“I was there for 14 months. It was long. But the thing that kept me going was getting letters. From kids, boy scouts, students. A letter was like a piece of gold. Something you will keep for the rest of your life,” says U.S. Army Sergeant Juan Salas, founder of "My Soldier," a Manhattanville College pen-pal program that has been "flooded with address requests from every state and more than 25,000 people" since it was launched three weeks back, reports Newsweek. How it works:
When a person enrolls in the My Soldier program, they agree to adopt a soldier. They receive a “starter kit” containing guidelines for letter writing and care package preparation, a red My Soldier bracelet, and a specially designed My Soldier baseball hat to include with the first letter they send to their deployed United States Armed Serviceperson. The first letter/care package they send is addressed to their soldier's platoon contact who then distributes it to their soldier. The soldier then replies and direct correspondence begins (about 80% of soldiers respond, but 100% appreciate getting the letters).
Read more about the program here. To sign up, click here. Special thanks to our sis -- known to the lucky recipients of her wise and witty thankyou notes as The Mother of All Letter Writers -- for telling us about "My Soldier." She signed up yesterday. Lucky soldier.
Speaking of the war effort and keeping the homefires burning, please consider donating -- early and often -- to "Sissy's Sewing Circle" at Spririt of America's Friends of Iraq Blogger Challenge:
The fundraiser continues through December 15.
A heartwarmng support of our troops.
Posted by: acjgoomp | December 04, 2004 at 11:59 AM