Pictures from Camp Eggers

Today Suitcase4Soldiers received in the mail a letter of appreciation from Camp Eggers in Afghanistan as well as some pictures!

The 3 trunks collected by Pearland High School's National Honor Society arrived at Camp Eggers on November 4, just after Halloween. The troops there, a mixture of US and Coalition forces, were very excited to receive the trunks full of goodies and expressed their appreciation in a letter:

Thank you to Pearland NHS for helping Suitcase4Soldiers in this venture!

October: Pearland High School NHS

This past month, Pearland High School's National Honor Society collected items to send to soldiers through Suitcase4Soldiers. They collected 3 trunkfuls of items - and then some! Suitcase4Soldiers is very grateful to have such a great group of people collecting items to send to those who serve us.
Pictures below!

All of their items before loading into the car!

Loading a filled trunk and many additional shopping bags full of items to send into the car!

Suitcase4Soldiers Founder Ashley Easterly with Pearland NHS President Saydi Wollney

Unloading the car to sort through items and load the trunks!

It's busy work on a hot October day!

"Suitcase4Soldiers. Love, Pearland HS NHS" - Founder Ashley Easterly poses with the 3 trunks full of items to send to soldiers, including special Halloween goodies!

Thank you, Pearland National Honor Society!

Information on Shipments

Hello!

I have some information on upcoming shipments! From now through March, several groups have signed up to volunteer for Suitcase4Soldiers. The Schedule is as follows:

Collections:
September - Pearland High School National Honor Society
November - Friendswood High School FCCLA
January - Pearland High School Student Council
February - Classical Conversations Clear Lake

Shipping Days:
October 1 - Pearland High School National Honor Society
December 1 - Friendswood High School FCCLA
February 1 - Pearland High School Student Council
March 1 - Classical Conversations Clear Lake

In addition, Friendswood High School National Honor Society and Wranglerettes have expressed interest in participating, so spots are going fast!

Suitcase4Soldiers is looking for partners to help with collections in October and December for Shipping Days in Novemeber and January, respectively.

If interested in helping out, please do not hesitate to contact Ashley Easterly at suitcase4soldiers@att.net.


Thank you!

Pictures from Afghanistan

Hello there!


Some news from Afghanistan! The Lone Star Batallion from Houston based in Afghanistan right now received the trunk that Suitcase4Soldiers sent! We received some photos back via email that are posted below.


Here is the letter of thanks we received from the soldiers:

"Ashley,

We recently received the Suit Case Trunk full of goodies for our Marines and Sailors at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan.  I personally saw to it that our 1/23 Marines and Sailors received the items you sent and witnessed them selecting the items they wanted.

Attached are a couple of photos of that distribution project.  You will receive the pictures in several emails because they exceed the allowable limit in one email.  These are Charlie Company Marines who had just returned from a patrol in the Helmund Province District.  They were hungry and in need of support.

1464 - Our IED Robot taking the first item.

1462 - A Marine taking some beef jerky.

1448 - Marines gathered around the mystery box (containing the items you sent) about to be opened.

The Marines are very grateful for all the generosity, love and support you have shown to us.  Words are not enough to express our deep appreciation for you and your support.  You have a great heart.  Please keep up the great work and encouraging our troops.

Many Blessings,

Chaplain Mucha"

Also, I know you have all been waiting for this news - Suitcase4Soldiers was selected as a grant winner through the Pepsi Refresh Project. We have received a grant of $5,000 to be used by March of 2012. We have many events planned for the near future, so keep checking back for more updates!

Before the mystery trunk was opened

after the mystery trunk was opened

June Shipment to Afghanistan

Hello All!
Before we get to the most recent shipment, some good news was received for Suitcase4Soldiers! Suitcase4Soldiers was a finalist in the Pepsi Refresh project competition, and we are currently in the validation process to receive a $5,000 grant from Pepsi refresh and Global Giving.

Now to the shipment!
We collected a multitude of items to send to the 1/23 Lone Star Batallion, from Houston, currently stationed in Afghanistan. We received many donations for this shipment - we couldn't fit it all! The extras will go in our July/August shipment. More details about that later!

Here are some pictures of our shipment!

Nifty little fans and things

We bought some fans and batteries for the soldiers to keep cool on those hot summer days in the desert

Ramen is a great food item to send!

Just some of the items we shipped this week: Trail mix, lemon drops, beef jerky, Ramen, fans, mints, and drink mixes.

The trunk was filled!

We stuffed that trunk full!

There was some variety in brands this time: Kool-Aid, Propel, Crystal Light, Slim-Jims, Jack's Links, Walmart brand Beef Jerky, Breathsavers, Peppermints, Gatorade Drink Mixes, Country Time Lemonade... 

Suitcase4Soldiers is on it's way to Afghanistan!

An Update on Pepsi Refresh, and Information on the next shipment

Hello all!

