Comfort Parcels for Troops

[shorehamview]

The latest email from United contains this, which is perhaps one of the most worthwhile causes United have ever been linked with.

Comfort parcels for troops


Sheffield United are helping to collect comfort boxes for the troops who are currently serving in places such as Afghanistan in time for Christmas. If you want to get involved please drop off your shoe box sized box at the Blades Superstore from now until Saturday 21 November.

A piece of mail or a parcel is worth its weight in gold to someone posted far from home, family and friends. Donations, large or small, are very much appreciated. Items required for the boxes include (although the list is not exhaustive):
SMALL SHOWER GEL
ROLL ON DEODRANT
SHAMPOO
DISPOSABLE RAZORS
SHAVING GEL (IN TUBES)
LIP BALM
TOOTHBRUSHES
TOOTHPASTE
BOILED SWEETS
CEREAL BARS
SUNBLOCK AND AFTER-SUN
GERMOLINE
FOOT POWDER / TALC
PLAYING CARDS / TRAVEL GAMES
SOAP
ANTI-BACTERIAL HANDWASH
BISCUITS (NOT CHOCOLATE/CREAMS)
PENS
TINNED FOODS (SMALL TINS)
DRIED FRUIT / NUTS
DRINKS (CARTONS / POUCHES)
CRISPS / PRINGLES
CHEWING GUM
TEA BAGS / COFFEE
TRAVEL WASH (FOR CLOTHES)
OXO
TAMPAX / SANITARY TOWELS
TISSUES (SMALL PACKETS)
PACKET SOUPS
POT NOODLES
SOCKS (MALE / FEMALE)
UNDERWEAR (MALE / FEMALE)
NOVELTY CHRISTMAS ITEMS

For more information about the parcels please contact [email protected] or visit www.comfortparcelsfortroops.moonfruit.com

The Blades match against Peterborough United has been designated ‘Forces Day’, please see www.sufc.co.uk in the next few weeks for more information.

When we will be having a nice time at Christmas, plus watching United, there will be members of the forces who won't be at home with their families. Do your bit for them please.

 

[boo radley]

These lads and lasses are protecting our country and me and my family support them and thank them for keeping us as safe as possible.
We will be at BDTBL on Saturday while they could be dodging bullets on our behalf. We will support our team and our club in a positive manner because they help provide the protection for us to do so. We will definitely fill a comfort box for them.
We wish safety and success in their challenges.

 

[Samantha]

We used to do 'Operation Christmas Child' with our Rainbow Unit - again we packed shoeboxes full of goodies (usually small toys, notebooks, pens etc) that would be sent to disadvantaged children.

What a fantastic idea to do this for our forces too.

 

[Ballinpigpubs13]

This is a great idea to help our lads and lasses in far off places. However it fills me with shame though that the M.O.D does not provide the items you mentioned on the list and the soldiers out there have to rely on handouts / collections etc.
I mean the M.O.D can afford around £100 million on a tank and not feed/ clothe and give toiletries to the footsoldiers????

 

[jacknat]

This is a great idea to help our lads and lasses in far off places. However it fills me with shame though that the M.O.D does not provide the items you mentioned on the list and the soldiers out there have to rely on handouts / collections etc.
I mean the M.O.D can afford around £100 million on a tank and not feed/ clothe and give toiletries to the footsoldiers????

i agree with your sentiment entirely, but i think that the more boxes the troops receive will show them that the public support them personally if not the political reasons for them being there

 

[yuley82]

These lads and lasses deserve everything that can be given to them, i wish them all well, but i don't feel they are fighting for our country's safety... They are fighting for the allies greed and obsession with the middle east these country's place no threat to our country or safety. God bless them all and return safe

 

[Stafford Blade]

didn't they used to accept magazines etc?

 

[boo radley]

This is a great idea to help our lads and lasses in far off places. However it fills me with shame though that the M.O.D does not provide the items you mentioned on the list and the soldiers out there have to rely on handouts / collections etc.
I mean the M.O.D can afford around £100 million on a tank and not feed/ clothe and give toiletries to the footsoldiers????

I dont think its the affordability that is the question, its the receiving a gift from your fellow countryman/woman/family that adds to the support for them and that personal touch.

 

[jpblade]

Agree Boo. It is the thought that counts. Knowing people in the armed forces, including the family of one soldier who was killed in action, it is the fact that most people in the country think about the troops that keeps them going in the most horrendous conditions imaginable to men and women. Trust me for every pound you donate, or poundsworth of toiletries you donate, it will seem like a million dolars to those fighting in Afghanistan

 

[judge]

maybe they should send them some of the hardware they collect from the postcode gangs every time they have a gun/knife amnesty

and the prem footballers can send them a humvy each

 

[Bubbleburp]

didn't they used to accept magazines etc?

I've just had an email from the oganisers of this excellent venture that answered a few queries that I had .

Books, Cd's and DVD's are acceptable as long as they will fit inside your shoebox sized parcel . Be aware that these parcels are being sent to predominantly muslim countries so the organisers will have to remove any items that are deemed to be 'unsuitable' .

If you are making up a parcel for male or female , it would be a great help if you could mark them as such .

Apparently , the folk who ready the parcels for posting always try to include one of their personal handwritten message / greeting inside the parcels that have been made up from individual donations, so if you planning to include a letter inside your own parcel, would you consider writing an extra one to help them with this huge task ?

