Posted By janice on July 4, 2011

Happy Fourth! Today we honor the birth of our country after the American Revolution.

I could write a blog post on how to declare your independence from clutter, but I decided to devote today’s post to ways you can help the men and women serving in the U.S. military. We all know the burden of war rests not only on the soldiers serving but their families left behind.

I grew up in Elgin, Oklahoma, outside of Lawton and Fort Sill. The artillery boomed constantly, and visitors to our home would ask if it was thundering. Several members of my family joined the military as did classmates and friends. My brother-in-law is in the Army, and my cousin is a Marine serving in Korea. My oldest nephew is considering signing up after graduating high school.

Here are ways you can support members of the military and their families:

• Any Soldier – Send care packages to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not all soldiers receive mail and care packages so Any Soldier’s program helps remedy that situation. The website has great tips on what to send and how to send it. For example, send food in one box and personal care items in another. You don’t want people to eat cookies that taste like deodorant. If you want, you buy a ready-made care package to send. Any Soldier has a page devoted to “other efforts” as well.
• Cup of Joe for a Joe – Buy a soldier a cup of coffee through Green Beans Coffee. For $2, you can send coffee to a soldier. For a $6 donation, you support three soldiers. You can send a message with your donation, and you may even get messages back.
• Wounded Warrior Project – The group is dedicated to empowering and helping wounded soldiers returning home. You send a donation, volunteer or hold a benefit.
• Homes for Our Troops – This group builds and provides homes for injured military members. You can send donations of money, or if there is a local project in your area, donate time, land, material, and labor to build the homes. The homes are provided to the soldiers free of charge.
• Operation Homefront– This group provides help to the families of soldiers serving overseas and wounded soldiers who need assistance upon returning home. They help to provide assistance with home repairs, food and other needs.
• Cell Phones for Soldiers – Donate your old cell phone. They repair the phones, sell them and buy phone cards for soldiers to call home.

If you know someone whose spouse is serving overseas, you can lend a helping hand in other ways, such as mowing the lawn, running errands, babysitting the kids, dropping off a meal or just listening. After all, it takes a village.

Happy Independence Day!

Categories: Life
Tags: Fourth of July, military families