November 28th Meeting

Hi everyone,

I can't wait to see all of you at Reader's Club on Wednesday! Hope you all have been reading over your break. Can't wait to hear  about the great books you all have read recently. Our new suggested read is The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In a Ship of Her Own Making. Thank you Zoe for the suggestion!

We still need someone to bring snacks on Wednesday. If someone could volunteer, that would be great. It can be literally anything: Little Debbies, mini donuts, a pack of cookies, or even grapes :D. 

I still need Nico, Cameron B., Cameron C., Zoe, Tim, Isaac, and Ariel to sign up for the review blog. I know that Justin and Andrea have been having problems, so I'll try to work that out. If anyone else is having trouble, then please contact me. Thank you to those of you who were able to sign up! I will give candy to those of you who can sign up this week. 

Even more candy is available for anyone who writes a review! It doesn't even have to be long. For example, you can write five reviews and receive five pieces of candy. We got our first batch of QR codes in last week, so hopefully we'll have more soon. 

We broke people up into groups last week for Books for Soldiers. If you signed up then please participate! This is a great activity for our men in uniform. Different people in each group will have a different job

  

Here is the group we decided to do.

Roy Morreale
Bravo Co. 203BSB 3HBCT
APO AE  09330

Request: There are 77 troops in Bravo Co. If you could please send books for all. thank you

mod note: Please do not send religious or political titles as they were not specifically asked for.  Also, please no romances.  ~nelled

Quote

Hello, Thank you for getting back to me. I have asked a few people about the types of books that they like and most of them said science fiction type books, harry potter, hunger games, Eragon etc. Also Ipods or anything like that would be great also if you wanted to. Because of the name Books for Soldiers I really thought all you donate is Books. Really anything you donate would be greatly appreciated no matter what it is. I do not know of anyone that is not getting any mail from back home but thank you for the offer. Thank you again for getting back to me. This will really mean a lot to our Soldiers.

Group 1

Book- The Hunger Games: Maddy

Care Package Stuff: Grace

Mailing Package: Sam Lev

Thank you card: Tim

Group 2

Book- The Lost Hero: Marisa

Care Package Stuff: Cameron

Mailing Package: Chani

Thank you card: Zoe

Group 3

Book- Eragon: Ciera

Care Package Stuff: Katherine

Mailing Package: Ariel

Thank you card: Layne

When you have your stuff together, bring it to Mrs. Ziegler in the Media Center by December 12th. I'll bring them to the post office. 

If you missed it, here is the info for care packages and mailing guidelines. Please follow them and make sure you get the right kind of package!

Care Package Guidelines

Avoid sending any type of food unless you personally know the soldier you are sending to. These days, most throw it away if they do not know the sender.

Here are some alternative items that would be better than food…

AT&T phone cards
Baby wipes and body wipes
Batteries (AA)
Dental floss
Mouthwash
Waterless hand sanitizer
Eye drops
Saline nasal spray
Deodorant
Black sunglasses
Chapstick
Sunscreen
Foot powder
Disposable razors
Soap (non-scented because bugs like scented items)
Shampoo (non-scented because bugs like scented items)
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Baggies with Zip Lock
Tube Socks
“Gold Bond” type anti-fungal powders
fleece gloves, scarves and blankets
lotion (non-scented because bugs like scented items)
Lidocane 4% cream

For food, we recommend that ANYTHING you send be packaged and factory sealed. Due to concerns for the health and safety of the soldiers, and as much as we don’t want to say this, please do not send home-cooked anything to soldiers other then to your relatives or people who know you. Factory packaged only. Sorry. The soldiers are told to throw away anything that is not in a factory package.

We also recommend that all food items be sent in an individual zip-loc bag so the soldiers can have an easier time of packing their meals for the day. The bags are also useful for a host of other things.

Heater Meals
Breakfast-type foods and drinks
Small, single pot packages of coffee
Hot chocolate packages
Canned tuna and chicken
Canned Chef Boyardee ravioli, beef-a-roni, spaghetti & meatballs, etc (in “zip-top” or easy to open cans)
Canned fruit (with flip top lids)
Beef Jerky
Canned Nuts
Cereal bars, granola bars, etc.
Pre-sweetened powdered drinks, Kool-Aid, Gatorade, etc.

Some other items we have seen requested include the following…

Beanie Baby toys to give the Iraqi kids.
Baseballs, old ball gloves, footballs, frisbees and as one solider put it “anything made by Nerf.”

Mailing Guidelines

1 – Try to keep your package the size of a shoe box or similar. When we send out a box, we use FLAT RATE BOXES that the US Postal Service offers. It is a very good deal – you can cram as much as you can in the box and shipping is a flat $12.95. Also, the boxes are FREE from the US Post Office.

Large packages over 25 pounds probably will not get through or be greatly delayed.

2 – Use the complete military address, including the full name of the recipient.
Example…
SFC Doe, John
E/5-7 ADA (fwd)
Operation Enduring Freedom
APO AE 99999

3 – When sending to the whole unit, address the package to an individual also.
Example…
SFC Doe, John
E/5-7 ADA (fwd)
Operation Enduring Freedom
APO AE 99999

4 – Include a note to the recipient. Tell them about your support of them and your hopes of a safe return. If you are sending to the unit in general, explain that these books are a gift to the whole unit and to give them to someone else once they are finished.

It is also good to send a small care package of useful items along with your book. See the top of this page for a recommended list.

5 – Include your return address. Packages with no valid return address will be considered a suspicious package and likely to be destroyed according to the Defense Department.

6 – Although some troops will request “anything,” we have found that books on the Apocalypse or end of the world are not as well received as mystery novels for example.

7 – Do not send us a book to send to a soldier, mail it to the soldier directly.

8 – Do not send pornography. The Defense Department tells us that most troops live in an area where any type of pornography is illegal and could result in problems for the recipient.

Reader's Club Recent Reads

Maddy: Maze Runner

Grace: I am Number Four

Marisa: The Casual Vacancy

Justin: Artemis Fowl: Lost Guardian 

Cameron B: When a Monster Calls

Chani: Kat Scratch Fever, The Acorna Series, The Vampire Plague Series

Zoe: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Ciera: Bloom, This is So Not Happening

Katherine: Gone, Divergent, Clockwork Angel

Ariel: The Lovely Bones

Layne: The Mark of Athena