One important thing to remember is to keep within the .. 2KG .. weight allowance .... and wether you're filling a whole box, donating individual items or just writing letters / messages..... your kindness will be truly appreciated by each recipient .

 

[Bubbleburp]

Just wanted to bump this back to the beginning .

There's only a few days left to get your parcels down to the lane folks .... lets make it a worthwhile exercise ....Cheers all .

 

[Vancouver]

Any idea how we support them from overseas?

 

[Bubbleburp]

Any idea how we support them from overseas?

Hi Vancouver, .... I wouldn't know...but I'm sure if you follow the links in Shorehams original post and drop Mick and Lynn an e-mail , they'll be able point you in the right direction

 

[Linz]

We're putting one together through my Mum's work, but we don't know what's going to happen to it in light of this...

Plea for end to unsolicited gifts for UK troops

Members of the public are being urged not to send unsolicited Christmas presents to troops in Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defence said mail from relatives was getting lost among gifts addressed simply to "A soldier" or to individuals not known to the sender.

It also said many presents were perishable and often went to waste.

Anne Forbes, from Operation Welly, which sends gifts to troops, said she took advice from military welfare officers on whom to send parcels to.

Capt Charlie Malcolm, who is in charge of post at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, said: "For personnel deployed overseas, personal mail from loved ones is very important.

"But the system can be completely overwhelmed by the public's generous donations, which results in mail from family and friends being delayed.

"The main cause of this is the huge and unmanageable number of welfare parcels, sent by well-meaning members of the public, to recipients not personally known to the sender."

The MoD said the onward delivery of parcels to troops on the front line required additional flights and convoys which placed the personnel manning them at extra risk of attack.

Many of the items sent were also either already readily available or "not suitable for the Afghan environment", it added.

A spokesman said some items were addressed simply to "A soldier in X regiment", but the armed forces nevertheless felt a moral obligation to deliver them because of the effort made.

Other parcels were addressed to individuals whose names had featured in news reports, he said, which could lead to them receiving hundreds of parcels from strangers.

Lt Col George Waters, who oversees operational welfare at the MoD, added: "There is no denying that the knowledge that complete strangers are thinking of you provides a boost to morale.

"But what the troops on the ground want above all else is to receive their personal mail and the sheer number of welfare parcels in the system causes serious delays to those all-important personal items."

The MoD is asking people who wish to support British troops to give donations to recommended service charities, some of which do send parcels but in consultation with the military.

Armed Forces Minister Bill Rammell said: "It is very important to make sure that people express their support in the right way to make the biggest difference in helping our troops on the ground."

Operation Welly was set up by Theresea Evans whose son, Llywelyn, was killed in Iraq in 2003.

Mrs Forbes, who is the organisation's treasurer, said it worked closely with the armed forces.

"We work with welfare officers and all our parcels have names on them. We try to send parcels to those who don't have families," she said.

"It is the people who are sending gifts to 'A soldier in Afghanistan' that are holding things up."

EDIT: I also note that the link United send you to are also not delivering Christmas parcels at the MOD's request now.

 

[Bubbleburp]

Hi Linz, .. the organisation who were responsible for the collection of the parcels from BDTBL last week have always stated that they wouldn't be sending any parcels over the Christmas period to save the supply lines from clogging up ....and they too, work closely with MOD welfare officers. This means that all of the parcels we made up will be allocated to named individuals belonging to the chosen regiment for this shipment....so rest assured folks, your gift will be posted (if it hasn't gone already ) and gratefully received .

I'd like to just say thanks to everyone on here who participated in this venture ... 50+ parcels ... well done folks !!!

 

[super_pig]

>these parcels are being sent to predominantly muslim countries so the organisers will have to remove any items that are deemed to be 'unsuitable'

but presumably dying for the b******* is ok?.. makes my blood boil

 

[Darren]

>these parcels are being sent to predominantly muslim countries so the organisers will have to remove any items that are deemed to be 'unsuitable'

but presumably dying for the b******* is ok?.. makes my blood boil

I think you find it a very controversial question as to whether the average Afghan thinks British soldiers are dying for them.

I can't see anything objectionable in British soldiers serving in a foreign country having to obey the laws of that country.

 

[Deleted member 2102]

I think you find it a very controversial question as to whether the average Afghan thinks British soldiers are dying for them.

I can't see anything objectionable in British soldiers serving in a foreign country having to obey the laws of that country.

Oh come on Darren, are the troops really going to take a copy of Nuts out on patrol with them?

 

[Darren]

Oh come on Darren, are the troops really going to take a copy of Nuts out on patrol with them?

Thats not the point. If a country's laws ban the import of certain types of material (porn or whatever) then it seems a simple point to me that anyone in that country must obey that law.

Obviously, as a general principle, I would not be in favour of such bans, but it's just common decency to respect other countries' laws and culture if you are in that country.

 

[JJ Sefton]

Thats not the point. If a country's laws ban the import of certain types of material (porn or whatever) then it seems a simple point to me that anyone in that country must obey that law.

Obviously, as a general principle, I would not be in favour of such bans, but it's just common decency to respect other countries' laws and culture if you are in that country.

It would be interesting to have some clarification of what is deemed 'unsuitable'. I for one wasnt planning to part with my VHS of Deep Throat.

 

[JJ Sefton]

SE10 - Do I take it from your name that you are a native of the parish of Greenwich?

 

[Deleted member 2102]

I am indeed - Charlton's demise was a big blow. I miss the 10 minute journey home from an away match.