Military Community, Spouse and Family Resources - Military Times

Groups pair troops with supportive civilians

Service members stationed abroad may feel far from home, but thanks to several organizations, they won’t feel forgotten.

Adopt a U.S. Soldier and Soldiers’ Angels pair deployed airmen, sailors, soldiers and Marines with pen pals stateside. Both are nonprofit, volunteer-based organizations that have connected thousands of troops with supportive civilians.

They require deployed service members to register online to be connected with a pen pal. Service members are encouraged to mention specific items they would like, as well as some personal details to help their “adopters” get to know them better. Matches are generally random, though AAUSS allows adopters to request the gender and branch of their adoptee.

“We owe it to them,” said Patti Patton-Baden, CEO and founder of Soldiers’ Angels. “They went through hell for us; we could do something” for them.

Since its beginnings in 2003, Soldiers’ Angels has grown dramatically to become an avenue for civilians to send more than 250,000 care packages, 250,000 letters and 30,000 phone cards to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007, according to the group’s annual report.

Adopters receive the name and address of a deployed soldier via e-mail. Soldiers’ Angels usually matches pen pals immediately, while Adopt a U.S. Soldier can take up to three days.

Both organizations were started by Army moms whose sons were deployed to Iraq. After hearing about the number of soldiers who didn’t receive correspondence from home, they sprang into action. Soldiers’ Angels also developed 26 teams of volunteers for those who want to support the troops without adopting a specific service member.

AAUSS has seen similar growth since 2004. The organization now has 235,000 supporters in 76 countries, including Saudi Arabia. CEO and founder Ann Johnson believes the service she provides means the world to those deployed troops.

“If they come back from a horrible mission, they need to touch home; the letters do it,” Johnson said. “The snacks are great, the hygiene products are great, but they need to touch a letter knowing that somebody truly cares.” h

What you should know

Adopt A U.S. Soldier: Adoptees are asked to get in touch with you as soon as they receive your contact information. Register at www.adoptaussoldier.org.

Soldiers’ Angels: Visit www.soldiersangels.org to register. Both services ask troops to only register with one service, though civilians are allowed to adopt more than one person.

Prohibited items: Obscene material, political material, alcohol, bulk quantities of religious items, pork and American flags.