Support Our Soldiers – Thank a US servicemember today!
Written: Jul 03 '00 (Updated Jul 12 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: A wonderful site dedicated to supporting our servicemembers
Cons: none
|
|
|
| saprswife's Full Review: Archived Web Services Reviews |
SOS – Support Our Soldiers
http://www.opsos.net
“Never letting the military forget we care.”
Support Our Soldiers is the brainchild of one woman whose brother entered the Army Chemical Corps several years ago. She set up SOS for a single purpose – to see that every deployed servicemember is not forgotten. In its brief 2 ½ year history SOS has flourished, sending out over 20,000 letters, emails, and care packages to our U.S. troops.
These brave men and women have volunteered to serve in our armed forces, but have no choice as to where they are deployed…it’s the nature of the beast. Many are serving unaccompanied tours (ie, they must leave children and spouses behind) in Korea from anywhere between 12 to 18 months. Some are keeping the peace in such places as Bosnia and Kosovo, while others are on float rotations aboard ships throughout the world. We have troops all over the globe and one thing is certain: they could all use a little morale boosting and support. Nobody, no matter what his or her political views may be, can dispute that this, indeed, is a noble sacrifice on their part.
SOS is dedicated to supporting servicemembers through a variety of avenues…letters, chats, pen pals, message boards, and the list goes on. When you enter the SOS site you will be greeted by the Star and Stripes, waving proudly. Underneath you will find every page on SOS divided into a variety of military-themed categories such as “Mission Briefing,” “The Barracks,” “Recruit Station,” and “The Mail Room.”
The “Mail Room” is the heart of SOS. This is where internet users can write an electronic letter (e-letter) to a soldier. It is essentially a form that you fill out…name, address, and the body of your letter. These are then sent to volunteers who format the letters, print them out, and then send them overseas. SOS does not only receive letters from US citizens, but from all over the world. People from Britain, Australia, and even Bosnia have sent letters of support to our troops. Children are also getting into the spirit as many classes have made this a project and each child sends his or her own letter.
So where have all these letters been sent? They have literally been shipped all over the world, including Japan, Bosnia, Korea, Kosovo, Germany, Italy, and Egypt. They have also been sent to sailors and Marines aboard several ships such as the USS Enterprise and the USS JFK.
If you would prefer to handwrite a letter or even send a card or care package, you can access the SOS address book or join the mailing list to have addresses sent to you as they are submitted. Not sure what to send someone overseas? No need to worry. SOS has a care package idea section full of fun and practical items that are often needed or wanted by troops.
SOS has several ongoing projects including Operation Cover-up, Operation Celebration, the Candles Across America Campaign, and the Name Wall. (For more info on all the different projects please visit their website.)
Operation Celebration deserves a special mention. For Operation Celebration, a deployed unit is chosen and letters are printed on festive paper. A date for mailing is set about 2 weeks before a holiday (Christmas, Memorial Day, etc…). Everyone mails letters and care packages on that day in hopes that everything will arrive within a few days of the holiday. A portion of my husband’s unit was deployed for several months to Egypt over Halloween last year. They were inundated with letters, cards, and care packages for about two weeks. Almost a year later, these soldiers still talk about the generosity of everyone.
The past two years civilians have been given the chance to adopt a soldier for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year an entire company (over 125 people) from Ft Lewis were adopted when they deployed to Kosovo. In total, over 500 civilians were matched with soldiers all over the world.
Here are a few more of the many features SOS has to offer:
- Free web-based email accounts
- Message boards
- Letter to a Vet (sent to veteran’s hospitals around the U.S.)
- Pen pal ads
- Volunteer job listings
- Support links
- Military humor
- Online cookbook
If you happen to lose your way or have a question, look for the “Human Click” icon at the bottom of nearly every page. There is usually someone manning the site during the day to help anyone in need. Just call this the SOS Customer Service, if you will.
How can you help?
Write a letter, send a care package, link your website to SOS via their webring, or even think about becoming an SOS volunteer. You can also make a donation through Pay Pal; as of yesterday, SOS is now an official non-profit organization. (Donations are used to purchase stamps and mailing and printing supplies.)
The next time you look out your window and think of the freedoms we as Americans have and so often take for granted, why not show your appreciation through a quick letter written at SOS? That note may just brighten the day of someone serving a lonely tour of duty thousands of miles away in a distant and hostile land.
For another perspective of SOS please read the great review written by pennyruba, http://www.epinions.com/webs-review-2FA2-11175B5E-3956B1B9-prod5 .
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
saprswife
|
|
Location: Washington State
Reviews written: 75
Trusted by: 104 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.