11 Ways to Support Our Troops

Do you want to bookmark ?

You can no longer just tuck a care package in the mail for "Any Service Member" as a way to show your support for U.S. troops in Iraq and other countries. The Defense Department is no longer allowing that decades-old tradition due to concerns for troops’ security and safety.

But there are still plenty of ways you can help. Several nonprofit groups prepare and distribute care packages, and there are a host of other unique ways you can show support. They include donating frequent flier miles, helping finance renovation of a disabled soldier’s home, volunteering your time to help a charitable group or purchasing gift certificates that soldiers can use in commissaries and exchanges to buy items they truly want.

In most cases, your monetary contributions will be tax-deductible. Here’s a rundown of online resources you might consider as a way to give your support for U.S. military servicemen and servicewomen:

Books For Soldiers
This site displays requests from soldiers for books and DVDs and provides guidelines for how to ship them (it also collects materials and ships them to soldiers who want anonymity). Tip: Use the search feature to find requested titles you have at home. The site requires a registration to view the requests and participate in forums that feature discussions with military personnel and other donors. (www.booksforsoldiers.com/)

Certifichecks.com
This site allows you to participate in the "Gifts from the Homefront" gift certificate program or buy commissary (grocery) gift certificates. You can purchase certificates from $5 and up (plus shipping costs) for a specific soldier or use one of the program partners, such as the American Red Cross, to distribute a gift certificate on your behalf. (www.certifichecks.com/)

Hero Miles
Originally created in response to reports of soldiers paying their own way to get home for R&R once they landed at military bases, this site enables you to donate frequent flier miles from select airlines. Although the Pentagon now pays for domestic flights for soldiers, donated miles are used to help soldiers returning home on emergency leave, as well as military spouses and families visiting wounded soldiers in U.S. military hospitals. A military agency coordinates distribution of tickets issued through the program. Note: The site links you to donation procedures, which vary from airline to airline. (www.fisherhouse.org/programs/heroMiles.shtml)

Homes For Our Troops
Started in February 2004, this Massachusetts-based nonprofit builds and adapts homes for troops who have returned from Iraq with disabilities. The site seeks monetary donations, as well as contributions of land, to expand the number of the handful of projects under way. Organizers work with contractors, home material manufacturers and corporate partners to raise funds and provide materials for building projects. (www.homesforourtroops.org/)

Operation Air Conditioner
This nonprofit group provides air conditioners, boots and heaters for U.S. troops serving in Iraq. The site solicits monetary donations by mail or via PayPal (an online payment transfer site) to pay for bulk purchases of these items, which then get sent to troops. Donors can adopt a soldier, who post requests on the site, to receive items you purchased on his/her behalf. (www.operationac.com/)

Operation Homefront
Created by spouses of active-duty military personnel, this site lists links you can use to donate money or household items, land, vehicles and other goods to assist military families whose loved ones are deployed overseas. Funds are designated for use in a given region to help families there with day-to-day expenses. The site also includes links that list volunteer opportunities in local chapters. (www.operationhomefront.net/)

Operation Uplink
Provided in conjunction with the VFW Foundation, this site solicits online and mail-in contributions that go toward the purchase of phone cards for active service personnel and hospitalized veterans. The group collects monetary contributions and purchases phone cards, which get distributed to eligible recipients. Contributors receive letters of thanks and those who give $100 or more get frame-ready certificates. (www.operationuplink.org/)

Operation Shoebox
This nonprofit group seeks monetary contributions or donations of select goods—toiletries, stationery, snacks—by mail to its Florida headquarters, which prepares packages to send to troops. (www.operationshoebox.com/)

Unmet Needs
Run by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and sponsored by a Vermont-based tool company, the program seeks monetary donations to provide aid to spouses and families of all military personnel, but focuses on National Guard and Reserve troops serving in Iraq. The site allows online donations and provides printable forms for mail-in contributions. (www.unmetneeds.com/)

The United Services Organization (USO)
The USO seeks $25 donations it can use to prepare and send care packages to troops. Donors can also send along a personalized message to soldiers who receive the packages, which typically contain razors, calling cards, sunscreen and other personal necessities. The USO no longer accepts direct donations of such items. (www.uso.org/)

Voices From Home
This site seeks monetary contributions to enable active-duty troops and their families to record and send voice-mail messages to each other. Donors give through an online credit card application, with funds going to AmVets, a nonprofit that runs the computer servers and coordinates the distribution of messages to recipients. (www.amvets.org/)