I packed up a miniature Christmas tree, tiny little ornaments, and my best cookie recipe in a Christmas Stocking to send him a little Holiday cheer. ‘Tis the season to be jolly, after all.

Six years and three kids later, we treasure each Holiday we have together.

There are many soldiers who have spent most of their special days apart from their loved ones. You can show appreciation for their sacrifice with a care package or even just a handwritten note. It is a small thing but it may mean the world to a deployed soldier and his family.

Cheerios and the USO have made it even easier to sendCheer with postcards on specially marked boxes of Cheerios.

On the way back one night, the kids fell asleep in the car. So, I popped into Walmart while my husband waited with them.

I searched and searched and even asked at Customer Service but no luck! This Walmart did not have the Cheerios in the specially marked box.

This minor setback turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I was able to go back the next day with my kids! Involving them was much more fun. I told them that we had a special mission to find boxes of Cheerios with a postcard to cut out. I explained that these boxes help sendCheer to soldiers, like Daddy, who are away from their families.

Success! My daughter spotted the boxes and the kids counted out ten.

Uh, oh. I think we need a cart!

Locked and loaded and ready to head for the checkout counter…

The woman at the checkout counter saw the loaded cart and asked if we were making treats. “Yes!” exclaimed the kids, “For the soldiers!” I pointed out the postcard on the box and explained that we were going to send off the card and bake some treats.

Once we loaded up the car, we dropped a few boxes off at friends’ houses so that they can send their own postcards. We are also donating two boxes through my daughter’s school’s food drive.

When we got home, my daughter cut the card off the box and wrote a little note to a soldier.

She wanted to write a longer note but there was just enough room for “thank you!” and some drawings.

After, we baked some treats that we’ll send off in a carepackage.  Cheerios has a great website with recipes.  We decided to make the marshmallow bars and add a little hazelnut spread to the mixture.

My kids were so pleased to have completed their special mission to help soldiers, like Daddy! I told them the story of Daddy’s Christmas Tree in a stocking and now they want to send carepackages to lots of soldiers!

Here’s your mission: Next time you are in your local Walmart, keep an eye out for the special displays of marked packages of Cheerios. Cut out the card and write a little note.  When you drop it in the mail, you’ll sendCheer to a servicemember and General Mills will donate $1 to the USO.

—
This post has been compensated as part of a sponsored charitable opportunity for Collective Bias.

Never would I have imagined that I would find myself married to an officer in the U.S. Army.

And yet, there I was.  One minute I was living in Manhattan, married to a lawyer at one of the top firms in New York City, and the next I found myself trying to find a decent Italian place near Fort Hood, Texas.

Once I got over the shock, I dove right in. I’d like to say it was altruistic but really it was a way to get my bearings. By volunteering as a Family Readiness Group leader and pitching in as part of various committees on post, I got a crash course on being part of the military family.

And that love returned to us many times over. While my husband was deployed to Iraq, he received hundreds of postcards and care packages. While a letter may seem like a small thing, knowing that people back at home appreciate you keeps many of our servicemembers going. Five years later, my husband still keeps a binder of each and every letter he received.

We are back in New York and my husband has returned to his law career. He still serves in the National Guard and we do what we can to return a small fraction of the support we received while he was active duty. Whether the kids are stuffing backpacks with their friends for the children of enlisted servicemembers or baking cookies and making Valentines or Veteran’s Day cards for our local veterans, we are grateful for the men and women of our military, past and present.

Cheerios has asked me to share how easy they have made it to “sendCheer” to military families as part of a partnership with the USO. All you have to do is cut out and mail postcards from specially marked Cheerios boxes. A military servicemember will get your thoughtful note and Cheerios will donate $1 for each card to the USO.

I want you to know that your recognition of those who serve is appreciated. A box of cookies, a package of toiletries, even a simple note reminds our warriors why they fight.

—

Disclosure: This post has been compensated as part of a sponsored charitable opportunity for Collective Bias.

Check out this donation from EZ Grill–they are supporting the USO in their work to improve morale for troops and their families:

For many, Memorial Day Weekend means spending time with family and friends, enjoying the holiday vacation, taking trips or just firing up the grill for the first of many summer nights ahead. For all of us, Memorial Day is also a time of remembrance for all who have served us – family, friends, classmates, neighbors and more.

