Show Your Appreciation to Deployed Soldiers Through Letter Writing
September 5, 2024
Letter Writing is not a lost art here at Soldiers’ Angels. Our Angels (Virtual Volunteers) take pride in sending letters to Deployed Service Members as a way to brighten their day. It’s just one of the many ways we try to ensure they feel appreciated. It’s nice to let Service Members know that there are complete strangers who are grateful for what they do for our country.
If you’re looking to give back in some way and show you’re appreciation, letter writing may be right up your alley!
How it works
When you sign up to become a verified Angel, you are joining a community of volunteers who work together to support our cause of ensuring “no Service Member goes unloved.” The first step is to become verified. For the safety and security of our troops, we do not release addresses for Deployed Service Members or units to anyone who has not been verified. Verification happens one of two ways:
- Get verified through a third-party background check company called Verified First.*
- Set up a one-time or recurring donation using a credit card. The donation amount can be as little as $1! (a simpler and faster way for us to verify that you are not signing up under an alias).
*This option uses a Social Security Address Trace from Verified First, a third-party background check company. Soldiers’ Angels covers the cost. After registration, Verified First will email you a form requiring your date of birth and Social Security Number. This is not a credit check and does not have any impact on your credit. Soldiers’ Angels never see this information you enter on the form. The check takes 24-72 hours.
Filling out the form is easy. Once you register through our website, you will get an email from [email protected] that provides you with a username and a link to set up your password. This is where you will log in to regularly check and sign up for opportunities. Please add [email protected] to your contacts. If you don’t see it, be sure to check your spam folder.
From there, you can log in and choose who you’d like to send letters to and get to and start writing letters.
Send as many letters as you want
The number of letters you send is up to you. You can choose to send letters daily, weekly, or monthly. We have some letter writers who write as many as 21 letters per week!
“You just don’t know how much we appreciate how much you do for us. Days like today my head was down, until I got your postcards. A lot of us have families that don’t even take the time out to write, whether it’s on Facebook or paper. It’s a special feeling just to get mail, just to know you’re being thought about is a blessing…We love you all and thank you for your appreciation.” – Specialist Harris
Get creative
You don’t have to send hand-written or typed letters – get creative! Here are some ideas:
- Christmas cards
- Postcards
- Greeting cards
- Get your kids involved and send drawings or artwork
- Write poems
Your letters do not have to be long. They can be as simple as a thank you note or more in-depth with why you’re writing and a little background about yourself.
More on what to write here: How to Write Your First Letter
Setting expectations
While the Service Members who receive letters have signed up to receive them, they are not required to write back. Sometimes, Service Members don’t want to write back, sometimes they are unable to write back, and sometimes, they just want to read letters and don’t feel like writing. Don’t get your hopes up when sending letters but know that they mean a great deal to the recipients.
If you are looking for a “pen pal,” you should know that the Service Members you write to may not write back. If they do, do not expect any Service Member to give you personal information or details about their family. Leave it up to them to write what they are comfortable writing, and please be respectful of their privacy.
If you are looking for some sort of friendship or relationship with a Service Member, please know that this is not the purpose of our work. Our mission is to ensure that every Service Member feels appreciated in some way. Many Service Members either do not hear from their families while they’re Deployed or don’t have families to send them letters. It’s not about playing matchmaker; it’s about showing respect and appreciation for their sacrifices and service to our country. If this is your expectation, please do not sign up to be an Angel Volunteer.
We get lots of letters and emails from Service Members once they come home thanking us for the support and letters they received while they were Deployed! Receiving letters means so much to them.
“The correspondence that has been shared for years, the pouring of something I still read today. I was in such a state years ago I didn’t know what to think, where I was or really who was who to include myself, my heart wanted to keep trying though after so many words of encouragement, prayer and gratitude from people I’ve never met.This was years ago, I just wanted to express how deeply thankful I was and still continue to be, for something that provided a means to stay in the walk.” – Tina
“I know that you write out of the goodness of your heart, many of you writing countless letters, which often go unanswered. You write and mail packages and pray for everyone here, the best our country has to offer. I know that it might get a bit discouraging sometimes, sending letters and packages into the “big black hole of the Middle East” and you must wonder sometimes if you are making a difference. Well that is why I am writing this… to tell you are making a HUGE DIFFERENCE!”
