January 2004

Dear Friends,

During 2003, we sent over 6,000 boxes of food and toiletries to our troops overseas. Included with this letter is a list of items that are needed by our troops. Through our experiences in boxing items and what our troops have told us, we revised the list. Please note that we are asking for travel-size items. The troops have to carry everything with them, so large bottles and packages are too much. Also the cost of shipping the larger items is too expensive.

Would you be interested in helping our troops with a contribution of any of the items listed on this page? We are also asking for donations to help defray the postage cost to send the boxes to the troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, and other remote locations around the world. Each box costs between $15 and $25 for postage.

You may contact us at (440) 877-9241 any time of the day or evening or email us at swdsue@cs.com if you can help. We have numerous drop-off points around the city or we can have the items picked up by appointment.

Thank you for your time and consideration in supporting our troops.

Sincerely,

Sue Swider
Head Coordinator for
Boodle Boxes for Our Troops

FOOD ITEMS NEEDED:

Gatorade
Powder drink mixes (hot and cold)
Tea bags and coffee packets
Cup of soup, ramen noodles
Granola bars, cereal bars
Trail mix, instant oatmeal
Cookies, crackers
Dried fruit, fruit snacks
Nuts (any kind), sunflower seeds
Hard or chewy candy, gum (wrapped)
Dry cereal (individual servings)
Cans of applesauce or fruit (pull-top lid)
Cracker Jacks
Tuna, sardines, etc. (pull-top lid)
Peanut butter (no larger than 12 oz)
Seasonings & Tabasco (no larger than 4 oz - plastic)
Beef jerky, Slim Jim’s
Pringles, Frito's, Doritos, etc. (small packages)
Chocolate (since the temperature has dropped, we will ship now)

MORALE BOOSTERS

International phone cards
Disposable cameras
Tobacco
Greeting cards, note cards
Pens
Calendars
Small pocket notebooks
Personal letters (we include them in the box, so remember your return address if you want a letter back)
Sunglasses
Magazines (no swimsuit editions)
Paperback books
Children’s drawings
Word puzzle books
Travel-size games
Blank CDs and DVDs (we burn them - Imation DVD + R)

PERSONAL HYGIENE

Small bars of soap (hotel size)
Toilet paper
Purell (4.25 oz)
Eye drops (.05 oz)
Moisture & hand lotion (travel size)
Shampoo & cream rinse (travel size)
Chap stick
Antiperspirants (1.7 oz)
Toothbrush
Tooth paste (travel size)
Dental floss
Shaving cream or gel (travel size)
Disposable razors
Combs & brushes (small)
Feminine products (individually wrapped)
Gold Bond (1 oz)
Petroleum jelly (3.75 oz)
Powder (1.5 oz)
Noxzema (2.5 oz)
Vitamins (the smaller, the better)
Cough drops

NECESSITIES

Gallon, sandwich and snack-size zip-lock bags (Please include a few boxes with your items,
because everything we pack goes in bags.)
Dryer sheets (for bags & smell)
Air freshener (smelly tents)
Fly strips
Fly swatters (metal handle only)
Laundromat-size laundry soap
Batteries

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND:

When shopping, remember that our troops only have pockets and backpacks to keep their possessions in. Large items are too hard for them to handle. They are also too much to ship.

Think a little like you are the one walking in the middle of the desert, in the middle of nowhere. How would you pack?

No pornographic materials are allowed to go into Muslim countries.

Please remember Valentine's Day, St. Patrick’s Day,  Lent, and Easter. We will try to do something special for all holidays

Revised January 10, 2004
 
Programs Offered by USO of Northern Ohio

•    Canteen at the Military Entrance Processing Station in Broadview Heights - We have coffee, cookies, snacks, and lots of encouragement and information for processing applicants and their families.

•    Airport Lounge (behind the baggage claim area at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport) - A place for recruits and transiting military personnel to kick back and relax in a safe environment. It is a good place for families to say good-bye or welcome someone home. We have refreshments, information, a listening ear, and (soon) a Cyber canteen.

•    Volunteers - Volunteers are very important people. Without them, a lot of work could not be accomplished in the USO. The USO needs volunteers of all ages and in all 29 counties of northeast Ohio.

