Advice for Charities on This List

• FYI, A reader has a message for many of the organizations listed here: If your organization is a registered U.S. nonprofit (usually 501c3), please head over to http://www.guidestar.com and input your organization's EIN and information. This will help alert people to who you are and what you do - an EIN # is needed for those people who work for corporations that give matching gifts.

Battlefront Aid

• If you want your assistance to make a difference on the battlefield, it can. Just Adopt a Sniper via American Snipers, which began as an effort by law enforcement SWAT/sniper personnel to help their reservist buddies. Click on the link and let a soldier in 1st Stryker Brigade tell you why this matters. This program has continued to grow, and does great work!

• Led by decorated combat veteran Lt. Col. Robert Ledee, The Armor 4 Troops Foundation, Inc. is 501c3 charity providing pieces of gear to National Guard soldiers, particularly protective anti-ballistic eyewear, under armor-armor and combat emergency multi-tools that are not always provided by the military to National Guard units.

• I'd also forward this thought from regular reader "Klaatu". Maybe you want to consider sending one of these to Iraq:

"Check this out from Stars and Stripes. This is a book I've sent several copies of to 'son of klaatu' to pass around in Iraq: "Modern Iraqi Arabic," with 6 audio CDs. Or "Your First 100 Words in Arabic," which is cheaper ($9.00), and has tear out flash cards with pronunciation."

• To improve first response on the home front, consider a donation to
  Chevra Hatzalah. This non-profit corporation is the largest all-volunteer Ambulance Service in the United States, providing premium quality pre-hospital emergency medical treatment and transportation at no cost to all who need it, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity. Their performance in New York on 9/11 was truly remarkable, and they respond to over 75,000 other medical emergencies within 2-4 minutes. They save lives, period. (Hat Tip: Colt)

Extending a Helping Hand Abroad

• Winds of Change.NET has been working closely with Spirit of America. They're assisting the U.S. Marines deploying to the Sunni Triangle with toys and other helpful giveaways, helping Iraqi women start small businesses, helping Iraqi men enter building trades, giving IRaqi bloggers Arabic tools, etc.

• Chief Wiggles' is still about "sharing joys with toys" for the children of Iraq, Sri Lanka, and beyond!

• Overstock is supporting Chief Wiggles' Operation Give too. They're like an online outlet mall, receiving excess inventory from manufacturers and making it go away by selling it for less. You can buy stuff on line and have it donated to Operation Give or sent to the troops in 1 step. Overstock.com has also become one of the biggest employers in Afghanistan. (Hat Tip: Tanker Schreiber)

• The Chief isn't alone, and several organizations are focusing on schools. IraqiSchools.com is another soldier-based effort, designed to being desperately needed school supplies to the children in several large zones in the heart of Baghdad. Similar efforts are underway via Iraqkids.org (American Aid for Children of Nineveh, a 501c3) and Iraqikids.org (run by a unit of 1st Cav).

• Actor Gary "Lootenant Dan!" Sinise (Apollo 13, Forrest Gump) has started Operation Iraqi Children. Through the School Supply Kit Program, American children, church groups, and other organizations can help Iraqis by gathering school supplies in local drives, assembling them in kits according to our instructions, then sending them to the OIC Warehouse for transport to Iraq, where American soldiers will take them to Iraqi villages. (Hat tip: reader Dave H.)

• In Afghanistan, soldier/blogger Sgt. Hook is running Operation Shoefly to give Afghan children shoes for their feet.

Getting It There

Some of the organizations in this roundup will take your donation of money or goods and take care of the shipping themselves. If that isn't the case...

• AnySoldier.com's "How To Send It" page is the best resource I've found.

• The U.S. Post Office will give free packing materials to spouses, families and friends of military members deployed overseas, and offers some instructions and tips on mailing packages overseas.

• Overstock.com will ship materials directly to APO/FPO addresses.

Australian Forces

• This official web page allows you to send messages of support to the 800 or so troops engaged in "Operation Catalyst" to rebuild Iraq, or to send messages in support of service families left in Australia. Some of the March-April messages may be read here.

British Forces

• Support-a-Squaddie (british slang for soldier) connects you to British forces for care packages, letters, etc. (Hat Tip: Jonah Goldberg at The Corner)

• The UK Forces Gulf Fund has been set up to provide welfare support to UK Service Personnel taking part in Operation Telic in the Gulf and their families. It's run by the Veterans' Agency of the Ministry of Defense. The donations page is here. (Update Hat Tip: Eddie Cochrane)

• Books for Soldiers, match up Amercan & British troops with the spare books, novels, et. al. we donate.

