SUGGESTED ITEMS WOULD INCLUDE:

• Lip balm (Medicated) Is like gold to the soldiers
• Beef jerky, gum, playing cards
• Wet wipes (very important) this is what the troops use to bathe with when they are on patrol for 10 to 15 days at a time
• Puzzle books, dry pasta & pasta sauce in cans etc.
• Paper, envelopes, pencils, & pens
• Kleenex, toilet paper, feminine hygiene supplies.
• Hand sanitizer, sun block
• Coffee, soup, tea bags, power bars, juice crystals, Chocolate will melt but M & M 's won't
• Canadian cigarettes, however, if you write cigarettes as part of the contents, they will likely be removed before the soldier receives the parcel.

PARCEL DIMENSIONS:

(Roughly the size of a case of 24 beer - this is how the soldiers explain it) or if you prefer:

Maximum Length: 1 Metre or 40 inches

Maximum Length plus Girth: 2 Metres or 80 inches [Girth = 2 x (width + height)]

Maximum Weight: 20 kilograms or 44 pounds

(Note from Cathy: Paper boxes work well – a box from 10 reams of 8½” x 11” copier paper is 17½” L x 11½” W x 9” H (or 45 cm x 29 cm x 23 cm), so is slightly smaller than the maximum dimensions and is constructed to handle the maximum weight.)

PARCEL LABELLING DIRECTIONS:

• Your name & return address on the top left hand side of the package

• A few inches below the return address, briefly list the contents (ie. Gum, Pasta, Books, etc.)

• In the Middle of the box print the soldiers’ address (exactly as sent to you by Joan)

SENDING PACKAGES:

Packages may be shipped free of charge from some Military Depots or Recruitment Centres in your area (call ahead to be sure). Alternately, you can mail your package at the Post Office. At the Post Office you should fill out a customs declaration form, but this form is easy to fill out by just transferring the information from package to form. ( More forms can be taken home so you can complete the forms for future mailings.)

It’s common practice for the contents of the packages to be shared among all the soldiers in a squad or platoon (12 in total).