Big Al's Soccer Drive For The Kids

Hey everyone! Sorry to dissapoint, it's just Stacey here.

First, I know Al thanked you guys for reaching out to him and sending him mail, but I also wanted to say THANK YOU for being so kind and keeping his spirits high over there. Between his good friends - and my wonderful friends, he has been getting a lot of mail and packages. I joke that he is probably the most popular kid at camp!

So, I mentioned to some of you that Al was going to talk to the Chaplain about sending soccer balls to him for the kids. According to Al, the kids there love soccer, but very few of them have a decent ball to play with. So, he wanted to do something nice. The soccer balls will provide a spark in an environment filled with poverty and deprivation. It's a small act that will bring great joy to many of the kids as they get the opportunity to be "kids." This will mean alot in their continuing effort of creating more friends than enemies over there.

Marie Battaglioli and her friends and colleagues at Foster & Company sent the first soccer ball. They sent it fully inflated and it arrived with no problem. I have went online to see if there were directions for the best way to send them but I couldn't find anything concrete either way. I saw one site said to just mail them (this was for an Iraq Soccer Ball Drive) and then another said to send them deflated - we should also include a few pumps. I will continue to investigate this - if you know anymore than I do, please email me or post to the comments section at the bottom of this particular blog.

Additionaly, the Chaplain said that cheap sunglasses and travel kits of toothbrushes and toothpaste were also big hits!

So...do you want to make a little kid's eyes light up like it's Christmas morning even though the child knows nothing of Christmas? This is not really an effort to get these to them by Christmas but to still give them the joyous feeling that Christmas brings to so many children here in the United States.

Okay, so with that said....if you want to participate in "Big Al's Soccer Drive" - email me at schapman@heery.com. I can provide you the address, if you don't already have it or we can work together to get them shipped out. Check out the YOU TUBE to the left: Soccer African Style.

Thanks everyone for your continued support!

Stacey (and Al!)

REVISED TO ADD:

If you send soccer balls deflated, you can send several in a FLAT RATE box and save some money! All items mailed will need a customs form. AND Stephanie has taught me that mailing from the post office is cheaper than mailing from a UPS Store.