....But we are so small! How can we help?

Recently American Hero Hugs has been working with several groups that organize events and donations for our HEROES. These organizers are not big time charities with huge boards and corporate sponsors. They are just normal people who want to do something good with their time and energy. Many of them have a spouse, parent, sibling or significant other in the military serving in military overseas. We would like to urge you to look at some of these smaller organization when you are thinking about giving. A lot times they are asking for donations that are not just monetary but rather items to go in care packages. No donation is too small. It all adds up when everyone pitches in.

Operation:Sweets for Soldiers is a small organization ran by "Two Army Wives who happen to be married to SOLDIERS who happen to be BROTHERS!" Their mission is to, "Boost morale for our men and women serving overseas from Fort Campbell! You can help by donating candy, and/or money to help pay for the shipping overseas! You can also write a note or send a card with your donated candy!" They also organize events like Calling Card Drive, Christmas Cards for Soldiers and Magazine, books and DVD Drive all of which are very simple ways for people to make small donations that really matters to our soldiers and show gratitude for the important work they are doing. visit their Operation:Sweets for Soldiers website to make a financial contribution.

Another small organization trying to make a difference is Treats 4 Troops They are based out of Bartow, Florida and are a "Non-Profit organization trying to raise funds to be able to send out care packages each month to the US Troops with snacks, Personal Care Items & just little pieces of home." Their mission is to, "Get care packages out to the Troops who may not recieve anything from others & to allow them to know they are thought of all the time." There are many soldiers who go for months without receiving a single package from home. To find out more about Treats 4 Troops follow their Treats 4 Troops blog. They will be launching an auction on Nov 8th and American Hero Hugs will be donating a couple of our products to be auctioned.

CHRISTMAS CARDS FOR SOLDIERS SIGNING EVENTS

Over the past weekend American Hero Hugs held Christmas Card Signing events at two different Walmarts in Kansas. We were not asking for money but did accept donations when offered. We provided the cards and pens for people to sign. We are very thankful to all who were so generous with both donations and their time. We would like to say we got 100% participation but sadly, we got as many rejections as we did people willing to write a message to a soldier. We had our kids with us so it was even more frustrating to get so many rejections. Trying to explain to kids ages 5-14 why people would reject the idea of signing a card of thanks to a soldier, is a pretty impossible task when you don't understand it yourself. Despite that, it was a great experience for us and for our children. We are thankful for the opportunity to participate and for the experience our kids had learning empathy and gratitude for our soldiers and their families, not just from the people who rejected the idea but by the many people who participated and expressed their gratitude. We can never be thankful enough for our HEROES. We were able to get 200 Christmas Cards signed by multiple people on each card and collected $205 in donations to help pay for shipping. The cards and donations will go to Warrant Officer Wives Club and their Christmas Cards For Soldiers and will be shipped to our soldiers in Afghanistan

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