Care Packages for Female Soldiers!

Hey everyone!

This post is actually not about CRPS! Crazy right? 😉 hehe

(Even though, CRPS started in the civil war. After soldiers who were injured in the war, never got better-they only got worse…
Today, there is actually a large percentage of soldiers diagnosed with CRPS/RSD as well..)

But! I will save that topic for another post on another day!

A friend of mine, Christina, is rounding up items to make some nice care packages for the WOMEN overseas!

Please read the message below! From Christina, on her twitter page @ChivetteBoots!

Lets get these ladies some items they both want and need!

I went online to get some ideas on items that our heroes overseas love to receive!
(Many of these items are listed for both men and women, but it’s not too hard to identify which items are geared for females!)

( The list above is a basic list that soldiers of both sexes have compiled together)

(Above is a little mini collage of items!)

A list of items that I can think of, off the top of my head (some are listed already in the photos) are:

– Shampoo
– Conditioner
– Body wash
– Shaving cream/gel
– Razors
– Cleansing wipes
– Nice smelling lotions
– Hair ties
– Hair Brushes
– Contact solution
– Lense cleansing wipes (for Glasses! But they work very well for cell phones, lap tops,iPads , iPods,etc!) THEY WORK WONDERS! For eye glasses! A girls gotta see,right?? Lol.
– Q tips & Cotton balls
– Tissues ( Pref. those portable Kleenex packs they sell)
– Chap Stick
– Face wash/ Face cleansing wipes (may be easier)
– Lotion for the face
– Sunscreen!
– tampons
– Pads/ Liners
– Deodorant ( Dove or something feminine)
– Nail files ( I don’t think they are allowed to paint their nails ,if they are-Please let me know and I’ll edit this!) – but,they still need to keep their nails short!
– Bright & colorful Wash clothes (To wash their face and stuff with)
-Sports Bra’s (A Variety of sizes)
– Travel size Landry detergent
– Landry bags (the type you can buy at CVS/Rite Aid- geared towards small items. This way, the ladies can put all their under garments in there to be washed. This way there is less chance of them getting mixed up with others stuff!!)
– Basically anything that you see in the “Travel items” section at the store.

*By sending them colorful items like that, even something as simple as a wash cloth, it provides a sense of “normalcy”.

I’ve spoken to many women who have gone overseas, and one of the main things they all said, was that they loved receiving things that made them feel “girly”.
Remember, these women are surrounded by A LOT if big, sweaty, and yes-sometimes smelly guys (lol sorry guys…it’s true. But it’s okay, we all still love y’all for what you’re doing over there! Thank you! <3)
So sending these women lotion that smells really good, some nice quality Shampoo & Conditioner, Body wash that will make the surrounding areas of the shower smell so good, would mean more to them than you’d think.

I know I’m forgetting things in the “Women’s hygiene” list above…if you’d like to add anything,please leave a comment on this post! For all the females reading this, try to think about the products you use at home… That you use to wash yourself, as well as items that you use to make yourself feel/smell good. Don’t the ladies overseas deserve those items too?! Yup!

((I do NOT know about the rules & regulations regarding Make up while overseas! But I also don’t see women making that a priority lol. I could be wrong,and if I am..please let me know! But I’d mainly focus on the types of items listed above!))

**NOTE: Everything MUST be sealed and in it’s original containers/bottles!!**

– Stationary ( paper, envelopes, pens, stamps,etc) so they can write home to their loved ones!
– Magnetic picture frames
– small photo albums- soft covers. Not the hard ones. (for them to place photos of their loved ones.
– Games! Especially any kind of card games (there are SO many! If you look in the card games isle of a toy store/Walmart/etc..you’ll see!) or even a few decks of simple playing cards.
– Crossword puzzle books
*Pretty much anything that can help make their time go by faster, and keep their brains busy*

– Individual Powdered drink mix (for water)
Like those Crystal light packets! Luckily, every company makes them now, so you’re able to pick out all different kinds of awesome flavors!

– Mio fit! drink mix! It’s very similar to the powered drink mix above! But *Mio Fit* has electrolytes and stuff in them! **Make sure you keep the seal on the bottles!!**
My personal favorite is the grape flavor YUM! That stuff actually gets me to drink more water (I hate water lol) but they have a million flavors!

-Poptarts, fruit roll ups, fruit snacks,etc.
We LOVE our sweets! 🙂

(NOTE: although we love our chocolate, I’ve read on numerous sites, not to send any kind of food, that will easily melt.)

– Plastic reusable containers
– Ziplock baggies

Etc etc!

**Please leave any comments with ideas of other items to send!** 🙂

——–Below is some info I found-not relating to the care packages that Christina is sending to the ladies.———

(EVERYTHING on this entire post can be used for any time of the year, for Men,Women,and even dogs! If you want to send over some goodies, this post can be used solely for ideas!)

Check out this link with some ideas to send to any soldier overseas!
http://www.helium.com/items/1569262-what-to-send-in-a-care-package-for-a-deployed-soldier

Two things I saw online, while putting this list together for care packages were:

1)

(Ha! I used to collect beanie babies! I still have them somewhere too! I will be sending these over!)

2) We can’t forget about the dogs that are serving for us overseas!

(I found this photo under google images. There was no identified source)

Many of those dogs are first line! And need to go for a good 90min of physical activity without any food or water!

Unlike humans, dogs can’t tell us when they need something. We usually find out before its too late.

Some things you could send overseas for the pups are:

– Portable/Plastic reusable containers! (For the owners to store food, and to put water in for drinking)

– Dog food (High quality)
-Treats
– Dog toys ( off duty)
– Animal beds
– etc.

Google “Care packages for service dogs overseas” you’ll see lists,as well as websites that actually have amazing care packages ready to go! You pay for them and ship them! Many of them have some high quality tools and devices for the dogs to use.
(Ex: Dog goggles or “Doggles”- for the times when they are running in the sand. It keeps the sand out of their eyes!)

Here is the link to find info about helping service dogs! http://operationmilitarypride.org/to-help-the-troops-try-helping-their-brave-dogs/

I want to personally thank all the Men,Women, and even the animals that allow us to celebrate holidays like today *(Independence day)* You are all heroes.

If you have any questions regarding the items for Christina to send overseas, please email her at beantownmeetup@gmail.com. Or on twitter at @ChivetteBoots!

Any other questions,comments,suggestions.. Please leave them on this post! Thank you so much!
Sincerely,
Heather Lynn

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