Newsletter

We will be having a meeting Monday October 4TH at 6:00PM at the HHAFFA office to discuss how the ride event went. I want to thank all the wonderful volunteers who helped out with everything, from setting up, working the tables and making food and deserts. And thank you to everyone who helped and worked at Harley serving food. All your help is very much appreciated! All of you are wonderful! Thank you so much!!!!!

Along with that, we will be discussing safe night for Halloween.Joyce is in charge of safe night for HHAFFA. We are very excited about doing this. This will be our first year participating in safe night. If anyone could bring a bag of candy, that would be very much appreciated.

We will also be at Walmart on the 8TH to collect donations for care packages.

We still have T-shirts left over if anyone would like to purchase some, please come to the meeting Monday.

Hope to see you Monday!

GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!

Newsletter

I want to remind you of our quarterly meeting tomorrow afternoon, September 21ST at 6:00PM at the HHAFFA office located at 620 H Street.

If possible Joyce would like anyone in attendance to bring a bag of candy for safe night, for Halloween. That would be very much appreciated.

Our ride event is coming up very fast! Everyone volunteering, and making soups and goodies, please bring them between 1:30 and 2:00PM. At the Thornton Park Pavilion. I will be bringing the coffee and donuts for the morning, during registration.

Another event coming up on us fast is our Christmas packing party. I have a list of popular items listed below. We do need donations, and I hope this list will help.We need to make sure everyone's contact info is updated. I'm asking everyone to send the most recent address of your loved one, along with a parent's, and or spouse's contact info.We don't want to forget anyone this holiday season!

Thank all of you for everything!
GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!

Please consider donating from the "most requested" items list here. Travel-size and single-serving size work best. (see below for specifics on these most requested items)
Single-serving size snacks and non-perishable food items, particularly tuna kits, beef jerky, canned fruit (small containers; pop-top lid), dried fruit, nuts and other healthy snacks
Pre-sweetened flavored beverage mixes (smaller sizes please)
Toothbrushes
Body wash liquid (no pump dispensers please)
Socks (bootcut, black)
Letters of support
Gum, Lifesavers, Mints (blister pack gum is best because of the intense heat)
Fruit: single serving size cans of fruit, dried fruit (Note: Plastic fruit cups with the plastic seal are not recommended as they can open in transit; individual-size cans are preferred.)
Nuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts, trail mix
Power bars, protein bars, nutritional bars
Beef jerky, beef summer sausage (non-perishable; labeled USDA Beef)
Single-serving bags of snacks, crackers, snack mixes
Pop Tarts, cereal bars, "milk & cereal" bars, granola bars
Ramen Noodles, Cup-O-Noodles serving cups
Ravioli and other canned ready-to-eat meals (canned or styrofoam single serving are best)
Chicken or Tuna lunch kits (includes foil pouch of tuna, crackers, and condiments in each single-serving kit)
Canned sardines, smoked oysters
Jalepeno Velveeta® and crackers
Taco Bell® Sauce Packets
Seasoning salts, flavoring salts
Cheese dips in plastic or canned (NO glass please)
Do not send bags of chips. They will not make the transition.

Do not send glass containers. Pork and pork by-products are not allowed to be shipped to most Middle East combat locations. Please send non-perishable foods only. Single-serving package sizes are preferred; large packages won't stay fresh and are harder to ship. If you can stuff it in your pocket and it's not going to spoil or melt during the summer season, it's a good thing to send!

Ground coffee, coffee drink powder
Hot cocoa mix
Lemonade mix, Kool-Aid® mix, Tang®, Iced Tea mix
Gatorade® mix (powdered only)
Crystal Light® (or other brand) "On The Go" flavor packets (these come in a box of several sleeves of flavoring that can be added to a 16-20 oz. water bottle.
Sugar and creamer packets for coffee
Personal Items:
Disposable cameras
Envelopes and paper
Small pads of paper
Drawing pads (small)
Small, blank journals
Small pocket notebooks
Hacky Sacks, Tennis Balls
Hand-held games
Movie DVDs (new or used; original only)
Music CDs (new or used; original only)
Cotton socks,
Boot liners/insoles
Odor eaters for boots
Lotrimin AF or Tinactin for athletes foot (tubes of ointment or cream, or the bottle of drops; please do not send the aerosol spray type)
Medicated Foot Powder, Medicated Foot Swabs (Gold Bond Preferable)
Moleskin (for pads on sore feet, you'll find it with Dr. Scholls type things at WalMart or drug stores)
Band Aids (sweat/water resistant)
Do not send baby powder
Footcare is critical and the demand for quality products is very high. Be sure that all items are in the original, sealed packages.
Sunblock (travel size preferable, SPF 30+)
Throat Lozenges
Gum, Lifesavers, Mints
Eye Drops (to relieve dry eye, not redness)
Blistex, Chapstick (in stick-tubes rather than tubs, not tinted)
Aspirin, Motrin, Tylenol, Midol, Pain Relievers (small containers)
Saline spray/drops for sensitive nasal passages
Q-tips
Eyeglass wipes

Lip balm is in high demand in desert areas. The lipstick-style tubes that you apply directly to your lips are preferred over the "tub" style. Eyedrops are to relieve dry eyes; please avoid sending eyedrops designed to remove redness as those will increase dryness and iritation caused by sand and storms in a desert climate.
Baby wipes for personal hygiene (alcohol-free)
Liquid body wash (no pump-style dispensers)
Liquid hand sanitizers (no pump-style dispensers)
Disposable hand sanitizing wipes

