A cool way to send cards to the troops; COP Shocker leaving

Two items for you today.

1st, If you have been sending to troops at COP Shocker, you should discontinue now.  Our troops are leaving and redeploying to home base.

2nd, one of our friends suggested I recommend you look at sending cards via SendOutCards system.  It's a very cool online system that allows you to choose a card, personalize it, and just click "send".   The company prints the card, stuffs it, puts a real US postage stamp on it, and takes it to the post office for you!  And you can do for as little as $1.00 including the postage!  

This could be perfect for our mail to the troops!  The cards are very high quality.  I'm excited about the possibilities!

You can:

• personalize your card
• send post cards (a little less cost than the greeting cards)
• send a tri-fold card (a little more cost than the regular greeting cards)
  
• set up several cards at one time and choose different mail out dates to your soldier
  
• send multiple cards to different addresses
• add photos (extra cost)

Anyway, I think it's a great idea!  So much so that I joined the company this week and am now a distributor.  Ah! you say!  There's the catch!  Well, maybe.  Maybe I can make a couple pennies per card (someday).  BUT -- I really want to make it easy for you to send cards to our soldiers.  So, I've put in $100 for all of you*.  The first people who visit SimcoCards website can open up a FREE SendOutCards account and then send a card to a soldier for FREE.  On me.  How's that??

Visit:  www.SendOutCards.com/simcocards  

Once you get to the Card Catalog there is a selection for "Valentines", and another for "Patriotic".  If you send one now it should make it for Valentines Day.  You can do it right from your computer.

If you don't have an individual soldier (I'm still having trouble getting new troop names) then consider sending a card to Chaplain Pickens.  He has over 600 troops he is responsible for and wouldn't it be great if he got 600 cards?  (you guys will have to pay for some of those!)

* Donations have been added by some troop supporters.  You could also offer your free trial to your soldier to use to send a card home. 

While I always promised I would never, ever, post a soldier's information online, this Chaplain said this would be OK.  If the cards are addressed as below, he will not open them, just pass them to a soldier.  (I may remove his name in a few weeks.)  When you do this please include "Friends of Aunt Nancy USA" with your name in the cards so they will know how they got the card. 

Send to:

CH (1LT) Jeremy Pickens

In Care of Any Soldier

211MP BN

Camp Taji, Iraq

APO AE 09374

You could also send card to wounded troops in Germany at:

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center

ATTN: MCEUL-CH/Chaplains Office,

CMR 402

APO AE 09180

The  soldiers can use this online card system too.  Even though they don't have to pay for postage to mail to the USA, the cost for these cards and postage is less expensive than most cards all by themselves.  Plus the troops can prepare several cards ahead of time to be mailed home in the future and they don't have to worry about remembering or getting time at a computer later.

Thanks again for helping.  And let me know what you think of this online card system.

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It's time to send Valentines Day Packages -- and buy Girl Scout Cookies!

It's time to mail packages to the troops for Valentine's Day goodies!

Or at least cards. (Be sure to check that your unit is still deployed.  See topic list on left-side, near the bottom of blog.  Click on your unit for postings. Ex: the 93rd MPB has left Iraq.)

If you haven't heard back from your soldier don't despair... we most often do not.  Send a card and ask what he or she would like.  And tell them you'll send more if you hear back from them.  In addition, some mail has yet to arrive in Iraq and Afghanistan.  In fact, a soldier recently told me she mailed a card FROM Afghanistan TO Afghanistan and it took a month!

One recommendation: just send a Priority Mail, Flat Rate box full of Oreos!  I'm told that has never failed to impress!

One group last year made up dozens of bag of treats.  I think they even used Valentine ziploc baggies.  Remember: no homemade goodies except to your personal soldier IF they agree ahead of time  All store bought candy must be in original wrappers.  Sand get into everything so putting goodies in sealed baggies is great -  and the troops can re-used them.

GIRL SCOUT COOKIES are the biggest hit of all. Not only are they delicious, but it's a great "All American" reminder, a real taste of home. Sending some to your individual soldier is the best, but here is another option:

Nancy: Caroline is selling Girl Scout cookies again this year. (I'm troop leader and cookie mom!) They have an awesome option for cookie sales. People can pay for cookies and the Girl Scouts will warehouse those cookies (instead of delivering them to us), then send them to the Troops overseas. Would you be able to post that on your Aunt Nancy website. I don't know if all councils are participating in this or not. People can check into it, or they can order from our troop and just mail me a check or cash to cover the sale. Cookies are $3.50 a box.   Vicki

VMorton@DigitalRetroSpectives.com

Chaplain Pickens, in Iraq, covers over 600 troops. Should we start a project to get them loaded up with candy and cookies? Who's in?

By the way, this morning I sent a group webmail update. If you are signed up but did not receive it, please leave a comment below. It's been doing that to some people for well over a year. Today neither of my email addresses received it! And it was not in my Trash or Junk Mail folders. What to do? I don't know how to fix it. (and now, what's happening here on Blogger? My words are getting broken up at the end of the lines......)

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