The next time you go shopping, you may want to pick up a few items for our troops. The U.S. Troop Care Package has been meeting the needs of soldiers for the past three years. Founded at the forefront of Operation Iraqi Freedom, on March 19, 2003, U.S. Troop Care Package was created with the purpose of sending care packages to troops.

Jan Sass is the founder of the organization. She was moved to action when she saw anti war protestors displaying an American flag that they had dyed yellow. In response, Jan raised an American flag and counteracted their protest for 60 days. During this time, an onlooker asked her how she could send care packages, and Jann Sass went to work. She took it upon herself to discover the best way to send care packages to the troops and after completing her research; U.S. Troop Care Package was born.

You can visit U.S Troop Care Package online at: http://www.ustroopcarepackage.com and view the “Shopping List”. This is a great way to determine the items that are in the greatest need for our soldiers. Most sizes recommended for care packages are travel sizes, since troops don’t have much room for storage. In fact, they recommend that when you are shopping for care package items, to think as if you were camping, and shop accordingly.

Aerosol sprays and any item that may melt are also prohibited. They also recommend that you use a specific size box for your care package: 81/2” x 11” x 5”. These boxes are Post Office Flat Rate Priority and are the best size to ship your care package easily and efficiently

Some of the products that are troops are in desperate need of include:

Baby Wipes
Laundry Detergent (remember, these should be as small as you can get them
Small trial size or samples of liquid soap, liquid body wash, shampoo, and conditioner
Small bottles of lotion
Hand Sanitizer
Deodorant
Shaving cream
Eye drops such as Visine
Saline drops for sinuses
Small packs of tissue paper
Single rolls of toilet paper
Trial Size Cotton Swabs
Feminine Products: Tampons are best since they are smaller
Disposable razors
Powder (baby and foot)
Mouthwash
Toothpaste
Tooth brush
Dental floss
Vaseline
Lip Therapy (Blistex, Carmex, Chapstick)
Dr. Scholl’s Moleskin foot pads

There are many more items on the shopping list and you can access them for free by visiting the site. You will also discover that they have items categorized as Miscellaneous, Food Items, Crochet, Knitted, and Hand Sewn items, and items explicitly for Operation Comfort.

You can also donate an additional $8.95 to cover the cost of mailing the Care Package to the troops. There is also a special section that discusses donating care packages to medical facilities, such as the Walter Reed facility. Operation Comfort projects include Pillows, neck coolers, and beanies. These items are handcrafted (either by sewing or crocheting) and are a great way for those who are craftier to contribute to the troops.