•    Information and Referral - The USO is often the first place military folks and their families call for general information, discount tickets, emergencies and much more. We link them to other social service agencies or help find information they need.

•    Base Cleveland - There actually are enough military people in all the branches in this northern area to make up a base, but most military families don’t know each other. We support the Senior Enlisted Advisory Board, which has Command Sergeant Majors or representatives of each branch of service, as the members move to introduce people to each other and help facilitate cross-branch discussions. The USO is committed to connecting local people and organizations to the military and ensuring that Cleveland is seen as a place friendly to the military.

•    Outreach - Our volunteers go out to some National Guard and Reserve units on drill weekends to offer hospitality, refreshments, and discounted tickets. This program expands as we identify volunteers in a geographic region of a unit who are willing to participate in this program.

•    Celebratory Program - We attend and provide cakes for many armed forces gatherings, unit deployments, welcome home celebrations, and military family days. This ties the community to the military and expresses the gratitude of the nation for those who serve. This is one of our ways to say: “Thanks for serving.”

•    Care Packages - We have sent thousands and thousands of care packages to troops deployed around the word, but especially in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait and South Korea. Please feel free to give us addresses of personnel serving overseas so we can show them that America loves, supports and appreciates their sacrifices.

•    “Hooah” Trees - A Hooah tree is a 12-inch tree decorated with unbreakable ornaments. We send them around the holidays to help with morale.

•    Phone Cards - We provide the troops, as well as families of deployed personnel, with cards for an easier (and cheaper) way to communicate.

•    Letters from Home - Mail is very important to our men and women in uniform who are far from home. Letters of encouragement and support are needed and appreciated.

•    Operation Hospital - While our wounded personnel are well taken care of, we want to wrap them in our love physically.

•    Toys and Clothes for Iraqi and Afghanistan Children - We are collecting a variety of items for the children, especially orphans.

•    Operation Homelink - This support group links military families together in a variety of ways, including meetings, scrap booking, crop workshops, and parties. The mission of this group is to bring together military family members for support, information, and assistance.

•    Mothers of Military (MOM) - This network is a support link to and for mothers with children in the military. The mission of MOM is to be a supportive and informational network for mothers throughout Northeast Ohio with children in the military.

•    Baby Sea Bags - Military families with new additions can receive a baby sea bag, which includes a baby layette.

•    Dedications from Home - Many local companies and individual donors have underwritten the cost of producing a recording of military family members and their favorite musical selection on a website to which the service person can link.

•    Discounted Tickets - We give free tickets to major league games (Indians, Browns, and Cavaliers) through drawings, offer discounts to major attractions and cultural attractions, and sometimes receive free tickets to shows that come through the area.

•    Entertainment - Local artists, under the USO banner, volunteer to appear at family days, military celebrations, volunteer appreciation gatherings, veteran events, and more.

•    Recreational Programs - The USO offers a softball league for military units and is considering basketball or other sports and recreational outlets for military people in Northeast Ohio.

•    Recognition - Annually, the USO and the AUSA host a “Warrior of the Year” luncheon for the military people named by their units as the best of the best at that time. We also recognize civic and community people who have given much support for the troops.

•    Military Ball - Every year, the USO sponsors a ball to honor veterans and to provide a social outing for active duty and retired military people. Many friends of the military and the USO attend this colorful gala event, which is also a fundraiser for the USO. The ball will be held this year in May and will have a "M*A*S*H" theme.

•    Project St. Nicholas - This past year, we provided over 1,000 presents to military children, many of whom have a deployed parent.

•    Project Penelope - This project provides vocational assessment, preparation for job seeking, and employment networking in Northern Ohio for spouses of military assigned in the area. (Begins January 2003)

•    Gift of Golf - Each year, the USO hosts the Bob Hope Golf Fundraiser. The Gift of Golf program allows military personnel to attend the golf outing at a reduced cost. (August/September)

•    Welcome/Orientation Package - We have information available for military personnel who have recently moved to Northern Ohio.

•    We are open to NEW programming to help meet the needs of military and their families. We conduct needs assessments with Commanders of National Guard and Reserve units, solicit ideas from our Senior Enlisted Advisory Board, and follow-up with family readiness groups and military families.