Please do not send pump dispenser style bottles. Portable-sized packages of non-alcholol based baby wipes are in high demand.
Toiletries are not in as high a demand as they once were; however, we do have units at forward operating bases that still need the toiletries listed below:
Toothpaste (in hard-side tubes rather than traditional tubes)
Toothbrushes
Nail clippers
Shampoo
Deodorant
Liquid bodywash soap, liquid anti-bacterial soap (liquid is easier to use than bar soap) (no pump-style dispensers)
Lotion (no pump-style dispensers)
Disposable multi-blade razors (no single blade razors please)
ShaveMan™ Battery Powered Shaver (About $5 at WalMart and other discount stores; see photo below and to the right) Razors and replacement blades
Kleenex (travel-size packets)

Please purchase small or travel-size items for personal care. We try to send a new toothbrush in every package, so the demand is very high for toothbrushes. Toothpaste tubes get messy; the plastic "bottles" of toothpaste stand up better to the conditions of combat zones. The new "Brush Ups" are very popular


WE CANNOT SEND THESE ITEMS
Kids toys or stuffed animals
Bars of soap
Large games
Aerosol cans
Clothing items of color (Black, White, and Olive Green Acceptable)
Anything Glass
Homemade food items
Pump dispenser style bottles
Large spiral notebooks

Newsletter

Just wanted to let everyone know we are having a volunteer meeting this Friday, September 17th, in the HHAFFA office at 6:00pm. Anyone who wanted shirts should pick them up then. Shirts are 10.00 each. Hope everyone can attend.

Our big event is next Saturday, and we need to make surewe have everything in order. I hope we have a great turnout! Please come join us!

We will also be having a quarterly meeting next Tuesday, on the 21st, at 6:00pm.

I would also like to share some info from Jenny Wray Smith. She is a photographer, here in Lawrence County, and has joined a group called, operation Love Reunited.They take photo's of our military with their families. It sounds like a great program. If anyone is interested, you can contact Jenny through facebook, or let me know, and I will contact her for you. This is the info Jenny sent me.

Letter from Jenny,

OK... so here is how it works, and what I am willing to offer as an Operation: Love Reunited photographer.Servicemen and women are allowed two shoots a year. They can be one of three occasions, departure (call to duty), while you are away (family of the deployed), and Reunited photos (the return home). All of this is explained on www.oplove.org I as a willing participant of this organization, will go anywhere (airport, military base, their home, parks, or even my studio for family of deployed portraits). At the time of the photo shoot, I will have the soldier or family fill out a form with the soldiers deployment mailing address. Shortly after the photo shoot the soldier will receive a 4x6 booklet of the portraits or photos taken. These photos will ONLY BE SENT TO THE SOLDIER, not the family. All of this is ABSOLUTELY FREE OF CHARGE TO THE SOLDIER AND/OR THEIR FAMILIES. If the family would like to view the images or even purchase a copy of their own, they are more than welcome to set up an appointment at the time of the photo session for a later date for viewing or purchase of image copies or enlargements. I WILL NOT SELL THE FAMILY ONE PURCHASING ADDITIONAL COPIES... this will be upon their request only... but I am also willing to offer all reprints and enlargements to the soldiers family for 40% off... again, I will not sell this though. I will NEVER make the family feel obligated to purchase additional photographs! With all of that said, I want you to know that I have the highest of respect for our servicemen and women out there, and I was very excited to join and be accepted as an OpLove Approved Photographer. This is my gift to them, as a thank you for what they are doing for our country and our freedom! In my eyes they are already paying a premium price, and this is the least I can do in return! I know they have no clue at all that this service or organization is available, and honestly, I didn't know of any other way to get the word out to them... then I thought of you and HHAFFA. Feel free to share the www.oplove.org website! My goal is to just send our soldiers a little piece of home.

Again, you may contact Jenny Wray Smith, through facebook.

Thank you, and I hope to see you at the meeting this coming Friday!

GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!!!

Newsletter

Please come join us at the Cloverleaf restaurant Friday Sept. 10th at 6:00pm.Betsy and Joe will be there. Tom and Pat will be there. I will also be there. Also a few other peoplewho have told me they will be there too. It will be a very nice time, and I hope many will be able to attend.

Don't forget the Oolitic parade, this Saturday. Once again, we were told to be there at 1:00pm, the parade starts at 2:00pm.As of now our entry number is #21. However I was told by a committee member, this number could change, due to changes in entries.At this time they have 135 entries. But our entry will not go any further back. There is a chance our number might get closer to the front.But as of now it is #21. We will be easy to find. Please come and march in the parade to show your support. We need people to carry flags, and signs.

Hope to see you soon!
GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!

Newsletter

Just wanted to let everyone know, we will be having our monthly dinner at the Clover Leaf restaurant, next Friday, September 10th at 6:00pm. It's nice to get together for a relaxing dinner and fellowship.

Also the Oolitic parade is Saturday, 09/11. We will be marching in the parade, and I hope many of you can join in and march with us. More important is the date for this parade. We need to really show our support on 09/11. So please join us! The parade starts at 2:00pm, but I was told we should be there about 1:00pm to get ready, and lined up. Again, we were asked to get as many vets to march with us as possible. So if you know anyone who would march with us, please invite them.I would love to see everyone, and really hope you can join in!

Wishing everyone a very happy, and safe Labor Day weekend!