• "This Bulletin Board is provided by the British Forces Post Office to enable the public and friends and family to post messages to our troops serving all over the globe. Upon receipt, these messages will be reviewed for appropriate language and content and you may experience up to 24 hours delays for posting and viewing."

• The troops aren't the only ones taking fire for being in Iraq to help the USA. Send letters of support to Tony Blair, and tell him "thank-you!"

Canadian Forces

The Canadians are currently based in Kabul, Afghanistan, with a contingent of around 1,700 plus 200 elsewhere. They are part of the ISAF multinational force, and are easily distinguished by their green camouflage uniforms. Here is the Operation Athena Home Page.

• John Macdonald says: "Maybe you can post this site [for sending support message to the troops] along with the sites for troop morale that you already have listed. Thanks!" Non-Canadians are also welcome to post, of course.

Danish Forces

Ole Sanvig writes:

• "Stumbled across the post today, and just thought I'd add in the mail adresses for the Danish forces in Iaq and Afghanistan. Iraq: IRAQ-DANCON{at]MIL[dot}DK or NSEIRAQ[at}MIL{dot]DK. Afghanistan: ISAF[at}MIL{dot]DK. Should anyone feel compelled to drop a line to the 700 or so Danish soldiers serving these missions, I'm sure they'd be happy."

Israel

These causes seem to be fairly popular in the blogosphere:

• Want to send a pizza, a burger, or even nutritious vegetable soup to some Israeli soldiers? Thanks to the magic of the Internet and PizzaIDF.org, you can.

• Hatzolah-Jerusalem is a volunteer, non-profit Emergency Medical Service (EMS) that assists all victims of terrorism and other medical emergencies (including road accidents and more "normal"emergencies) throughout Jerusalem and its suburbs. They're often called "The Orange Vest Brigade", and in this war the title fits. They have other chapters elsewhere, like Yehuda-Shomron.

• Magen David Adom is the Israeli version of the Red Cross ("Magen David" = Jewish star, "Adom" = "Red"). They perform this role in Israel, are also on the scene during global disasters like the 2005 tsunami, and are helping to train American first responders for anti-terrorism scenarios. If you're American, there's a tax-deductible way to contribute. (Hat Tip: Colt)

• ZAKA (Z'man Keruv Achim, or "Time to bring brothers together") has an even harder job. Like Hatzolah, they're paramedics. But they're best known for treating the bodies of victims of terror with respect and helping to identify all of the pieces after an attack so they can receive proper funeral rites. You can read these accounts for a description of what their job entails. Their techniques are the most advanced in the world, and they've been called to Ground Zero, the space shuttle aftermath, Bali, and London. It's one of the war's hardest jobs, a necessary and necessarily unrepayable kindness.

Polish Forces

• Want to show your appreciation to the Polish soldiers for all they did and all that they're still doing in Iraq? We have a post that explains how you can help them.

United States of America

• The U.S. Department of Defense has a compilation over at their "America Supports You" site. We've got a few that they missed, though.

• Camp Doha in Kuwait has a list of its own re: ways to support the troops.

• The GI Bracelet program works with a number of organizations (including several listed here), and the entire purchase price of each GI Bracelet is donated to support the troops and their families! As their site notes: "This endeavor is not for the red states or the blue states. It is for the United States of America and the men and women who make the sacrifices for our country." (Hat Tip: Joel "No Pundit Intended" Gaines)

• Americans play Taps at the end of remembrance ceremonies and military funerals. Read an article at West Point Connection if you want to understand what's behind these 24 notes. Unfortunately, the Pentagon is being forced to use ersatz recorded bugle playings due to a shortage of talent. Live Volunteers needed and wanted by "Bugles Across America"!

U.S. Forces: Care Packages & Gifts

First of all, big thanks to readers Mike Daley and Blackfive for their blanket help with the entire U.S.-related feature.

• Donate to "Operation USO Care Package"

• Want to know what to send, how to get it there, etc.? Anysoldier.com tells you what and how. They have grown to over 3,616 Military Contacts (approx. 2959 Army, 414 Marine, 179 Air Force, 64 Navy, and 0 Coast Guard) who are helping approximately 113,714 soldiers!

