Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America 975

Food:
Any ready-to-eat food items!

Examples:
Kool Aid Singles (pre-sweetened)
Crystal Lite Singles
PRE-SWEETENED powdered drink mixes (Gatorade, KoolAid, etc)
Hot Chocolate mix in single serving packets (Nestle, SwissMiss, etc.)
Vanilla wafers ('Nilla Wafers)
Coffee (ground; vacuum packs or small cans)
Canned chili, ravioli, spaghetti-o's, stew - ready to eat style
Boxed or canned potato chips
Bean dip or other canned dip for chips
Canned salsa
Canned fruit
Canned tuna in water or pouches of tuna in water
Star-Kist tuna "Lunches To Go"
Star-Kist Chicken "Lunches To Go"
Power bars
Energy bars
Breakfast bars
Canned meat (chicken, turkey...)
Boxed or canned cookies
BEEF JERKY (ALWAYS NEEDED)
Kellogg® Pop Tarts
Trail mix
Chewing gum
Candy bars (Bit-o-Honey, PayDay, etc)
(No chocolate candy in the summertime!)
Peanut butter in plastic container
Jelly in plastic container
Ritz crackers
Wheat Thin crackers
Rice Krispie bars
Granola bars
Breakfast cereal, individual sized
SMALL size hot sauce in plastic jars
Cases of individual packets of mayo, relish, ranch dressing, mustard, hot sauce, sugar, creamer, etc. (Can be purchased at bulk-rate stores. These are used to create "spice and condiment packets" for the troops.)
Small manual can openers
Ziplock baggies in snack, sandwich, quart, and gallon sizes. These are used to preserve freshness and prevent damage from leaks, plus the troops re-use them to keep other items fresh and clean.
 

Cool-Tie type neck wraps
Sunscreen
Insoles for shoes
Foot powder (Gold Bond, etc.) (NEEDED!)
Eye drops (for desert environment)
Lip balm (Blistex, Carmex, etc.)
Eye wash
Travel size pillows and pillowcases (new only please)
Twin size bed sheets and pillow cases (new only please)
1" paint brushes (to clean fine dust out of guns)
Fine makeup brushes (also to clean guns)
Talcum powder - small size
Deodorant (men's STICK deodorant) (NEEDED!)
Body wash for MEN - small size, plastic container (NEEDED!)
— FRAGRANCE FREE if possible... or neutral fragranced body wash so men can use it.
Hand sanitizer - sm/med size (NEEDED!)
Mouthwash - small plastic containers
Toothpaste (trial size is great!)
Toothbrushes, individually boxed
T-shirts (new only please) (NEEDED!)
Bath towels and washcloths (new)
Hand Lotion - small to medium size
Body Lotion - small to medium size - NEUTRAL fragrance or fragrance free
SOFT 2-ply toilet paper (Charmin, Northern, etc...)
Personal/body wipes (or baby wipes)
Band aids
Shampoo (small to medium size bottles)
QuattroPro razors and refills
Mach 3 razors and refills
Disposable razors, double or more bladed
Shaving gel (NOT aerosol) (NEEDED!)
Aftershave gel (no glass bottles)
Thick cotton black socks (NEEDED!)
White crew socks (NEEDED!)
Anti-fungal socks (for rainy season)
Black shoe polish
Soft cotton boxer shorts (the funnier the better) medium to X-large sizes (new only) (NEEDED!)
Nail clippers
Eyeglass cleaner
Bounce sheets (for fleas), flypaper, mosquito coils (repellant)... (NEEDED!)
Lysol/Clorox cleaning wipes, etc.
Laundry detergent TABLETS * or
Laundry detergent in SMALL boxes *
* PLEASE: NO whitening, brightening, or bluing!! Just REGULAR, classic laundry detergent.
Insect and mosquito repellant wipes
Table top flashlights
Mag lights
Ziplock baggies, snack size, quart size, gallon size and jumbo size

Female Items Needed

Hair bands
Hair clips
Small mirrors
Non-aerosol hair spray
Hair gel
Facial cleanser
Facial moisturizer lotion

Fun Things to Send

Disposable cameras
Hand held video games (poker, solitaire, etc.)
Playing cards
Poker chips
Board games (used okay) up to 10" long box
Crossword puzzles
AA & AAA batteries
Compact Disc players (used ok)
Music CDs (used ok)
Personal size DVD players (used ok)
Movie DVDs (used ok)
Laptop computers (used okay)
Model car or airplane kits
Glue, paint & brushes for model kits
CURRENT sport or computer magazines
Frisbees
Dominoes
Yo-yo's
Baseballs and softballs
Baseball catcher gloves (used ok)
Stationery, pens, envelopes, etc.
Beanie Baby type small stuffed toys (for soldiers to give to local children)
Toy cars, matchbox size (for the children)
AT&T International PHONE CARDS (Be sure they are the kind you can use to call FROM the middle east TO the United States)

