Christmas Parcel Appeal

[jollyjo79]

Every day our brave British soldiers are deployed to dangerous parts of the world, facing things you and I can?t even imagine.

One of those soldiers is my brother. He has recently been deployed to Afghanistan, him and his colleagues keeping us in Britain safe, to eat our Turkey and enjoy our Christmas presents in the peace that we so take for granted. I miss my brother dreadfully and worry about him every day, if each of you can imagine one of those troops as your brother, or dad, or niece, or daughter I believe together we can put a smile on their faces for Christmas!

To take my mind off worrying about my brother I am getting the local community of Oxfordshire to band together to get together enough donations to send Christmas parcels to our British troops on the frontline. We are trying to raise enough donations to send 200 + boxes to our brave men and women, whom Christmas will be very different for this year. If each of you can buy one more present, donate items towards a Christmas parcel or raise some money, even if it?s £10.00 we can really make this happen, Christmas is a time of joy and celebration ? a time to be jollyand surrounded by love, lets surround our troops with our love ? by making this project a reality, with your help, this can really happen, We are working in partnership with Support our Soldiers Charity.

If you would like to take part or would like to donate anything please contact me or If you know someone over there that would like à parcel please send me there details.

Im not in your area, but would be happy to send something for a parcel. Let me know what kind of things you are thinking about?

Thank you so much, you don't have to be in the area to take part.
We have a facebook page for our Christmas Parcel Appeal

www.facebook.com/#!/OperationAppreciationOxfordshire

What to include in your Christmas Parcel
We like to make our Christmas parcels special and a little different from the parcels which we send throughout the rest of the year. We tend to reduce the number of toiletries which we include and make up the box with treats and homely reminders of a Christmas at home.
Below is a list of suggested items for a Christmas parcel. This list is by no means exhaustive and there are loads of other great items that you can include!!
Santa Hat, Selection Box, Chocolate, Sweets (Haribo are a favourite!!), Christmas Cake, Nuts & Raisins, Salted / Dry Roasted Peanuts, Crisps, Snacks, Biscuits, Chewing Gum, Small Tins Of Meat / Fruit, Travel Size Toiletry Items (Shower Gels / Roll On Deodorant), Puzzle Book, Socks & Undies, Pens, Pencils, Note Pads and a Small Christmas Gift.
Please note that the following items are NOT ALLOWED to be included:-
Alcohol, Aerosols, Glass, Matches, Lighters,
Christmas Crackers, Party Poppers or Top Shelf Magazines

Please ensure that your parcels weigh no more than 1.9kg and that your items can fit into an average size shoe box.

Our co-ordinators are also more than happy to accept loose parcel fillers to add into boxes being made up.

It might help if you put a dealing for when you are sending them out.

Are you hiring you own delivery service? When will they be flying?

I ask because for the last few years, the Military has specifically requested that "any soldier" parcels are not sent through the BFPO system at Christmas (here's last year's information about it ). So anything that is to be sent that way will need to be dispatched well before carriage becomes difficult.

Hi, I am just waiting for a local business who will be sponsoring and fundraising and storing the items for us to get back to me with the finalized information. As for the parcels I have a list of names of soldiers already and we are part of the charity Support our soldiers who too have a list of soldiers names that would like parcels.

Thanks, I will check out the facebook link. and share it with my friends to try and get some more stuff for you.

Thank you so much

I re-iterate the above linky
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_182691

Please don't clog the system for the soldiers/SAILORS/AIRMEN who are waiting for parcels from their loved ones!

and as a lot of us in this thread/forum do have loved ones out there, i am sure we all want whats best for them :)

It's a fair enough comment, however as I have said above I am working in partnership with Support our soldiers charity who has permission from the MOD and BFPO to send parcels to the British Troops all year round. They have an allocation of 12,000 parcels which we will be sending ours as part of theirs.

Please all I am trying to do is do something nice for my brother and his fellow soldiers, if you want to help that would be fantastic but if you dont thats your choice too. I think about the poor guys that dont get parcels because their familys live abroad or dont have family or friends to send them stuff. What we are doing is a good thing and we send stuff out way before christmas and what ever is left to send will go out after christmas. All my parcels will be addressed to a soldier who's details I have been given by them personally.

Thanks again and please spread the word

Ahh i apologise, I missed the bit about the partnership.
I do feel sorry for the Airmen and Sailors who miss out though :P

And i know what its like to worry, My Husband is currently in Afghanistan and miss him very much, as well as worry constantly :)

He has banned me from sending parcels at the minute as it is so slow :( Maybe he is just mean lol and my parcels are rubbish!

I think you're directing your campaign to the wrong area of this forum. Most of us that post here do so because we have a connection to the Forces - typically a husband. I do understand what you're trying to do but teling us here to "imagine" what it would be like to have someone we love in a warzone is simplistic at best and patronising at worst. We do know and we have no need of imagination.

The vast majority of us are already supporting someone in the Forces and are quite probably supporting Service Charities as well.

You'd perhaps get a wider and more appropriate audience in another part of Mumsnet.

I am sorry if I offended you, I just thought with everyone here either has been or is going through The same thing as us would want to get involved in one way or another. this is my way of coping and trying to distract myself from going crazy.

I'm not offended - I think your campaign is well-meant and the fact you've had the foresight to ally yourself with an established charity is a good idea.

However, my point was that most of us here are already supporting soldiers and service charities - the tone of your original post was certainly aimed more at the general public rather than Forces families, hence my suggestion that you might get more of a response in Chat (obviously you can leave the post here as well).

We are all already aware of what it's like to have someone serving overseas, to worry about that person and to live in fear of the "knock on the door". I spent six of the last twelve months with my husband in Afghanistan, so I am well aware of all the stresses and strains that come with operational tours. I am also well aware of the various charities that support our Armed Forces and am a generous supporter thereof.

Your thought that those of us going through the same thing would "get involved" is fine, expect that we are already involved, in our own way and in our own fashion.

That's not to say that you were wrong to post here - not at all - but that you might get an even better response elsewhere. Here, you're reaching to the choir and telling us things we already know. Elsewhere, you might stir an even greater response.

Good luck with your campaign and I hope your brother has a safe tour.

preaching, not reaching.

I hadnt even noticed what area this was posted in because it came up on active and I posted.

I agree though, if it was moved to chat, you might get a lot more help from people who have no connection to the armed forces and are unaware of this kind of scheme, but like myself, would love to help.

You could report the thread and ask for it to be moved :-))

This is a lovely idea.. But I will also mirror what another mnetter said.. Don't clog up the system for all the families.. If you going to do this send them in advance !