2019 Holiday Community Partners Program is Now Open!

Who We Are & What We Do

Community Partners team with Soldiers’ Angels to provide support to military families, wounded heroes, deployed service members and veterans. They can be individuals, families, civic groups, businesses, churches, schools, scouts, sororities, or youth groups who have a desire to serve military families.

Holiday Community Partners work specifically during the holiday season to provide cards, letters, and stuffed stockings for our troops and veterans.

How You Can Help

As combat deployments have drawn down many charities, including Soldiers' Angels, have discontinued the acceptance of holiday cards and letters to the troops- the volume of cards and letters exceeded our distribution abilities.

While most charities will not, Soldiers' Angels will continue to accept your holiday cards and letters from our Holiday Community Partner members only! Each card and/or letter must be placed into a stocking filled with goodies for our troops and veterans. Soldiers' Angels will deliver your stockings to a deployed service member or veteran patient.

Important Notes

• Soldiers' Angels will accept registrations for the Holiday Community Partners program now until we reach our capacity to distribute the stuffed stockings.
• Stockings must be sent to your designated area representative no later than December 10, 2019.
• Participants are responsible for any and all shipping costs to get the stockings to the address provided by Soldiers' Angels. Please do not ship your stockings to Soldiers' Angels Headquarters in San Antonio unless you are directed to do so by the coordinator.

Soliciting Donations

Soldiers' Angels has created collection campaigns throughout the year as an opportunity for individuals, businesses, and organizations to come together and give back to our troops and veterans. These collection campaigns are meant to be held in a way that general members of the public (ie, your friends, family, classmates, co-workers, etc.) can donate to the campaign. If you are hosting a collection, please do not solicit cash or in-kind donations from retailers, manufacturers, large corporations, or any other business entity. Due to the nature of those requests and the paperwork involved, solicitation of donations must come directly from Soldiers' Angels. In most cases, we already have a relationship established with many of the major businesses. If you happen to have a connection at a retailer, manufacturer, large corporation, or other business entity that you think would be willing to donate cash or in-kind items to Soldiers' Angels, please reach out to us and we would be happy to contact them. Email: hcp@soldiersangels.org

 

Already Pledged a Stocking? Here Are The Items to Include:

Besides a card and/or letter in each stocking, stockings should also include any combination of the following:

• Slim Jims or Beef Jerky
• Packages of Holiday nuts
• Single serving drink mix packets (i.e. Crystal Light)
• Playing cards
• Puzzle book (Crosswords, Sudoku, Word Find)
• Holiday-themed writing pens or pencil
• Holiday candy (in sealed wrapping or small unopened bags)
• Candy Canes
• Peanut Brittle
• Socks
• Travel-sized games
• Card games (Uno, Phase 10)
• Stress balls (holiday-themed preferred)
• Gloves (preferably black; winter; one size fits all)
• Single serving cookie packages
• Apple cider packets (must be in Ziploc baggies in case the packets break)
• Hot chocolate (must be in Ziploc baggies in case the packets breaks)
• Small notepads
• Holiday-themed lip balm (wrapping and scent)
• Caps (warm winter)
• Other holiday-themed items

All food items should be store-bought. If you are interested in baking, please check out the Soldiers' Angels Angel Baker Team.

Please AVOID putting the following items in the stockings:

• NO GLASS (containers, ornaments, etc)
• NO SHARP OBJECTS (safety pins, razors)
• NO PRODUCTS CONTAINING ALCOHOL (some mouthwash, hand sanitizer, some colognes)
• NO AEROSOLS
• NO HAND SANITIZER

Stockings need to be fastened at the top. Please leave approximately 3-4” from the top to secure items. Suggested methods: 

• A knit stocking cap makes a great fastener and a useful item to include. Please see image.
• Large black paper binders/clips
• Shoelace threaded through holes punched in top and tied
• NO safety pins (not allowed in most VA hospitals)
• NO staples

Packaging:

Please ensure you carefully pack the stockings with newspaper, packing peanuts, or bubble wrap to ensure minimal damage to stockings during shipping. Please do not ship in extra-large boxes and keep box weight to less than 40 pounds.

Please remember to enclose either a small card or handwritten note inside the stocking to let the service member or veteran know you’re thinking of them.

Thank you for your support and let’s bring a little cheer to their lives this holiday season!

 

More questions? Email hcp@soldiersangels.org

 

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