After last year's fantastic turn out, it was amazing to see that Support the Troops 2011 was even bigger & better! When we started this back in 2007, it was considered a one-time Christmas wish with holiday cards & foot powder! Since then, CFPA is committed to continuing to send our love & support to those who do so much to preserve our way of life. That first shipment was four (4) banker's boxes of food, personal hygiene items, puzzles & toys to two service members. In 2008, it was twice as much. In 2009, it got even larger. Last year, we sent 33 flat rate boxes to 3 troops and THIS YEAR we topped even that! There were six recipients this year, each of whom have agreed to share their care packages with their unit. Each soldier received at least 5 boxes and our first FEMALE recipient received 10 boxes -- for a total of 42 flat rate boxes sent! WOW! We've included notes of thanks and support, snack items, sauce packets, personal hygiene items -- all sorts of things to try and make their lives a little less inconvenient during their tours of duty. If you have a family member or friend who is serving overseas, please let us know so that we can add his/her photo here & send them our thanks & support -- CFPA style!
Heartfelt gratitude to the following for their donations of time, office space, money, and goods that went so far to make this program the enormous success it has become:
Shutts & Bowen, LLP Beef O'Brady's - Apopka Chik-Fil-A - Hunt Club Heidi Pollpeter, Criminal Justice Program Director for ITT Technical Institute - Orlando Campus Orange Reporting
and the CFPA Volunteers which included:
Diana Bonilla, Antoinette Braga, Natalie Colon, Jorge Cruz, Jan DeJulio, Marisa Green, Peona Grier, Jean Hinton, Anne Hughes, Leslie Irick, Terri Martin, Megan Martin, and Audrey Riley!
Each of the recipient soldiers/sailors/airmen/marines have ties to members of the CFPA family -- either directly or indirectly. Each of them (as others in the past) have received several boxes of treats & goodies as a small token to let them know they're on our minds and in our hearts always.
If you have a loved one overseas, please let us know -- provide a photo & address & we will be happy to send our support along with yours -- and some goodies! to say thank you.
CW3 Todd Campbell
CW3 Todd Campbell (previous deployment)
If you go to this web site: LetsSayThanks.comand you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving overseas. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the Armed Forces.
Previous CFPA Care Package Recipients
Cpl Eddie Roe
Brent Tucker
SFC Miller
ABE3 Tyler Diamond
PFC Daniel Estry & Proud Mom/Certified Paralegal/FAMU Law Student Karen Estry
Semper Fi
YAY Army!
Air Force !
Go NAVY !
USS Kearsarge
Promotion at 9000'
First Snow in Iraq
Operation Ball Drop: Dropping Soccer Balls to Iraqi Children
Baker Co 7th Marines, 1st Battalion - Iraq
This is a real picture, taken in Iraq on 9 September 2003 by the Baker Company, with the 7th Marines, 1st Battalion, to honor the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. According to the Rock Hill, South Carolina, Herald:
Helmets atop rifles honored the day so many died. Four U.S. Marines in Iraq held Old Glory a few feet off the desert sand. Dozens of others stood around them, spelling out a special message. The unit assembled Tuesday in a formation of husbands and sons and helmets and weapons that spelled out, "9-11: We Remember."
Andrew Schoenmaker, 25, is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and an executive officer of Baker Company, with the 7th Marines, 1st Battalion. Lt. Schoenmaker and his commanding officer bandied about the idea for a picture to send home to the United States signifying that the unit is still in Iraq, but the pose ended up honoring the Sept. 11, 2001, victims.
"It is in remembrance of those that gave the ultimate sacrifice on September 11, and the reason that no matter how long we are here, we will continue to push and never forget why we serve," Andrew wrote in an e-mail to his father.
Here are some of the vital programs you are now supporting when you became part of the USO community:
Operation Phone Home makes sure troops can stay in touch with their loved ones by providing free phone cards and crystal-clear satellite calls.
USO2GO kits offer a touch of home to troops in the most remote forward
operating bases. Individual units request what they want, and we put
together a customized USO2GO package that can include anything from
video games and movies to sports equipment and musical instruments.
Our world famous Entertainment Tours bring some of the biggest celebrities and entertainers in America to perform for our troops wherever they're stationed.
These are just a few of the USO's many programs and initiatives. They are all designed to keep our troops At Home in Our Hearts. And they all need your support and generosity today.
Click here to donate directly to the USO
Something you can do year round to support our service men & women is to send a soldier a troop box. Grab a shoe box or any small carton or container and fill it with your admiration, love and support for the men & women who are serving overseas (along with some snacks & other goodies!). Contrary to popular belief, you cannot send a box to "any soldier". Items such as those are not shipped and may not be returned to you. There are certain mailing restrictions, some of which are detailed below. If you do not have family or neighbors serving and still want to show your support, you can send to the troops listed below or visit a website such as AnySoldier.com for addresses, wish lists and more detailed mailing instructions & restrictions. Also, AnySoldier.com links to other websites for Marines, Sailors, Airmen and members of the Coast Guard. This is a great community service idea for Boy & Girl Scouts, churches, or any other organization. However, CFPA would like to urge you to support OUR Troop Box Drive each year that sends cards & gifts out to local soldiers from here in the Central Florida area & family members of OUR members.
Suggested items to include in your Troop Box:
International Phone Calling Cards Any sort of food seasoning besides salt & pepper Hot sauce Velveeta cheese regular size Cookies individual packs Chips variety packs Cheese & Crackers Sunflower seeds Bags of peanuts, cashews Comic books Gum & Hard candy Thank You Cards Visine Q-Tips small package Disposable Cameras Silly string Wet Wipes Ziplock bags New or Used CDs & DVDs Current Magazines *No homemade CDs or DVDs, please Protein bars Batteries in various sizes Presweetened powdered drink mix Crystal light (add-to-water drink mixes)
**Sauce packets from your favorite fast food restaurant. Remember, they don't have anything to flavor their food!
Things to keep in mind when preparing your own Troop Box:
Each country has customs regulations that apply to all incoming mail. These may include prohibitions on certain kinds of food or entertainment products. Host countries mostly prohibit the entry of alcoholic beverages of any kind, narcotics, munitions, pork and pork by-products, pornography, and material contrary to the Islamic religion. Letter mail is not being opened unless it appears unusually bulky, officials said, in which case it may be examined to see if it contains contraband, such as drugs. Parcel mail is being examined on a spot-check basis to determine conformity with host country customs regulations and for terrorist-type mailing. Some military units may have additional restrictions imposed by the theater commander, such as size and weight restrictions, to ensure logistics support can handle the mail without delays. The maximum length of a package in any category is 48 inches. Keep in mind when we mail them the packages have to be wrapped securely. Liquid-filled containers tend to break. Powdered items can open during transit causing concern over what kind of substance it is. Please pack the items in sealed plastic bags. Contraband items are confiscated. These include alcohol, tobacco and pornography. Label packages properly and list all contents on the customs labels that you can get at any local post office. Families should not put the country or the base camp's city on the mail, officials said, because it might get sent through the host country's mail system.
If you have a family member or friend/neighbor who is serving in the military that you would like to see acknowledged in this space, please contact Marisa Green or Anne Hughes with their name, unit, address and PLEASE! Include photos - unit photos, snapshots from overseas and pics in uniform are especially welcome!
Page dedicated on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2007 in memory of all our Veterans. Revised 01/05/2012