• Operation Military Pride is an umbrella organization that claimed to coordinates messages and care packages, and provide assistance to others who wish to do so. At the time, I said: "Note that OMP do not appear to be a registered charity, but they are listed on the U.S. Department of Defense America Supports You site and I receive their e-newsletter."

*They were recently the subject of an Illinois Attorney General investigation and court judgment (Case Number: 2006CH0114 Filed: January 04, 2006), and were ordered to pay back nearly $310,000.* Moral of the story - if it isn't a registered charity, 501c3, et. al., be very, very cautious about giving.

• Operation Gratitude takes donations, and sends care packages. It started as a one-woman operation... but read their thank-you letter to us, and you'll see that they've come a long way.v They've made even more strides since that letter. The organization is a 501c3 onon-profit, EIN # 20-0103575.

• Team Stryker points to Books for Soldiers, who matches up American & British troops with the spare books, novels, et. al. we donate. Paul says: "I know that I welcomed the occasional box of books we got from "back home" when I was deployed to the sandbox, and I'm sure the folks deployed today are no different in that regard." (Hat Tip to Angua's First Blog for noticing the broken link)

• Better still, Inkgrrl reminds us that you can work directly with a more specific group of soldiers via the moms at Adoptaplatoon.org. See "Moms Across America" for the origins of this group.

• Army Camp Doha in Kuwait also has a roster of specific rear-echelon units you can support, along with their requests. I particularly noticed the 355th squadron of the US Air Force - 1/4 of them are female, and they haven't been receiving much....

U.S. Forces: Communications

• Donate a calling card to help keep service members in touch with their families at Operation Uplink;

• Send a greeting via e-mail through Anyservicemember.org or Operation Dear Abby;

• Sign a virtual thank you card at the Defense America web site;

• U.S. troops deployed to the Persian Gulf region and other overseas locations can now receive messages from family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues and supporters via the pages of Stars and Stripes Magazine. "Messages of Support," a daily section that debuted March 17, gives family and friends of deployed service members a chance to pass their greetings, words of encouragement and announcements free of charge.

• Or, to kick the technical support up yet another notch, how about video conferencing thanks to the Freedom Calls Foundation. That's an impressive list of supporters there, folks.

U.S. Forces: Family Assistance

• Sometimes being posted abroad is a major financial hardship for a family, and they end up needing help to make it. Helping ease the burden of our military families in need is the mission of the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Unmet Needs Program. Oh, and their spokesman... remember the actor who played the hilariously-insulting Marine Drill Sgt. in Full Metal Jacket?

• Helping Our Heroes Foundation' is a 501c3 charity that makes small cash grants to needy families of injured troops. They also undertake morale programs for the patients and staff at Walter Reed hospital.

• Cassandra notes that the Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund does similar work - kicking myself for not noticing I hadn't included it yet.

• The Military Child Education Coalition is a 501c3 non-profit, world-wide organization that identifies the challenges that face the highly mobile military child, increases awareness of these challenges in military and educational communities and initiates and implements programs to meet the challenges. MCEC's goal is to level the educational playing field for military children wherever they are located around the world and to serve as a model for all highly mobile children.

• The Fisher House Foundation is described as "Ronald McDonald House for wounded soldiers and their families." It donates comfort homes built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one during hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury. And you should really read Kim du Toit's report of actor Denzel Washington's May 2005 visit to a Fisher House - he asked how much it cost to build one, then took out his chequebook and donated that. Impressive..

• As reader Glen Wishard notes, The Wounded Warrior Project assists men and women of the U.S. armed forces who have been severely injured during the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other hot spots around the world. Many of the injuries are traumatic amputations, gunshot wounds, burns and blast injuries that will retire these brave warriors from military service.

• Note that there are special contracting set-asides for businesses owned by service-disabled veterans, and they are currently underused. Defense Industry Daily has the briefing, plus links to useful resources.

• The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Inc., is a one of a kind non-profit Veteran Service Organization offering hope, healing, comfort and care to thousands of American armed forces families facing the death of a loved one each year. TAPS receives absolutely no government funding, but through the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, all families faced with a death of one serving in the Armed Forces receive information about TAPS and our military survivor programs. Ben Stein writes about a Memorial Day event with them, and what it meant to him.

• M. Simon pointed us to Project Linus, based at Lockheed-Martin HQ in Marietta, GA. They make and distribute comfort blankets for children of fallen warriors. If someone you know has just lost a family member, contact Project Linus.

