Boxes of Cheer

Food and snack Items

•  Gum, Lifesavers, Mints (blister pack gum is best because of the intense heat)

•  Fruit: individual serving size cans of fruit, dried fruit

•  Nuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts, trail mix

•  Power bars, protein bars, nutritional bars

•  Beef jerky, beef summer sausage (non-perishable; labeled USDA Beef)

•  Single-serving bags of snacks, crackers, chips, snack mixes

•  Pop Tarts, cereal bars, "milk & cereal" bars, granola bars

•  Ramen Noodles, Cup-O-Noodles serving cups

•  Ravioli and other canned ready-to-eat meals (canned or styrofoam single serving are best)

•  Tuna lunch kits (includes foil pouch of tuna, crackers, and condiments in each single-serving kit)

•  Canned sardines, smoked oysters

•  Torengos® nacho-style chips and canned nacho cheese dip

•  Jalepeno Velveeta® and crackers

•  Taco Bell® Sauce Packets

•  Seasoning salts, flavoring salts

Beverage Items

•  Coffee, coffee mixes, tea

•  Hot cocoa mix

•  Lemonade mix, Koolade mix, Tang, Iced Tea mix

•  Gatorade mix (powdered only)

•  Crystal Light (or other brand) "On The Go" flavor packets
(these come in a box of several sleeves of flavoring that can be added to a 16-20 oz. water bottle)

•  Sweetener, sugar and creamer packets for coffee

Recreational Items

•  Frisbee, Nerf Footballs, Hacky Sack, Tennis Balls

•  Deck of cards

•  Hand-held games

•  Gameboy Advance games

•  Movie DVDs (new or used; original only)

•  Music CDs (new or used; original only)

•  Paperback books, novels (new or used)

•  Magazines (new or used, but fairly current)

•  Portable DVD Players

•  Portable CD Players

•  Cotton socks

•  Underwear and T-shirts

•  Military-green cotton boot socks
(try military surplus stores)

•  Sunglasses, goggle-style sunglasses, goggles

•  Color of underclothing and socks is not as important as 100% cotton. Send fingerless gloves and stocking caps during winter months only.

•  Small cassette player and small cassette tapes

•  Disposable cameras

•  Envelopes, paper, pens

•  Small pads of paper

•  Notebooks (a size they can keep in a pocket and keep dry)

•  Drawing pads

•  Small, blank journals

•  Blank holiday cards (Christmas, Easter, Valentines, Birthday, Anniversary) that they can fill out and send back home to their family and friends

•  Batteries (AA are most requested, then AAA)

•  Cigarettes, chew, cigars

•  Tactical Duct tape: military green, tan or black

•  Electrical tape

•  Super glue

•  72" Bootlaces (brown or tan preferred)

•  Leatherman All-in-One Tool (see photo)

•  Flashlight with a red lens

•  Quart-size, 1- and 2-gallon ziploc plastic bags

•  Sheets - for those at a base

•  Small travel pillow or inflatable pillows

•  Disposable, instant hand warmers (during the winter months only)

•  Cotton socks, black, green, or white

•  Boot liners/insoles

•  Odor eaters for boots

•  Lotrimin AF or Tinactin for athletes foot
(tubes of ointment or cream, or the bottle of drops; please do not send the aerosol spray type)

•  Medicated Foot Powder, Medicated Foot Swabs

•  Moleskin
(for pads on sore feet, you'll find it with Dr. Scholls type things at WalMart or drug stores)
Footcare is critical and the demand for quality products is very high. Be sure that all items are in the original, sealed packages.

•  Sunblock, Aloe Vera

•  Throat Lozenges

•  Gum, Lifesavers, Mints

•  Eye Drops (to relieve dry eye, not redness)

•  Blistex, Chapstick, Carmex (in stick-tubes rather than tubs)

•  Aspirin, Motrin, Tylenol, Pain Relievers

•  Saline spray/drops for sensitive nasal passages

•  Q-tips

•  Eyeglass wipes

•  Feminine hygiene products for women Marines

•  Jock itch spray

•  Laundry soap tablets

•  Baby wipes for personal hygiene

•  Waterless soap

•  Liquid body wash

•  Liquid hand sanitizers

•  Disposable hand sanitizing wipes

•  Toothpaste (in hard-side tubes rather than traditional tubes)

•  Toothbrushes

•  Nail clippers

•  Shampoo

•  Deodorant

•  Liquid bodywash soap, liquid anti-bacterial soap (liquid is easier to use than bar soap)

•  Waterless soap

•  Lotion

•  Disposable razors

•  ShaveMan™ Battery Powered Shaver
(About $5 at WalMart and other discount stores; see photo below and to the right)
Mach3 Razors and replacement blades

•  Kleenex (travel-size packets)

•  Please purchase small or travel-size items for personal care. We try to send a new toothbrush in every package, so the demand is very high for toothbrushes. Toothpaste tubes get messy; the plastic "bottles" of toothpaste stand up better to the conditions of combat zones. The new "Brush Ups" are very popular and useful for the Marines. (see toothpaste photos to the left)

•  ShaveMan™ Battery Powered Shaver