Soldier's Families

MODEL POWER

Soldier's Families

With 130,000 American men and women currently in Iraq, every community in this country has either sent someone to fight in this war or is home to family members of someone fighting.

You can organize care packages through your local community groups and churches and send them to these young men and women.

The military no longer accepts packages addressed to "Any Soldier," so you will have to get their names first. Figure out who you can help from your area, and send them books, CDs, games, footballs, gloves, blanketsanything that may make their extended stay in Iraq a little brighter and more comfortable.

You can also sponsor care packages to American troops through the USO: http://www.usocares.org/

Many families of soldiers are hurting financially, especially those families of reservists and National Guard who are gone from the full-time jobs You can help them by contacting the Armed Forces Emergency Relief Funds at http://www.afrtrust.org/

Each branch has their own relief fund, and the money goes to help the soldiers and families with paying for food and rent, medical and dental expenses, personal needs when pay is delayed, and funeral expenses.

You can find more ways to support the troops, from buying groceries for their families to donating your airline miles so they can get home for a visit, by going here.

Naomi Friend of the Troops