• The North County Times newspaper in northern San Diego County has a scholarship fund for local children (Camp Pendleton, Miramar Air Station) who have lost a parent in the war. Editor Kent Davy writes that they've raise about $1.2 million to date and given out about $900K in savings bonds to kids through the Armed Forces YMCA. The paper carries all administrative costs, so all money raised goes to the kids.

U.S. Forces: Foundations & Memoriam

• The Special Operations Warrior Foundation provides scolarships for the children of SpecOps soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who have lost their lives, in training or in combat. As Blackfive notes, a few dollars would go a long way in providing for the children of those who have died defending America. That goes double for Special Operations troops, who risk more than most. The Navy Special Warfare Foundation is also organizaed along these lines, albeit with a more specific focus.

• If your personal loyalty tends more toward one of the regular branches, there's always the Airmen Memorial Foundation, the U.S. Marine Corps Scholarship foundation (or, you could donate to the Marine Corps University Foundation and help out active, serving Marines), the Dolphin Scholarship Foundation for submariners, the Seabee Memorial Scholarship Foundation... and of course, Scholarships for Military Children

• Are you a big NFL fan? If so, consider donating to the league's Intrepid Foundation's Fallen Heroes Fund, which provides an immediate $10,000 gift to families who have paid the ultimate price with the loss of a family member in Iraq or Afghanistan.

• Make a donation to one of the military relief societies: Army Emergency Relief, Navy/Marine Relief Society, Air Force Aid Society, or Coast Guard Mutual Assistance;

United States of America: Other Aid

• Soldiers Angels comes highly recommended by noted bloggers like Blackfive, Hugh Hewitt, and Michelle Malkin. Their programs run the gamut, from up-armoring Hummvee jeeps to aid packages to communication with the troops, and more.

• Blackfive has kicked off a blog fundraiser for Soldiers Angels' "Project Valour-IT", which gets voice-activated computers for wounded soldiers to use as they rehab and readjust. Initial reactions show that this one's a winning concept.

• Walter Reed Memorial Hospital is where many vets go for extensive treatment and rehab. These wounded vets would really appreciate your support, and Ryan of Testy Manatees has the full briefing. (N.B. TM is experiencing account problems)

• Volunteer at a VA Hospital to honor veterans who bore the lamp of freedom in past conflicts;

• Reader "shib" notes that Sew Much Comfort provides specialized clothing for to injured vets to wear over the splints and specialized "fixators" when they come back with serious injuries requiring long treatment. "We are sewing adaptive clothing for each soldier to wear... we are using a standard pattern and adapting it to fit around the "fixators". We are seeking your help with donations to buy the materials to make and ship the clothing, and volunteers to help us make the clothing to keep up with the demand." All credit for the hat tip goes to Patti Bader from Soldiers' Angels in this comments section.

• If you know of good corporate citizens on the home front who are going the extra mile for the reservists who work there, let Mike and Susanna of Home Front know.

• If you're a gay or lesbian soldier, Service members Legal Defense Network has useful information re: 'dont ask, don't tell' that applies to reservists and retirees re: their military benefits, risks, etc. They also publish an excellent survival guide related to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" explaining how enforcement works, the soldier's rights and their options.

• Operation Hero Miles lets you donate unused frequent flyer miles so that a soldier can visit his/her family. (Hat Tip: Blackfive)

• Finally, this is amusing: former soldier Christian Bauman's post on what really matters to soldiers, courtesy of Neal Pollack's site. Y'all know what to do!

U.S. Forces: Re-integration & Speaking

• The US Army offers a number of options to help soldiers transition to civilian careers.

• Are you someone who wants to help others hear from the troops directly? A soldier who wants to talk about you've experienced? Operation Tribute to Freedom can help. "By working with Army Public Affairs Officers (PAOs) around the country, OTF identifies ongoing media, speaking, and recognition opportunities to ensure that homecomings last longer than one day and that American Soldiers stay connected with the American public." And vice-versa. A very nice combo option if you're running a support event for any other cause listed here.

• Unions are getting in on the action, too. Helmets to Hardhats is designed to help soldiers make the transition into a stable career in the trades, once their military service is done.

United States of America: Civilians in the War Zones

• Civilians In Iraq is a Yahoo! group that has come together as a support service for civilian contractors who are working in Iraq.

Add to Our List!

Does anyone know what other credible, proven options British, Australian, American, Canadian, and Polish citizens have, or want to add a country that isn't represented yet? Email (joe, over here @windsofchange.net) or leave comments, and I'll add them too.