Caring Insights Home Front Long Distance Care

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You may not live nearby, but you can still show you care!

Quite often home front families are far away from friends and family or their home church.

You can show that you care, even at a distance. Here is a summary of suggestions in how you can show you care at a distance:

Send a Bible

Send care packages, gift cards

Check in by phone or e-mail

Collect coupons to send overseas

Donate your time and finances to military-supporting organizations

Pray

Below you can learn more...in their own words:

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Bible

Write a personal message (online) to a home front spouse and Operation Worship will inscribe it in a free Bible which will be delivered to the home front spouse.

Care packages and gift cards

"Care packages for us like they would send to our soldiers! My kids love to get the mail and they LOVE care packages from grandma the best!"

"Care packages are great! Also maybe a gift card for special mommy time like pedicure, lunch out, etc."

"I got a package recently from my old job in Florida; it was great gift cards with my favorite restaurants, and gift cards for the kids and a card signed by everyone! I loved it!"

"We live in Japan and my husband is deployed. My mom sends myself and husband care packages on a regular basis...it's so great getting comforts of home from momma..."

"Care packages for the families of the deployed are always a fun idea . . . snacks (chocolate!), time-wasting magazines, small toys for kids, books, restaurant gift cards. Just small things to let them know that they are being thought of."

"Gift cards to favorite restaurants so spouse at home can get a break at dinner time."

"Gift card for groceries"

Other ideas - Care Packages for the Home Front

Check in by phone or e-mail

"A card of encouragement; write a letter or send an email."

"My church e-mailed me to ask how I'm doing and if they can do anything to help. If they had taken the time to call me I would believe they really do care."

"Pick up the phone! Yes, we are sad and lonely and need companionship but when we call constantly they say we are bothering them or overly grabbing for attention. I mean when you are stuck in the house with kids who barely grasp the language there is nothing like talking to an adult."

"The best thing to lift my spirits is to remember special days and actually call me. Also, it gets heavy at times always talking about him or the deployment...having someone interested in me...in what I have been doing rather than always asking about him really helps me."

"I been apart from hubby for 13 months of the last 18 and have 3 more to go. I have two small kids. I hate to say it, but I feel completely unsupported and not for lack of "reaching out" on my end. I have no family here, attempts at "promising" friendships have fizzled or they have moved, and depression significantly ... See Moreaffects my energy to keep "putting myself out there". I am SO lonely and I dread getting through each day. Just having a regular person call me to check in would mean all the difference in the world. I see a therapist, but I have limited number of sessions and sometimes have to go a long time b/n talks. I've come to hate my anniversary, birthday, mother's day, valentine's day b/c anything I do to celebrate myself is self initiated. Send us flowers, chocolate, cards, books, magazines. Come by and weed eat my yard, mow my grass, take my kids on an outing, plan an event for the 3 of us to just 'show up to and enjoy'. Most importantly though, just call, email, check in and lend an ear."

Coupons

"Collect coupons for families overseas. We can use coupons up to 6 months after they expire at the commissary when stationed overseas." Visit www.couponstotroops.com.

Donate, volunteer

"Support our deployed Soldier with letters and packages."

"People can donate to military supportive organizations such as Operation Homefront. Donate to the unit level FRG's. Educate the next generation so they make better decisions and stay involved in there community."

"Volunteer at the USO."

"When my husband (a chaplain) arrived for his tour in Afghanistan he had heard of the villages in the mountains that were so poor and had minimal warm clothes, let alone shoes to protect them from the cold and the snow. Our church was having a community event for kids, and they also used it as a warm clothing and blanket drive for the Afghan people. We were able to send 2600 lbs. (46 large boxes) to two villages and an orphanage. It was such a unique opportunityto reach out to the poor people there, and also was a encouraging experience for the Soldiers who delivered the clothes."

Humanitarian organizations for Iraq, Afghanistan

Other organizations that support mlitary families

Other organizations that support deployed military personnel

Don't protest

"Don't protest against the Soldier and their families, especially not at a Soldier's funeral. We are not asking for the war. Our men and women in uniform follow the orders courageously. Be proud of them choosing to risk there everything for your and your children's bright future."

Prayer

"It means a lot that people pray for us. That's one of the best ways you can support us."

"We are stationed far away from our home church. I wish our pastor or our elder would call to see how we are doing. I would love it if they would pray over the phone with me."