TROOP NEEDS

Though the holidays are over, support is needed .  Morale is low.   If you see a soldier stateside helping anyone, offer a sandwich or hot chocolate and please thank them. Let them know ( and our 1st responders) how appreciated they are.

       

We need to get troops waiting for some support adopted or we will be having to personally send out care packages from our home. This support is necessary in the area of prevention…as morale is critical for our deployed servicemen and women. 

TRAGIC FACT: Every 80 minutes, a veteran, including our active duty members, commits suicide.

We have received more than a few emails from troops who are down and sharing that their battle buddies are too with the recent attacks resulting in deaths and many critically wounded overseas.

How we began….

On 9-11, it was our 11 year anniversary as the Homefront Hugs concept was born on 9-11. We  officially began on 10-11-2001 in honor of US Air Force veteran and pilot Steve Schmidt of Charlevoix,Michigan. He served our country in the first Gulf War when the support was not what it should have been for him or his family.  His dedication and ability to perservere with the best attitude and smile through the toughest times makes him the epitome of a true warrior and hero. Despite his challenges in life, Steve is now a dedicated Delta Airlines pilot in Michigan who never forgot his humble American Indian roots and small but sparkling town of Charlevoix thanks to an amazing mother, Claire, may she rest in peace. Charlevoix’s humble beauty and American Indian heritage along Lake Michigan is one of those precious towns that belongs on everyone’s bucket list.

 

 

At Homefront Hugs, we send care packages out every month or more including preparing them for shipping, shopping for supplies requested and morale lifting items, and postage…  if you can help us, let us know.   What we need most right now are volunteers to adopt heroes…We send to both our wounded in over 8 hospitals and our deployed heroes wherever they serve but mainly to Afghanistan.We don’t need funds…we need volunteers from home !

WHAT WE NEED MOST IS YOU.We know after 3 to 6 deployments, morale can get very low and the ones who are left there to serve, have tough assignments in the middle of nowhere in the harsh winters of Afghanistan. Our wounded in over 8 critical hospitals the media do not visit, also need us as they too are stuck sometimes far away from families as they just begin to heal physically and mentally. Morale is key as Operation Enduring Freedom continues.  Thousands of troops have deployed for at least 6 months and 1 year tours of duty and many signed up with us for support as well as  families who need moral support while their hero heals or is deployed again and again.

Why do some of our troops need adoption when they have families or loved ones? The sad fact is many families are struggling to even put food on the table and keep the home fires burning with children, jobs and businesses to keep going if they have not failed already in our economy. Many military families even qualify for food stamps. It is a sad story so few even mention out of pride and privacy but we are here to help. We cannot donate funds but we are here to at least adopt their hero and help send care packages and sometimes even adopt a family to help with morale…and help them find resources when needed. The gratitude will humble you but that is not what we care about or expect. We are honored to thank these silent heroes on the homefront too. Sometimes supporting their family emotionally is the best gift you can give a soldier who is trying not to worry, some home safe, and focus on his or her mission. We thank all our veterans from ALL wars and their brave families.  

     

 

 

 

We hope you are following us with our updates on Twitter @HomefrontHugs and on Facebook at Homefront Hugs USA. 

 

KIDS and Teens

We wish all our awesome kids,teens and college students a super successful year at school and Happy New Year…We love our students who volunteer from home and many who even make Homefront Hugs their Tzedakah project for Bar Mitzvahs or count those volunteer hours for jobs and college…as we do write references after 6 months of volunteering…Mom,Dad or teachers just have to verify you did the volunteer hours.

Email info@HomefrontHugs.org for more info .

Hope you have visited our Kids and Teen page too!

 

 

 

ANOTHER HUGE NEED —> ADOPT A FAMILY

As we mentioned, you can also adopt your own military family of heroes….just look at this easy application and how little it involves…just a kind heart long distance…

AdoptaFamilyVolunteerApplication

Right now we have 4 families waiting including one expectant military Mommy in Germany ( again you only have US postage to worry about) with a toddler whose husband just deployed to the war from there for a long time.

