How To Donate To The Troops

Give2TheTroops® Shipping Instructions

Thank you for your interest in mailing donations to us! We're happy to receive your items and forward them on to the troops for you! Below are our shipping instructions should you decide to mail boxes to one of our branches. INCLUDE A NOTE INSIDE EACH BOX Please include a note inside each box you send us with the Donor Name and Address. That way, we can make sure we send you an acknowledgement letter/receipt for your donation. Be sure to include the name of the donor(s), and the full address where we should mail the letter as well as any other special instructions you may require. We also suggest you clearly mark each box with your return mailing address. If your box is lost in the mail, the post office can return it to you. SEPARATE TOILETRIES FROM FOOD ITEMS Please prepare liquids & gels for shipping to us by taping the flip tops and placing these items in Zip-Loc bag Also, bag all items with strong odors such as bar soap, dryer sheets, and peppermint. Any items that can make a mess if spilled such as coffee, powders, etc. should also be placed in bags. Please keep food products separate from toiletries. Strong aromas from toiletries will spoil the taste of the food. On occasion, we've received boxes soaked from a bottle of shampoo or conditioner which opened during shipment to us. It's best to put a piece of tape over the caps on any liquids and then insert them into Zip-Loc bags. We also received a box full of ants because some of the food items were not sealed well and spilled in the box. USE ORIGINAL PACKAGING Please do not open up packages of candy, razors, combs, brushes, Q-tips, etc. Not only is it unsanitary fo the toops, but sometimes it's not safe! Several of our volunteers cut themselves from loose razors in boxes. NO STYROFOAM PEANUTS Please do not use foam packing peanuts as they are difficult for us to dispose of. If the items need to be cushioned, use rolls of toilet paper, paper towels, or packages of socks or washcloths, which can then be send onto the troops. NO EXPIRED FOOD Please look at the expiration dates of food you donate to us. We discard all expired food for the troops' safety. NO GLASS, AEROSOL CANS, CANNED GOODS or HOMEMADE FOOD Please do not send us glass bottles or aerosol cans of any kind (including cans of shaving cream, deodorant, "Silly String", etc.) For our troops' safety, we cannot accept homemade food. Also, we do not accept most canned foods except for SPAM or sardines. * We appreciate your thoughts, but cannot ship such items to the troops and will have to find another charity to donate these items to. Also - we also do not accept hotel samples or tinfoil mailing samples of toiletries. Many troops have allergies. They need to see the ingredients. Additionally, our troops receive generic shampoo. They are really looking for a reminder from home or a nice BRAND NAME product - not "Ramada Inn" or "Sheraton Hotel" *Our North Carolina Branch will take canned pastas and soups, as we pack food boxes for the troops in North Carolina to take with them in their connexes when they deploy, or send on resupply flights. NO CHILD'S PERSONAL ADDRESS For privacy and safety reasons, all letters from children should contain their first name only.We ask that children write their school's name (or the name of their Girl Scout troop, Boy Scout Den, religious institution, etc.) as the return address. Our Privacy Policy prohibts us from forwarding mail which clearly identifies a child's home address. All letters are screened for content by our volunteers before they are placed inside care packages. For this reason, and due to the anthrax scare, we ask you not to place letters in separate envelopes. Instead, please put all letters from classrooms or Scouts in one large manilla envelope. Note to Teachers and Scout Leaders: our Give2TheTroops "RULES FOR SCHOOL"™ document contains helpful hints on children writing to the troops. EMAIL US to receive a copy. LARGE SHIPMENTS OF DONATIONS Our Connecticut, Texas and North Carolina branches have the capacity to handle pallets and trucks, but you must coordinate those large freightline shipments with us prior to shipment so we are prepared. RECEIPTS FOR YOUR BOXES Please allow up to 6 weeks to receive an acknowledgment letter from us - we have only a few part-time administrative assistants and the rest of us are volunteers. We receive literally hundreds of boxes each week. If for some reason you still haven't received a letter from us after that time, please contact us at info@give2thetroops.org so we can track your donation and your acknowledgment letter.