat Support Hospitals for both injured American Soldiers and for the staff, as well as various basic items the soldiers request and desperately need."


Beanies for Baghdad - Program started by soldiers in 2003 and still going today where they ask for beanie babies and other items for the children of Iraq. Our soldiers saw the many children with nothing and started asking for donations to put a smile on the faces of both the children and the soldiers and to build friendships in Iraq. We are now in our 6th year and and are supporting 14 POC's in Iraq, Afghanistand and Kosovo. Any help is always appreciated. Donna for LTC James Barker of www.beaniesforbaghdad.com ___________________________________________
Operation Comfort -
Operation Comfort's mission is to create a nationwide network of mental health providers and agencies to donate their services, free of charge, to family members who have a loved one serving in the Middle East


Operation Hands and Feet -
This is an humanitarian outreach project, sponsered by the Gallatin, Tn. FRG (Family Readiness Group), Prayer Group, along with, Asst. Chaplain Sgt. Jeff Litton @FOB Cobra, both are of the 3/278th RCT , Tn. Army National Guard .This project was created out of requests for assistance from the soldiers of the 278th, who are currently stationed in Iraq. Operation Hands and Feet is collecting donations of medical and school supplies, clothing, and shoes. OHF then boxes the donations up, ships them to the 278th, in Iraq, and the soldiers distribute the items to the Iraqi citizens.Our troops wanted to  help the Iraqi people, in a "post-war" country, where schools and medical clinics have been destroyed, and many children have no school supplies or shoes.OHF is non-profit and all donations are tax deductible.   If you would like to join our efforts: Contact us @    operhandsfeet@yahoo.com

-
Battlefront Aid -

  • If you want your assistance to make a difference on the front lines, it can. Just Adopt a Sniper. No, really - click on the link and let a soldier in 1st Stryker Brigade tell you why this matters.
  • Soldiers' Angels has a program called "Armor Up Our Heroes' Humvees." They are working with Kejo (an online distributor of Police,Security and Military Equipment) to help provide additional protection to Humvees on the front lines via Kevlar blankets.
  • Led by decorated combat veteran Lt. Col. Robert Ledee, The Armor 4 Troops Foundation, Inc. is 501c3 charity providing pieces of gear to National Guard soldiers, particularly protective anti-ballistic eyewear, under armor-armor and combat emergency multi-tools that are not always provided by the military to National Guard units.
  • Maybe you want to consider sending one of these to Iraq:

"Check this out from Stars and Stripes. This is a book I've sent several copies of to 'son of klaatu' to pass around in Iraq: "Modern Iraqi Arabic," with 6 audio CDs. Or "Your First 100 Words in Arabic," which is cheaper ($9.00), and has tear out flash cards with pronunciation."


Coalition Forces -

Australian Forces

British Forces

  • The UK Forces Gulf Fund has been set up to provide welfare support to UK Service Personnel taking part in Operation Telic in the Gulf and their families. It's run by the Veterans' Agency of the Ministry of Defense. The donations page is here. (Update Hat Tip: Eddie Cochrane)
  • Books for Soldiers, match up Amercan & British troops with the spare books, novels, et. al. we donate.
  • "This Bulletin Board is provided by the British Forces Post Office to enable the public and friends and family to post messages to our troops serving all over the globe. Upon receipt, these messages will be reviewed for appropriate language and content and you may experience up to 24 hours delays for posting and viewing."

Canadian Forces

The Canadians are currently based in Kabul, Afghanistan, with a contingent of around 1,700 plus 200 elsewhere. They are part of the ISAF multinational force, and are easily distinguished by their green camouflage uniforms. Here is the Operation Athena Home Page.

  • John Macdonald says: "Maybe you can post this site [for sending support message to the troops] along with the sites for troop morale that you already have listed. Thanks!" Non-Canadians are also welcome to post, of course.

Danish Forces

Ole Sanvig writes:

  • "Stumbled across the post today, and just thought I'd add in the mail adresses for the Danish forces in Iaq and Afghanistan. Iraq: IRAQ-DANCON@]MIL.DK or NSEIRAQ[at}MIL{dot]DK. Afghanistan: ISAF@MIL.DK. Should anyone feel compelled to drop a line to the 700 or so Danish soldiers serving these missions, I'm sure they'd be happy."

Polish Forces


Extending a Helping Hand Abroad -

  • Winds of Change.NET has been working closely with Spirit of America. They're assisting the U.S. Marines deploying to the Sunni Triangle with toys and other helpful giveaways, helping Iraqi women start small businesses, helping Iraqi men enter building trades, etc.
  • The Chief isn't alone, and several organizations are focusing on schools. IraqiSchools.com is another soldier-based effort, designed to being desperately needed school supplies to the children in several large zones in the heart of Baghdad. Similar efforts are underway via Iraqkids.org (American Aid for Children of Nineveh, a 501c3) and Iraqikids.org (run by a unit of 1st Cav).
  • In Afghanistan, soldier/blogger Sgt. Hook is running Operation Shoefly to give Afghan children shoes for their feet.