                                                                               

 

 

  

MORALE BOOSTERS

We welcome homemade cards from children and citizens anytime for our wounded and deployed heroes. The price of cards is so high and we prefer your words say more than the cards. Please do not just sign them. If you can add humor or a little prayer or photo, it makes the cards so much more like a hug from home !

Just send them to:

Homefront Hugs

1850 Brookfield Drive

Ann Arbor, MI 48103

Homefront Balloon Hugs and more

Morale is low over in the sandbox and mountains of Afghanistan.

Our troops spend so much time trying to find common bonds with their Afghan villages and families…many of them children.  They have asked us for the following items to help them break the ice and bring a smile to the children caught up in the middle of the war:

packages of balloons

Beanie Babies (only animals please)

Hot Wheels gently used or new

New or Used Lego of any sort

Deflated Soccer Balls with pumps if possible

( www.soccer.com has wonderful cheap balls and pumps)

Footballs

Frisbees

Kites

Where to send these above items and any holiday cards ?

Homefront Hugs USA

 1850 Brookfield Drive

 Ann Arbor, MI 48103 

please  include a note for the troops !

HINT: This is a great project for a family or classroom

MORE  NEEDS for our deployed and wounded heroes

• stamps, stamps, stamps for mailing care packages
• small travel games
• small scented candles to remind them of home
• Neosporin, waterproof bandages
• soft slippers of all sizes for our wounded heroes and socks with traction
• coffee/teas for our nurses and docs who care for our wounded
• blank cards for holidays and birthdays for children and spouses for our troops to send home
• playing cards, frisbees, footballs, and soft footballs for wounded
• handwarmers, footwarmers due to harsh winters
• iTunes Gift cards so troops can download music..super for morale
• harmonicas, musical instruments for morale
• BEEF JERKY and hot sauce of all kinds
• homebaked cookies and chocolate only from NOV to FEB 2013
• poker cards and travel games
• chess
• mag flashlights (especially the very small kind)
• U shaped neck pillows for travel for our deployed and wounded heroes
• Calendars for 2013 all types to send some hugs of home
• Soft cozy hand knit socks and scarves for our wounded troops
• hand made quilts and warm gloves and socks for sleeping in harsh winter

• We  welcome NEW magazine subscriptions to our Homefront Hugs address below which we send on monthly to heroes: 
• Readers Digest,  Fishing, Hunting, Golf, Oprah, Ebony,
• Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, Mens Health, Self, Cosmopolitan, National Geographic, People, Maxim, Parenting, Family Circle, Real Simple, Cesars Way, Dog Sport, Car and Driver, Cat Fancy, Field and Stream, Hot Rod,
• Road and Track, Nascar Illustrated, Motorcyclist, Bow Hunter, Hot Bike,
• Time, Flying, Plane and Pilot,  Air and Space , Country Gardens, Essence, Newsweek, US News, Latina

 

Our address:

Homefront Hugs USA

1850 Brookfield Drive

Ann Arbor,MI 48103

 

THANK YOU FRIENDS as our heroes need us more than ever

giving their all for our safety and freedoms.

Feel free to use the PSA announcement below and any of our photos to help spread the needs especially as we need troops adopted so urgently.

SPECIAL PSA ANNOUNCEMENT FOR MEDIA:

Our deployed troops and their brave military families need us more than ever as the war continues in Afghanistan especially with the holidays almost here. BE A HERO, ADOPT A HERO (TM) through WWW Homefront Hugs dot org or emailAdoptions@HomefrontHugs.org as hundreds hope and wait to be adopted who don’t have any support. Your country needs you. Please please help us make sure NO HERO IS FORGOTTEN. From our hearts to yours, thank you and Homefront Hugs to all.