This last week I heard an interesting fact. Even though the President pulled the troops out of Iraq, there are still 50,000 members of the armed forces in Iraq. We also still have soldiers in Afghanistan and dozens of bases in foreign countries.

So I was excited to hear about our local Blue Star Moms organizing care packages and sending them off to many soldiers overseas! You have until November 11th if you want to participate. They are looking for ordinary things to give our troops just a taste of home. Things like

Tuna or Chicken Creations/Lunch Kits
(packages with condiments/ tuna or chicken salad with crackers)
Cup O Soup or Cup O Noodles
Beef Jerky – Trail mix – Nuts
Small bags of chips or small packs of Pringles
Individual powdered-drink mixes to put in water bottles
(Gatorade, Crystal lite, Kool-aid etc.)
Tea bags, sugar & creamer packs
David’s sun flower seeds
Cracker Jacks
Red/Black licorice
Cookies
Protein bars (ex: Power Bars)
Fruit snacks – roll-ups – gushers – (No canned items like fruit cups)
Candy (Tootsie Rolls, dots, gummy bears, jelly beans, jolly ranchers or anything that won’t melt -no chocolate, please!)
Gum (Caffeine Gum is a huge hit)
Breath mints
Water guns (for picnic fun)
Small Nerf balls or footballs – Velcro Dart games
Frisbees, Yo-Yo’s
Tennis balls, Hacky sacks
Card games (Uno, Skip Bo, etc.)
DVDs – Music CDs
Crossword puzzles, word search games, etc.
paper or plastic table-cloths, plastic forks
Black or white cotton socks
Pre-paid phone cards

So if you want to contribute some items or money, you can drop them off at locations around the Central Valley. That is including New Covenant Community Church on Nees between Cedar and Maple.

Remember that doing just a little can mean a whole lot! But hurry you only have until November 11th!!