Send a Support Our Troops® Care Package

Support Our Troops® Care Packages enhance the morale and well-being of the deployed troops worldwide by seeking, receiving, and shipping care boxes containing items specifically requested by them. This is especially important outside the established holidays.

Troops, use the Contact form at https://supportourtroops.org/contact to request Care Packages.

Supporters: ship care goods to

Support Our Troops®

Regional Distribution Center

249-J Third St.

Ayden, NC 28513

Be sure your name, address, and phone number are on the outside of each box. Also, put your email address in the box so we can communicate with you electronically! It costs a fortune to mail thousands of letters, and we can instead spend that further serving the troops!

$25 GIFT CARDS ARE THE MOST NEEDED ITEM. This is how they get on the satellite for personal communications to home. $25 gift cards like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Not store cards.

IF YOU CAN, SEND BOXES WITH ALL THE SAME TYPES OF GOODS. Not assorted goods. Do not think in terms of preparing an individual box of assorted goods for individual soldiers. The military ends up re-sorting those at their end. It is a waste of effort at both ends. The present manner of distribution overseas has care goods maintained in blocks of the same types of goods so that soldiers can get exactly how much of what they want, and nothing goes to waste.

Two Ways to Help: You can buy and ship items to us (we inspect, repackage and distribute them to the troops), or, you can donate via our donation page to help us distribute the goods to the troops. Your donation and support help America's troops do their jobs effectively.

The Rules:

• Nothing less than the best for these first-class people! All first-class, brand new, unopened, safety-sealed goods for America's finest.

• Include your name, address, email address, and phone number in case we need to get hold of you about the shipment. Also, be sure your name, address, and phone appear legibly on the outside of the box.

• Put your email address in the box so we can communicate with you electronically! It costs a fortune to mail thousands of letters, and we can instead spend that further serving the troops!

• If you want you can include a printout of a digital picture of your group, school, and class, and any notes about why you are sending the care package so the troops can know how much the folks here really love, respect, and appreciate them. We want the troops and their families to know people back here at home are thinking of them.

• Include $20 to Support Our Troops, Inc. for each box you send. Some weeks we hit $20,000 in shipping costs! You can include one total check of money order for the entire number of boxes.

• Cards, letters, and the like need to be unsealed and ready for inspection.

• Simple!

NOTICE: Sending SOT care goods that aren't packed right ruins everything in the box. You must double-bag individual liquid and gel items. Soap has to be bagged or it ruins the taste of the food items. Boxes arrive at SOT daily where they have leaked and ruined the other goods. Just imagine what happens in the war zone when they sometimes get dumped out of a hovering chopper.

What the Troops Ask For:

GOODS

• $25 VISA and M/C gift cards (gives them maximum flexibility, for WIFI, etc)

• Personal hygiene items(unscented whenever possible). Wet wipes, individually wrapped, disposable razors (men's and women's), chapsticks, body wash, lotion, face wash, mouth wash, deodorant, Q-tips, shampoo, conditioner, foot powder, and the like

• Feminine products (unscented whenever possible), small packs of napkins and tampons, female version of body wash, lotion, razors, face wash, mouth wash, deodorant, Q-tips, hair de-tangler, face moisturizer, shampoo, conditioner, small grooming kits

• Laundry PODS packed in a sturdy plastic or metal container.

• Sunscreen

• Magazines (clean content)

• Fun posters and calendars for dressing the place up

• AA batteries

• AAA batteries

• Movies and music on thumb drives only (CDs, DVDs, and tapes are useless)

• 2 GB + USB memory sticks (thumb drives, blank)

• Cards, letters, and group photos (we want the troops to know real people did this for them)

• Tobacco

• Cross Training Shoes - men's sizes 11, 12

• Cordless/Electric Hair Clipper

• Cordless/Electric Nose/Ear Hair Trimmer

• 3M Sticky Wall Hooks

• Hand Sanitizer

FOOD

• Beef jerky

• Hard candy

• Gum – all flavors

• Protein Bars (Quest/Mission 1/Combat Crunch; cookies and cream/chocolate)

• Protein Mixer Bottles/Shakers

• Cookies, crackers

• Corn nuts

• Chocolate Candy

• Candy Bars

• Rice Krispy Treats

• Slim Jims

• Granola and other snack bars

• Nuts other than peanuts in re-sealable containers

• Dried fruits in re-sealable containers

• Tins and packets of flavored coffee and cappuccino

• Breath mints

DO NOT SEND

• No pressurized product (aerosol shave cream etc.)

• No cocoa

• Do not ever, ever, send porn, alcohol, or drugs. These are illegal and can get the soldier in trouble. This does not include OTC drugs. Rated R/NC-17/UR movies are not porn. Nudity in print is pretty much a no, no, though have you seen the fashion ads in magazines these days?

WHAT THE TROOPS SAY: Care Packages Make a Huge Morale and Effectiveness Difference!

• Our base has also stopped the re-supply of candy and snacks at our dining facility, due to budget cuts and mission needs"

• Our boxes are not handled nicely and are stacked in containers about 20 deep so you can imagine what the bottom one may look like when we finally get it."

• Please do not send troops a lot of melty things like chocolate from 1 April to 1 October. Chocolate Bunnies and Peeps die in the mail in alarming numbers. We currently have 2 solid 3-pound blocks of gummy bears."

• Any female Hygiene products would be greatly appreciated: body wash, lotion, razors, panty liners, face wash, mouth wash, deodorant, tampons, q-tips, hair detangler, face moisturizer, shampoo, conditioner, baby wipes. Any of the above would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!"

• Beef Jerky rules! Slim Jims are ok too, but not if you are on a diet."

• Dried fruits and tree nuts are awesome! No peanuts. Think almonds, cashews, cranberries, cherries, and blueberries."

• Easy open cans or pouches of things -- not everyone has a can opener"

• Tobacco, yes a lot of us smoke, dip, chew, and vape. Please include these products as a regular staple in care packages. Our vice selections are limited."

• "Some of our younger kids have a hard time reading your cursive writing! I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked to read something to a Soldier that was under 23 years old. Everything is text and email, typed up on the computer to them. Sadly this art form is going the way of the house phone."