We know families like yours will be celebrating and honoring our troops all across the nation this Memorial Day, and we want to do our part as well. EZ Grill is donating $2 from the sale of every grill to the USO, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to lift the spirits of our troops and their families. Our hope is that this support will help ensure even more of our troops at home and abroad receive the life-altering support provided by the USO.

Visit http://on.fb.me/EZMemorialDay for more information.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored announcement from EZ Grill.

Thank you to Procter & Gamble, Kroger and the USO for sponsoring this blog post and the Shake Hands With A Hero initiative. Please click here to learn more about this program. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

I don’t just shake hands with a hero–my hero is my husband.It has been an honor and a privilege to support him in his service these past seven years.

Like other heroes, though, he will tell you he is just doing his duty.

He left his job as a litigator at a New York City law firm to enter basic training and later accept a commission as a field artillery officer. In December of 2005, he deployed to Iraq. For almost a year he led a mission into Baghdad almost every day, sometimes twice a day. He saw violence but he also bore witness to hope as he brought diplomats and dignitaries to see the situation on the ground for themselves.

Along the way, he missed Christmas and a year’s worth of Holidays and birthdays and celebrations.  He found out we were having our first child over the phone.  And he was not there for the birth of his first child.

He carried 90 pounds of gear in 140 degree weather and led men through a war zone because that is what his country asked of him.

But he never lost his sense of purpose and his humanity–or his willingness to amuse a child with a magic trick. And he never lost sight of his mission and he brought each and everyone of his soldiers home.

When our brave men and women of the armed forces put themselves in harm’s way, they are sacrificing their comfort and safety for our own.

They voluntarily leave their own warm homes, missing anniversaries, kids’ games and recitals, and even births, so that the rest of us do not have to.

Military service in today’s world is a choice, which is all the more reason to thank our soldiers.  They could choose to be doing just about anything else–but instead they are on the front lines of freedom, fighting the battles our elected civilian leaders have chosen.

While my husband was deployed, he was “adopted” by a number of members of Soldier’s Angels.  They sent him so many postcards and letters, all of which he filed in a giant binder that we still keep today.

A postcard, a handshake, an e-mail may seem like a small thing.  To someone who is far from home, though, these gestures let them know that their sacrifices are appreciated.

Today’s warriors don’t fight for land or treasure or glory–they fight for you.

As part of their partnership with the USO, Kroger and Procter & Gamble P&G have created an opportunity to let consumers virtually “shake hands with a hero” – the proper custom to show your gratitude to US soldiers in uniform to thank them for their service to our country. The first 50,000 people who utilize the microsite application (at www.honoringourheroes.com) to shake a soldier’s hand will receive a coupon (loaded to their Kroger Plus Card) for $1 off P&G products.

Money is tight everywhere and people are struggling to ensure their kids have opportunities and the families of our soldiers are no exception. Most of our National Guard serves part time until activated for deployment. These soldiers work full time jobs besides their one weekend a month, two weeks a year training obligations. However, like too many other Americans, some of these soldiers have lost their full-time jobs in the latest economic downturn.

There are laws to protect our servicemembers but it is possible that the frequent deployments and training commitments have made some of these soldiers first on the list to go at their workplaces.

Most families do not want their soldier to spend time away from the family but for some, active duty becomes the most economically safe option. Just imagine looking forward to a deployment just so your family has a steady paycheck!

There are a number of agencies and volunteer groups that try to fill in the gaps of the needs of our servicemembers and their families. For example, Operation Homefront’s Backpack Brigade supplies backpacks full of supplies to eligible military families every year.

Elmer’s selected me as a paid Bag It Forward ambassador and gave me a $100 gift card to Walmart to purchase school supplies for my daughter and for a family in need. I was thrilled to be able to donate the full amount to the back-to-school supply drive for the enlisted soldiers’ families in my husband’s National Guard unit. Some of the members of my local moms’ group chipped in with more backpacks and supplies, too.

After the video, find out about how you can Bag It Forward and earn a $10 donation for Adopt-A-Classroom. Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom to aid their mission to increase opportunity for student success by empowering teachers with community partners and funds to purchase resources for the classroom. You can help end teacher-funded classrooms with just a blog post or facebook note!