Family Assistance Hotline -

          Army Activates Family Assistance Hotline (FAH): USACFSC activated the
          24 hour Family Assistance Hotline (FAH) 21 March. The FAH (800-833-6622)
          is a "safety net" for family members of active and reserve component soldiers
          seeking information or assistance while their soldier family memeber is 
          forward deployed. USACFSC mans the FAH 24 hours a day.
          1-800-833-6622 


Getting It There -

Some of the organizations in this roundup will take your donation of money or goods and take care of the shipping themselves. If that isn't the case...

  • The U.S. Post Office will give free packing materials to spouses, families and friends of military members deployed overseas, and offers some instructions and tips on mailing packages overseas.
  • Afghanistan can be cold - and so is Iraq's desert. Do you sew, knit or crochet? Want to make something and send it? If so, The Ships Project are the people for you. $60,000 in postage costs so far... that's a lot of stuff. (Hat Tip: Jennetic)


U.S. Forces: Care Packages & Gifts -

Want to know what to send, how to get it there, etc.? Anysoldier.com has the information you need. They have grown to 3,616 Military Contacts (approx. 2959 Army, 414 Marine, 179 Air Force, 64 Navy, and 0 Coast Guard) who are helping approximately 113,714 soldiers!

  • Team Stryker points to Books for Soldiers, who matches up Amercan & British troops with the spare books, nivels, et. al. we donate. Paul says: "I know that I welcomed the occasional box of books we got from "back home" when I was deployed to the sandbox, and I'm sure the folks deployed today are no different in that regard." (Hat Tip to Angua's First Blog for noticing the broken link)
  • Even more specific: adopt the Stryker Brigade, the ultra-modern force with the new Stryker troop carriers that's currently serving in Northern Iraq.
  • Operation Military Pride is an umbrella organization that coordinates messages and care packages itself, and also provides assistance to others who wish to do so. They're a good source for people who want to start up a "Support the Troops" effort in their local area. (Hat Tip: Lou Villadsen)

Note that OMP do not appear to be a registered charity, but they are listed on the U.S. Department of Defense America Supports You site and I receive their e-newsletter.

  • Operation Gratitude takes donations, and sends care packages. It started as a one-woman operation...


U.S. Forces: Family Assistance -

  • Sometimes being posted abroad is a major financial hardship for a family, and they end up needing help to make it. Helping ease the burden of our military families in need is the mission of the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Unmet Needs Program.
  • The Military Child Education Coalition is a 501c3 non-profit, world-wide organization that identifies the challenges that face the highly mobile military child, increases awareness of these challenges in military and educational communities and initiates and implements programs to meet the challenges. MCEC's goal is to level the educational playing field for military children wherever they are located around the world and to serve as a model for all highly mobile children.
  • The Fisher House Foundation is described as "Ronald McDonald House for wounded soldiers and their families." It donates comfort homes built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one during hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury. And you should really read Kim du Toit's report of actor Denzel Washington's May 2005 visit to a Fisher House - he asked how much it cost to build one, then simply took out his chequebook. Impressive.
  • As reader Glen Wishard notes, The Wounded Warrior Project assists men and women of the U.S. armed forces who have been severely injured during the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other hot spots around the world. Many of the injuries are traumatic amputations, gunshot wounds, burns and blast injuries that will retire these brave warriors from military service.
  • The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Inc., is a one of a kind non-profit Veteran Service Organization offering hope, healing, comfort and care to thousands of American armed forces families facing the death of a loved one each year. TAPS receives absolutely no government funding, but through the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, all families faced with a death of one serving in the Armed Forces receive information about TAPS and our military survivor programs. Ben Stein writes about a Memorial Day event with them, and what it meant to him.


United States of America: Civilians in the War Zones -

CiviliansIn Iraq is a Yahoo! group that has come together as a support service for civilian contractors who are working in Iraq.


United States of America: Communications -
  • Donate a calling card to help keep service members in touch with their families at Operation Uplink;
  • Send a greeting via e-mail through Anyservicemember.org or Operation Dear Abby;
  • Sign a virtual thank you card at the Defense America web site;
  • U.S. troops deployed to the Persian Gulf region and other overseas locations can now receive messages from family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues and supporters via the pages of Stars and Stripes Magazine. "Messages of Support," a daily section that debuted March 17, gives family and friends of deployed service members a chance to pass their greetings, words of encouragement and announcements free of charge.
  • Or, to kick the technical support up yet another notch, how about video conferencing thanks to the Freedom Calls Foundation.


United States of America: Foundations & Memoriam -

  • The Special Operations Warrior Foundation provides scolarships for the children of SpecOps soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who have lost their lives, in training or in combat. As Blackfive notes, a few dollars would go a long way in providing for the children of those who have died defending America. That goes double for Special Operations troops, who risk more than most. The Navy Special Warfare Foundation is also organizaed along these lines, albeit with a more specific focus.
  • Are you a big NFL fan? If so, consider donating to the league's Intrepid Foundation's Fallen Heroes Fund, which provides an immediate $10,000 gift to families who have paid the ultimate price with the loss of a family member in Iraq or Afghanistan.
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