• 100% Cotton fabric – 44-45 inches wide - in tan, khaki or a muted brown/beige (to blend with the “sand” camouflage).One yard will make seven or eight “Hugs.” Cotton sheets work well and white ones can be tea, coffee or Rit dyed to an appropriate shade. Don’t overlook thrift stores in your search for inexpensive cotton sheets to use. If you tea or coffee stain light fabric, you’ll get a camo effect if you put your dry fabric in the sink with the stopper in. Use a large pot of water to make a strong tea/coffee mixture.Be sure to add 1 C. of vinegar to the pot to set the color when you stain. Once the tea/coffee mixture is VERY hot, pour it directly over the dry fabric. The places where the mixture directly hits the fabric will be very dark, while the other fabric will pick up varying levels of stain – instant camo. Let the fabric soak until the mixture has cooled (or overnight). Wring out the fabric and run it through the washing machine.This will take out any lingering tea that might stain a neck. If you’re staining a lot of fabric, just scoop your mixture out of the sink, reheat it, and use it again. You can add a little more tea/coffee when you reheat if desired.

• Thread
• Scissors

• Water absorbing crystals (can be found at Watersorb.com – order the medium crystals) Watersorb.com sells a minimum sized package of 2 pounds of crystals, which is enough for about 175-200 “Hugs”. You can also find Schultz Water Absorbing Crystals at Walmart – in the garden department with the plant food. It’s in a semi-clear plastic bottle with a blue label.

• “Hug turner” – You’ll have to make this, but it’s really simple and saves TONS of time. It consists of a piece of 3/4” PVC pipe cut to a length of approximately 12 inches, and a 7/16” (or similar) wooden dowel cut to about 18 inches. That’s a plastic Easter egg with one end cut off and hot glued to the PVC pipe to make a funnel for the later filling step.) The angle on the PVC pipe makes it easier to slide into the Hug and the tapered end on the dowel makes it easier to turn the corners of the Hug before removing the dowel from the Hug.

  

• Templates made from card stock or heavy paper.You’ll need one that is 5 inches long (to use when cutting the fabric strips) and one that is 10 inches long (to measure from the center of your fabric strip). Instead of the 10 inch long template, you can measure on your sewing machine by making a mark 10 inches from the needle.

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  Prewash fabric before cutting or sewing.
  Fold lines
  

• Clip along fold line at intervals of 5 inches (use your template and put one end at the edge and clip at the other end, then move template and repeat. Using the 5 inch template will give you 7 strips from 1 yard of fabric. I just clip and tear, but if you have a cutter and guide you may prefer to cut the fabric. You may want to tear a thin strip off the end to make sure the “leading edge” is straight. Fold right sides together and stitch using a 1/4 inch or smaller seam.

  

• If you’re doing a number of Hugs, it’s easier to just begin the next one and sew this seam on a number of Hugs before cutting the thread to start Step 2.

• Step 2: The next seam to sew is across the bottom. People find it much easier to iron these if you sew them in a “T” fashion. To do that, with right sides together, position the first seam so that it’s centered in the Hug.

  
• Step 3: The "Step 2" seam goes across the bottom and close to the edge.
  

  Alternately: Make your first seam an L-shaped seam

  
• Turn and iron the Hug.
• Step 4: Use 10 inch template to measure from the center to first row of cross stitch. Do not stitch at the center point.
• First Seam Center
  

• After you sew your first cross stitch, put 2 level teaspoons of crystals into the pocket using your little egg filler or PVC pipe with funnel inserted. (I went to Auto Zone and got a funnel with a long tube attached to it, which I really like, but there’s no need to purchase something like that.) You’ll be tempted to put in a few extra crystals because 2 level teaspoons just doesn’t seem like enough for the size of the pocket. Trust me. It’s enough. If you put in more, you’ll have a sausage that’s so stiff you can’t even bend it. Fold the Hug and match the position for the other seam (10 inches in the other direction). That will give you a 20” pocket. {If you just can’t believe that 2 tsp. is enough, take a 6 or 8 oz. plastic drinking cup and fill it with water. Add 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. of crystals to the water and let it sit for about an hour. What you’ll find is that almost all of the water has been absorbed by those few crystals.}

  
• Once you have closed the last pocket, fold the ends in and finish off the end.
  
  (Stitched lines appear in red)

   

  Fold and place in a Ziploc bag with the Care Instructions. Consider including a cartoon or joke in the package, just for fun. The pictures of the turner show how to use the turner, but you’ll want to use the smaller version described above.

  *Hug Turner and turning process: First seam done and tube is ready to turn. Insert tapered end of PVC tube into open end of cool tie.

   

  
   

   

  
   

   

  
   

   

  
   

  Tube is mounted and ready to turn. Dowel is inserted and fabric pushed into the tube.

          

  

  

  Insert crystals and close the open end.

   

   
   

   

  
   

  IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS... FINAL TOUCHES: When you've finished sewing your CoolTies, don't forget the final details that mean so much!

  Fold each CoolTie and insert it into a snack-size zip lock baggie. Type and staple a note to each CoolTie giving care instructions, and a note from you to the receiving soldier. We suggest the following: CoolTie Care Instructions Soak in cool water 20 to 60 minutes to activate the crystals inside the CoolTie, then wrap the CoolTie around your neck for several hours of relief from the heat! When not in use, dry out and store in a zip lock baggie. This Cool Tie was made especially for our American Heroes by: [your name and address and/or email address here].