Helping Our Troops
Stoneham, Massachusetts U.S.A.
Wish List/Volunteer
"WISH LIST":
Standard or Travel size goods are the best to purchase since they are easily transported. Travel size can be carried with a soldier during missions. Large bulk items are difficult to ship and fit into our boxes.MOST RECENT REQUEST (WINTER): Hand warmers, hand sanitizer, skin creams, chapstick, white tube sox, individual packaged wipes, air freshners for barracks, Dunkin Donuts Coffee, Tea Bags, Hot Coco mix,Mac'n cheese packages, Tuna pouches, Dried Fruit, Sun Flower Seeds!
HOLIDAY ITEMS: Santa Hats, Candy Canes, Christmas Stockings stuffed with candy, Holiday Cards from elementary school children created just for the troops!
DRINKS: Presweetened instant Kool-Aid, Lemonade, Tang, Tea, Coffee, Powdered Gatorade, Hot Chocolate, and Powdered Crystal Light.
SNACKS: Anything Little Debbie, Applesauce Cups, Bean Dips, Beef Jerky, Beef Sausage Logs, Bowl Appetite Dinners, Breakfast Bars, Bubble Gum, Jell-O and Pudding Cups, Licorice, Lifesavers, Microwave Popcorn, Mints, Oreos, Pasta Anytime Dinners, Peanut Butter, Pop Parts, Powdered Milk, Pretzels, Pumpkin Seeds, Raisin, Ready To Eat Soups, Saltines, Sardines, Slim Jims, Canned Salmon, Cereal, Cheese Dips, Chips, Salsa, Pre-packaged Cookies, Crackers, Cup O’Noodles, Dinty Moore Meals, Dried Fruits, Fruit Cups, Velveeta, hard candy like sweet tarts, spree, lollipops, canned cheese, microwave popcorn, packaged or canned nuts of all kinds.
TOILETRIES: Bar Soap (regular size), Body Wash, Bounce Sheets, Chap Stick, Roll-on Deodorant, Q-Tips, disposable razors. Room Fresheners, Shampoo, Conditioner, Sun block, Toilet Paper (individually wrapped), Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Handy-wipes, moisturizer, wet-naps, band-aids, shaving cream, mouthwash, baby wipes, tooth picks, dental floss, nail files, odor eaters, feminine hygiene products, hand sanitizers, insect repellant.
MEDICINES AND VITAMINS: Tylenol, eye drops, foot powder, aspirin, Rolaids, Pepto Bismol, Tums, Imodium AD, Cortisone cream, Motrin, Vitamin C Chews and supplements, Neosporin.
MISCELLANEOUS: Paper, writing pads, peel’n seal envelopes (as gummed flaps stick together in the heat). Greeting Cards, Qt./Gal. Ziploc Bags, Chilly Willy Neck Coolers, AA and AAA batteries, pens (black ink), MINI Kleenex packs.
FUN STUFF: Disposable Cameras, Note Pads, Greeting Cards, Dice. Poker Chips, Puzzle Books, Nurf Footballs, Yo-yos, Crossword puzzles, Word Finds, Pocket Electronic games, balls, holiday fun items (santa hats, halloween)
PERSONAL ITEMS: Small hand towels, white tube socks cotton, bandanas (washed and softened) to shield their faces from sand. Silly string to help detect trip wires. Small medical kits to carry on missions.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
Helping Our Troops welcomes Volunteers to assist with one of many tasks involved with this program.
ITEM PICK-UPS: Picking-up items from drop box locations within our community and transporting to our packing location in Stoneham on an as needed basis. Local supermarkets, schools and churches who collect goods for our troops are the typical pick-ups needed.
INSPECTION & SORTING OF ITEMS: As donated items come in, they must be inspected and sorted into different categories. Items must be appropriate for sending – no opened food packages, checking for expiration and sorting into separate categories.
BAGGING: Liquid items that we receive such as shampoo, conditioner, apple sauces, jello are all placed into zip lock bags. This protects the contents of the packages against leakage, should any part of the package get crushed during shipment.
PACKING BOXES: Once items are sorted and bagged, they are placed into boxes. Boxes need to be assembled, packed tightly, closed, taped/sealed and stacked for shipping to their appropriate destination.
CUSTOMS FORMS: The final step is to tape a completed "Customs Form" to the top of each box which contains the necessary information for the care package trek overseas. This includes the soldiers name, destination and package content and the Helping Our Troops information.
TRANSPORTATION: We are in need of local residents who have a pick-up truck, van or SUV and are willing to help haul care packages to the local post office each month. This also requires some heavy lifting and bending, as packages weigh between 8 to 20 pounds.
Over 700 cases of Girl Scout Cookies were donated to Helping Our
Troops from Hanscom Air Force Base for the units we support.
In this photo our volunteers transport cookies to our homebase in Stoneham, MA.
Helping Our Troops
P.O. Box 80187
Stoneham, Massachusetts 02180
U.S.A.
H.O.T. CONTACT INFORMATION
If you are interested in supporting our troops and would like to volunteer, donate or help out in some way please contact Frank Geary at 781.507.5600 or email us at:
helpingourtroopsma@comcast.net
Thank you for supporting our troops!