—
Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom with your participation. Join now!

ELMER’S VIRTUAL BAG IT FORWARD RULES

• Copy and paste these rules into your blog post or facebook “note” (look on yourr left sidebar).
• In you blog post or facebook note, give a “virtual bag of school supplies” to other bloggers or facebook friends by linking to them or “tagging” them in your note.
• Link back to the person who gave you a bag of school supplies.
• Let each person you are giving a virtual bag of school supplies know you have given them a bag.
• Leave your link in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward comment section. You can also find the official rules of this virtual #bagitforward program there. (http://bagitforward.org/donate-a-bag/)
• Elmer’s is donating $10 for each blog participating in the Virtual Bag It Forward Donation to Adopt-A-Classroom (up to total of $10,000 for blog posts written by September 10, 2010).
• Please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.

My husband is a veteran of the war in Iraq.  He has served as an Active Duty Field Artillery officer and currently commands a National Guard Battery.  I am incredibly proud of him and all of those who have served with, before, and after him.  I am also so very grateful that he came home to us–to me and his infant daughter–and that he has had the opportunity to see her grow and to add our son to our family.

Some of our veterans have not returned home.  And some who have returned home are severely injured, with long paths to recovery.  Hospitalization and extensive therapy are trying under the best of circumstances.

During National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week (February 7-13), you can make a small token of your appreciation for these brave soldiers.  Valentines for Veterans can help boost morale and send the message that we are thinking of those who serve.

With my playgroup, I made some Valentines and I am bringing them to my nearest VA Hospital.

As part of a project with Bloganthropy, I am posting about this effort to earn a donation of clothing for Sew Much Comfort from Dollar Days.

Sew Much Comfort provides adaptive clothing at no cost to support the unique needs of our injured service members from all branches of the military and national guard. This clothing fits around medical devices and prosthetics and gives the service member and medical personnel ready access to injured areas. The adapted clothing allows injured service members to have their clothing appear the same as normal civilian attire; an attribute which helps facilitate a more natural and comfortable recovery. Without adaptive clothing the only option for the service member is a hospital gown.

Through the volunteer efforts of seamstresses and donations of money, clothing and fabric, Sew Much Comfort has been able to provide over 75,000 pieces of adaptive clothing and comfort.

How YOU can help:

• You can make Valentines for Veterans, too! Locate your nearest VA hospital and call to make sure they can accept your Valentines.  Canada also salutes its vets during this week and has some tips on making Valentines for Vets.
• Comment: Dollar Days will donate $50 retail value in clothing for this post, plus $50 more if I receive at least 10 comments.  The total donation will be well over $1000 worth of clothing.  So, please comment!  A list of other posts will be posted on Bloganthropy this week.
• Donate to Sew Much Comfort: Sew Much Comfort provides adaptive clothing free of charge to wounded veterans and is able to do so through generous donations and volunteer hours. Financial donations are always helpful and there is also a list of needed clothing and fabric.  Sew Much Comfort specifically would love to receive t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirt or sweat shirts with logos of local sports teams in any area of the United States (size large is most needed). The wounded soldiers love having sport themed clothing but it is hard to get unless you live in that state.
• Volunteer with Sew Much Comfort: Sew Much Comfort relies on its 1600+ volunteer seamstresses to make clothing for wounded soldiers–and they can always use another pair of hands. If you know your way around a sewing machine, find out more about volunteering here.

The organization will support the volunteer projects of our fellow bloggers, publish posts about social media and non-profits, and implement 6-12 Bloganthropy charitable projects a year.

We’re currently looking for volunteer bloggers to make Valentines for Veterans and help earn a donation of clothing for Sew Much Comfort.  Click here to read more details and volunteer!

And while you are there, please take the Bloganthropy Pledge–promising to use your social media influence to support your charitable causes!

Found via Cool Mom Picks (via Fairly Odd Mother), these military support groups will accept your candy for care packages for our troops:

• Any Soldier
• Operation Shoebox
• Operation Gratitude (you have to ship to California, first)

They also have some great children’s charities listed if you’d prefer to drop off your remaining candy locally.

Some local dentists are also hosting candy “buy back” programs, giving out stickers, toothbrushes, and even sometimes cash for the candy and then taking the boxes of sweets and donating them for you.