A Quick Update on the Pepsi Refresh voting.
We're currently ranked number 14, but have been fluctuating from 9 to 14 in the past week.
Again, here's how you can help:
You can vote daily for my project. There are 3 ways to do so:

1. Visit http://www.refr
esheverything.com/suitcase4soldiers . Click "Vote for this idea." It will ask you to sign in. You can do so by using Facebook Connect or by creating an account with Pepsi. (It's very fast and easy - basic information like your name and email. It will send you a confirmation email, and then you're ready to go.) Once you have signed in, you will again need to go to http://www.refr
esheverything.com/suitcase4soldiers and again click "Vote for this Idea." It will say "Thanks for voting!" You can do this once daily from now until May 31.

2. You can TEXT a vote. (Standard texting rates apply- all this means is as long as you have a texting plan, which most people do, you can do so. There is no extra charge for texting a vote.) Text 105672 to Pepsi (73774). You can do this once daily from now through May 31.

3. You can purchase specially marked Pepsi products (they'll say "Power Vote" on them). These products have a special 10 digit code either under the cap or inside the box. Go again to http://www.refr
esheverything.com/suitcase4soldiers and click "Power Vote for this idea" and enter in the special code for up to 100 extra votes. Then go back again to http://www.refr
esheverything.com/suitcase4soldiers and use your Power Votes to vote. You can enter up to 10 codes per day through May 31.






And an update on our next shipment:
Next, we will be shipping to Marines from Houston currently in Afghanistan.
We will be collecting all of the usual items in addition to some special ones.  In addition, this month's theme is summer! We will be collecting handheld fans and batteries (available at Dollar Tree) to send along with other items, as summers in the Middle East can get extremely hot!
We will also be collecting special hand sanitizers from Bath and Body Works. Currently, there are special 4th of July/Memorial day hand sanitizers at Bath and Body Works. The scents are Apple Pie, Smores, and Blueberry Pancake. We thought this would be a great idea as it shows our support in a Patriotic way. They are currently priced at 5 for $5. (Visit the Bath and Body Works website to find out more.)

So, let us know if you would like to help! Email suitcase4soldiers@att.net !

VOTE For Suitcase4Soldiers on Pepsi Refresh

Hello All!
Some good news was received today for Suitcase4Soldiers!

In April I filled out an application for the Pepsi Refresh project. Pepsi Refresh is basically a program that gives out a variety of grants for submitted projects across the nation.

I applied for a $5,000 grant to help my project expand back in April. Mid-April, I received notification that my application was "randomly selected" for further review.
Today (notably my birthday and the day we received the news of Osama Bin Laden's death) I received an email that Suitcase4Soldiers was selected for the voting process.

Currently, my project is ranked 28th out of around 150 projects in the "Communities" section. Out of hundreds of submissions and 4 categories, 20 $5K grants are given out each month, averaging to about 5 grants per category.

Voting began today and continues until May 30th. In order to vote, you either must Log In using FacebookConnect or create a Pepsi Account (which is a very quick and easy process). Each person gets 5 votes daily, but a maximum of one vote per project. Which means that you can vote for Suitcase4Soldiers once daily, unless you use Power Voting.
Power Voting is available to all who purchase Pepsi Products. In order to access PowerVoting, You can purchase any Pepsi product and enter the 10 digit code on the Pepsi refresh website. With Power Voting, you can give up to 100 votes per product purchased, and you can use up to 10 codes per day.
You can also vote by text message once a day! Text the number 105672 to Pepsi (73774) to vote.

Here is the link for voting:
http://www.refresheverything.com/suitcase4soldiers

SO GET TO VOTING!
TELL YOUR FRIENDS!
BLOG ABOUT IT!
TWEET IT!
FACEBOOK IT!

March Shipment

Our most recent shipment was March 16, 2011.
Included in the shipment were Camouflage plastic Easter Eggs filled with assorted chocolates, and Ramen Noodles.

In the car with eggs

Outside the Post Office

Inside the Post Office, Addressing the Boxes

The box arrived Mid-March, and the soldiers enjoyed every bit of it!

February Shipment

On February 18th, we sent a box full of Girl Scout Cookies and Ramen Noodles to Iraq. The box arrived  March 4th.

Pictures Arriving Soon!

January Shipment

January Shipment, our first shipment, was sent on January 15, 2011, and arrived in Iraq on February 11, 2011.

The shipment included Ramen Noodles, toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, instant drink mixes, lemonade, iced tea packets, instant coffee, deoderant, coloring books, stationary, and Letters from elementary students.

Pictures Below:

Founder Ashley Easterly with some items sent in first shipment

Westwood Elementary Students with their letters written to troops

letter, note written to soldier from Kindergarten student

letter

card written by elementary student

Opening the trunk!

The trunk arrived safely in Iraq!

One soldier exclaimed: "Lemonheads? these are MINE!"

 The first shipment was a success!