Do you want to show your appreciation of the US military personnel? Are you willing to share your luxuries with American soldiers who are on active duty? Would you like to meet or get in contact with a woman soldier as you contribute?
There are more ways than one to show love for the troops. This goes beyond simply donating money, although that is a great solution too.
Below, we’ve got a list of ways on how you can show your support for military women.
1. Donate to the USO
The United Service Organizations has supported military service members for over 75 years. The volunteer organization provides support through programs like Operation Phone Home. The USO is a leading force that helps keep men and women in the military connected.
The USO supports military personnel with their transition programs, tours, and more. If you want to give your support to a military woman but want something more personal than a cash donation, try looking into USO’s Wishbook. It’s an alternative giving catalog where you can buy a gift for troops.
The best gifts you can buy for women in the military include calls to home via phone or Wi-Fi. You could even buy them the chance to give their children a long-distance bedtime story. If you’re on a budget, the Comfort Food Packages gift only costs $15.
2. Write Letters of Thanks to Women in the Military
In an era of mobile phones, email, and the internet, letter writing can seem outdated. However, there is value and beauty in this dying art still. After all, letter writing takes time, effort, and thought.
In the early days, even in times of war, letter writing kept families and friends connected. Even now, it still does. Send a letter to a female soldier, handwritten or printed.
Women in military groups appreciate letters of thanks. It gives them hope and inspiration to make it through their time in the service. It gives them enough distraction from the pain of being away from family and loved ones.
3. Donate a Gown
Not all women in the military have a family of their own to go back to yet. There are women in the service who have yet to march down the aisle and say their vows. If you want to know how you can make their day, send them a wedding gown.
Brides Across America accepts wedding gown donations for female military personnel. If you aren’t the sentimental type or have no more use of your wedding gown, donate it. The process is simple.
First, go to the Brides Across America site and submit a form about your gown. The organization will review your submission and decide if it is acceptable. When it’s accepted, they’ll send you instructions on how to ship and package the gown.
The organization maintains a set of criteria for the gowns they will accept. They also accept other donations like veils, engagement rings, and more.
Help decrease the stress that military women undergo when picking a wedding gown.
4. Invite a Female Service Member over for a Holiday Meal or Celebration
The holidays are a lonely time to be away from home. While choosing military careers for women are good for education and financial support, the loneliness of being on active duty remains. A wonderful gift you can offer a military woman is to allow them to spend the holidays with your family.
If possible, try to invite two soldiers over. It will decrease their stress and more is merrier. Contact a local base or the Community Regulations Officer for more information.
5. Send Care Packages
In the field, soldiers don’t have the commodities that you’d find at home. Little things like American-made toiletries can make a big difference. Remember, tampons are not popular feminine hygiene products in other countries.
One of the best things you can send a military member is a care package. Like in the previous point, you “adopt” a soldier and then send her packages. When you choose items to send, make sure you check in with your soldier on what they might need or want.
You could put snacks, foods, and drinks in your package. Entertainment items like board games or useful items like AAA batteries are good to send. If you want to send them something they could use, toiletries are great to send too.
You can even send a special challenge coin to them. Do you want more information on the perfect challenge coin for female soldiers? Check out ChallengeCoins4Less.com.
The Soldiers’ Angels program can help you donate to a soldier in the field. Get in touch and help make the organization’s motto a reality. As the Soldier’s Angels motto goes, “May no soldier go unloved.”
6. Sponsor a Baby Shower for Pregnant Military Women
A pregnant military woman undergoes a lot of stress. Despite current movements for gender equality, discrimination still occurs in the military. If you want to help relieve their stress, throw them a baby shower.
Join forces with organizations like Operation Baby Shower and Operation Shower. Star-Spangled Babies is another program by Operation Homefront that supports military moms-to-be.
Help these women make their pregnancies memorable and happy.
7. Send Coupons
Finding no good use for expired coupons? Well, girls in the military will when you send your coupons to them. Military women and their families abroad will appreciate them for sure.
Collect any manufacturers’ coupons that you won’t be using. Send them to the Overseas Coupon Program (OCP) which will send the coupons to US military bases abroad. When you have a regular supply of extra coupons, the OCP can let you “adopt” a base to send them over to on a regular basis.
As a note, you can only send a manufacturer’s coupons. Store-specific coupons will not be valid for sending overseas. The coupons could still be valid or already expired.
However, the coupons can only be up to six months old. The best thing to do is to send coupons not older than three months to consider their travel time as well. When you’re collecting coupons to send, make sure that the expiration dates are not cut off.
Show Your Support
Being in the military and being on active duty is difficult. Though there are fewer women in the military compared to men, they still need support. Show your support and appreciation of their heroic efforts with our list.
Why stop here? We have a plethora of other great tips and tricks for you to discover. If you want more guides like this, feel free to read our other posts today!
