To Compatriots of Iowa S.A.R.,

I received the below information from the spouse of our
http://www.iowasar.org webmaster
and also the mother of the youngest IASSAR member.  It sounds like a great
idea to me.  I am going to at least reduce the number to 1,703 soldiers
waiting.  If you would like to do likewise Amber’s email is listed at the
bottom.

Thanks,

Mike Rowley
———————————————————————————————————————————-
“amber rowley”

Did you know?

Did you know there are currently 1,704 soldiers waiting with Soldier’s
Angels to be adopted? 1,704 servicemen and women could really use some
support and encouragement and a word of thanks from those of us that are
state side. I’d like to take a moment to encourage your friends, family
members, co-workers, even children to get involved with SA. It only takes a
few minutes every week to jot off a note to a soldier, even if it’s just a
postcard to ask how they are doing and to let them know you are thinking
about them. Care packages don’t have to be huge, even just a few small
trinkets once or twice a month would be ok.

The post office now offers free shipping materials and flat rates for
military packages (I wish they’d done this when I was sending them to my
hubby!). This is a great activity for places like senior centers/nursing
homes, preschools, classrooms, and workplaces. Groups of people can adopt
one or more soldiers and everyone can pitch in with letters and care
packages. As long as I have been involved in SA, I have never seen the need
for adoption this large. It’s imperative that we continue to encourage and
support these men and women who are sacrificing so much.

For those of you that all ready have soldiers, or are considering adopting
soldiers, here are a couple of fun care package themes for the next month:

Valentines day: A valentines card, chocolates (Now is the time to send them,
as it’s still “winter” in the middle east), a bag of candy for them to hand
out to local children, magazines, paperback books, DVD’s (Charlie Brown’s
Valentine would be a good one), socks, scented body lotion or shower gel and
a loofah (for female soldiers), a bag of gourmet ground coffee…Whatever
you decide to ship, take some construction paper and cut out different sized
hearts and throw them in the box. Make sure to include a handwritten letter,
that’s the best gift of all!

Mardi gras: Beads, creole seasoning, hot sauce, (if you can get your hands
on one or make one) a king cake, a homemade CD of Mardi Gras music or jazz,
chocolate coins, boxes of red beans and rice (or anything from Zatarains),
mardi gras masks…you get the idea. Make it fun, make it interesting!
Please, no pork products or alcohol. When packing your box, get a bag of
multi colored feathers (you can find them for less than $2.00 at any craft
store or walmart) and throw them in with the items you’re sending, along
with a handwritten note 🙂
Please write to me if you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them
🙂 if you know someone who’d be interested in signing up for SA just have
them contact me and I’d be happy to get them started! One last note…It’s
never too early to start thinking about the Iowa State Fair. I would like to
get a team of Angels together this year to walk in the parade with a banner
and maybe hand out flyers to the crowd. If this sounds like something you
would like to attend, please let me know. Entry numbers are limited, and go
fast! The date this year for the parade is August 11, 2010.

I am the only Team leader for Iowa right now, so if there are any questions
or they do want to sign up they can email me at my Soldier’s Angels address
which is ctlia13@gmail.com  thanks so much!

Happy Angeling!

Amber Rowley
www.soldiersangels.org