A service heart...

After the verse I posted the other day, I've been dwelling on the idea that I'm not doing enough to serve others, to love others. I think I've found my way.

Today I came across http://www.anysoldier.com/. I was completely hooked.

Now, to be fair, they also have the anysailor.com, anymarine.com, anyairman.com, etc., domains; however, anysoldier.com is the original, and comes with a sad but moving story.

But to be brief, here's how it works. This non-profit site lists the contact information for different service members who volunteer to represent units or groups of service members. The individual posts a "wish list," and the site users here in the States (or around the world, really) can preview the information and send packages to these individuals. So where does the "any soldier" part come into play? Items sent are for any soldier in that area. For example, I selected a sailor, and this particular group requested the green SOFFEE t-shirts in XL, beef jerky, and a few other things. Simple, everyday things that they just can't access there for one reason or another.

Most of what these individuals are looking for is letters. Just addressed to "Dear Sailor," or "Dear Soldier," or "Dear Airman." What a simple, easy thing to do! The site even gives ideas on what to write about, making it even easier to get started.

I plan to research the whole site over the next week, just to be sure I understand the process. For understandable reasons, there are many rules and regulations to sending packages to our service members. (Just mailing a package in the US scares the tar out of me, so I'm even more anxious about sending something out of the country!) Nevertheless, I plan to have a package mailed to "Any Sailor" by the end of the month. Wanna join me?

PS -- The soliders addresses are APO/FPOs, so they're not just releasing information. All the DOD regulations apply to this cause, and the site is run by parents of a Iraqi Freedom veteran.