I’m sure many, if not all, of you have heard of the USO and know that they do great work with our military. What you may not know is that they have a presence on almost every military base in the country. Here at Fort Drum, where my husband and I are currently stationed, they are very active in our community. In fact when our soldiers come home from deployment they are there to greet them every time (mind you they come home at all hours of the day and any day of the week). We are one of the most deployed units int he Army, when you look up the 10th Mountain you can see that they have literally had at least one Brigade deployed EVERY year. In fact, my husband’s unit has been deployed EVERY OTHER YEAR since 2001.
Here is where we need your help! When soldiers step off of the plane they are greeted by many officers and members of the USO. Each soldier receives a hand shake. a “Welcome Home”, a HUG, and a Candy Bar. To you and me a candy bar seems like a normal treat, but to them it’s a taste of home. We will never understand how such a simple gift can mean so much, but it’s something that they remember. We are currently expecting our 3rd Brigade soldiers to be coming home over the next few months and they should all be here by the end of March. That’s OVER 3600 SOLDIERS and the USO has advised that they do not at this time have enough candy bars (or the money to purchase them) available for our soldiers. I am asking for any and all help you would like to offer so I can get a package together to deliver to the USO. If you would like to simply ship me your donations send them to:
Jennifer Silcox
8315B Middle Lewis Ave.
Fort Drum, NY 13603
If you wish to make a monetary donation so that I can purchase candy bars that can be done through Paypal by following these steps:
1) Login to your account
2) Click Send Money
3) Enter my email address: jen@debtfreespending.com
4) Enter the amount you wish to send
5) Click the PERSONAL tab
6) Select GIFT
7) Hit CONTINUE
8) Follow the rest of the prompts until it is confirmed
9) In the NOTES please make sure that you let me know this is for the USO Candy Bar donation
I really appreciate any and all help you can give. Like I said a dollar or less candy bar may not seem like anything to us, but to the men and women who have been away from everything they know and love for a year or more, something this simple can mean the world!
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