My husband has served in the Army for the past 12 years. His unit is currently serving on a deployment to Afghanistan, and will be returning soon. We are stationed at an overseas military base in Germany where I teach second grade. All of the students at our school are children of military members. We are located on a small base in a very rural area, so our shopping selection is small. Below is a letter I received from the unit requesting items or donations for welcome home goodie bags for our returning soldiers. We will start with goodie bags for single soldiers, but my goal is to be able to provide a welcome home goodie bag for every soldier. You have no idea how much it means to them to know that their service is appreciated.
Letter from commander:
Dear families,
We are trying to prepare a “Goodie Bag” for each of our single Soldiers that will not have any family there to greet them at their Welcome Home ceremony. It is a small way for us to let them know that we are so proud of them and the job that they did for their country. Also, it is a way to express our gratitude for their sacrifices and to let them know that they were missed.
The Goodie bags should have small toiletries such as toothpaste, toothpaste, deodorant, soap, etc. We are also putting in a small lunch baggie with 2 to 3 laundry pods and dryer sheets so that they can do some laundry. Each bag will also contain some snacks and bottled water. Depending on the time that they arrive back here, they may not be able to get to the store because our Shoppette is not a 24 hour facility. We want them to be comfortable until they can get to the store for themselves.
