Dear Pam,



Thank your for your note. I am very impressed with this organization. I have always been interested in helping soldiers. My grandfather was killed in WWII and four generations later the ripples of this event still touch our family.



During the first Gulf, I wrote letters to soldiers from a list that was passed around my friends in NYC. We later found out that we passed the list around too much and some soldiers were getting so much mail that they were getting in trouble. We had no idea what we were doing or how to organize our efforts. We just had about 125 names and a copy machine.



In 1992, I volunteered at the VET center in Times Square where I worked for a year and decided to go to social work school. I continued to work at the Times Square VET Center and the Harlem VET Center as a social work student. I worked with Vietnam and Korean era Vets and helped organize a conference on PTSD and we also took Vets to visit the Wall in DC. I was born in 1967 and at the time had not yet been to Vietnam (I did go in 1995), yet I never found a vet who was not grateful or who dismissed my value as too young to know or care. Even in Harlem where I was out of place as a blond, CT girl wearing cowboy boots, I was treated with such respect and gratitude for my efforts. The guys were great and I hope I was able to touch their lives in a partial way that they touched mine. Still to this day, I can always find the veteran at any party and I hope when my kids are older to go back to working with vets.



I have thought about going up to volunteer at the New Haven VA. But I have three young kids, one with special needs; and my husband really wants me to focus on the kids at this time as my full time job, and I agree.



While I have been wishing that this war was over and the troops were all home safe, I have wanted to do something directly to help the troops. Two days ago my kids and I decided to search the internet to see if we could e-mail a soldier and wish him/her a Merry Christmas or send a package. This is how I found your site.



So yesterday, I sent off two boxes today to my soldier, and two more to platoon I was assigned from another site. I wanted to share with you what an amazing experience it was…



I was packing them up on the sidewalk in front of the local hardware store. Some boy scouts that were selling wreaths helped me unpack my car filled with supplies from COSTCO and then they stayed to help me divide up my purchases between the four boxes.



I ran into the hardware store to get some Christmas decorations to throw into the boxes which were not yet full. The clerk in the hardware store asked what we were doing on the sidewalk, and then he gave me a Nerf football to put in each box. The other clerk had served 12 years in the Army in Germany and shared how much Christmas packages had meant to him when he was stationed on the border on Christmas Eve.



The passing shoppers all had some kind word to say as we all worked to finish before the 12:30 close of the post office. The hardware staff came out to watch the kids finish the boxes.



The post office workers helped out with the tape I needed and were so happy to be helping get the supplies and Christmas gifts to the troops. I just made the 12:30 close of the post office to get the package out on time.



In the hour I spent on the sidewalk, I talked to so many people and saw such a beautiful side of human kind and the Christmas spirit.



I am so grateful to be apart of this experience! Thank you for this opportunity. I have sent an e-mail around to my friends with the info about joining your site as an angel. The internet is such a powerful tool to do good in this world when used in this way. Thanks for all that you do.



Sincerely,



Price Snedaker

Norwalk, CT





Soldiers' Angels