It's been a while since I've mentioned the wonderful organization Soldiers' Angels. I'm surprised at myself, because one of my original intentions in starting a web log was to use it as a platform to publicize the Angels more widely.
I have learned that blogs are highly reactive entities; they reflect whatever is going on in the blogger's life. Scanning my posts of the past several weeks, I can see that I've been preoccupied lately with religious and spiritual themes. That is all well and good, but tonight I'd like to swing the spotlight back onto the greatest heroes of our time: our brave military service men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Being a Soldier's Angel is not difficult, but it does take a certain amount of discipline, organization, and commitment. To get started, you sign up through the Soldiers' Angels website, and very shortly you receive your service person's mailing information in e-mail. Congratulations, you're a Soldier's Angel. Now, it's time to spread your wings.
Write a letter introducing yourself immediately, and then start shopping for your first monthly care package. You can find suggestions on the Angel's website, but I had the most fun cruising Target and the supermarkets, clutching my coupons and searching for hot items that were on sale. Using the thrift approach, a decent care package can pull together for under $25. However, it will take nearly as much to mail it, so budget accordingly.
It's a very minor expense, really, when you think about what these young heroes are going through to keep us safe here at home.
I have never undertaken a more meaningful task than providing such personal support to our military. Longtime readers know that "my" soldier is now my lifelong friend, safely home in the U.S. When he phoned me after his return to the U.S. in February, he told me he had already adopted his own soldier through Soldiers' Angels.
The word "angel" means "messenger." Tonight, I sent an e-mail to Soldiers' Angels requesting another soldier to adopt. I'm already looking forward to mailing messages of hope and encouragement from home to this new young hero who will soon become a treasured personal friend.
Please take a moment to visit the Soldiers' Angels website and see what good work is waiting for anyone who'd like to help. I promise, if you decide to sign up, the experience will enrich you beyond words.
And now, I must go find my coupons...
