Marines Care Package Project™
List of Items Needed by Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan
 Support our Marines! We need items to send in the care packages. If you, your company or organization would like to donate items to support the Marines, please use this list as a reference for the types of items to collect for the Care Package Project. All items must be new and in the original sealed packaging (except recreation items as noted below). Homemade food items cannot be accepted.
NOTE: Food items shipped with toiletry items will taste like deodorant, foot powder and toothpaste. To avoid this, please deliver all food items packaged separately from all toiletry items.
UPDATED October 5, 2008:
Please consider donating from the "most requested" items list here. Travel-size and single-serving size work best.
(see below for specifics on these most requested items)
- Single-serving size snacks and non-perishable food items, particularly tuna kits, beef jerky, canned fruit (small containers; pop-top lid), dried fruit, nuts and other healthy snacks
- Pre-sweetened flavored beverage mixes (smaller sizes please)
- Toothbrushes
- Body wash liquid (no pump dispensers please)
- Undershirts (olive green, short sleeve)
- Socks (bootcut, black)
- AA Batteries
- Letters of support
(letters from you, from children, or from your business, office, school, or other organization in support of our troops)
- AT&T Global Pre-Paid Military Calling Cards
(calling cards to work in Iraq and Afghanistan must be these specific cards; click here to purchase)
- Gum, Lifesavers, Mints (blister pack gum is best because of the intense heat)
- Fruit: single serving size cans of fruit, dried fruit
(Note: Plastic fruit cups with the plastic seal are not recommended as they can open in transit; individual-size cans are preferred.)
- 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, 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
- Jalepeno Velveeta® and crackers
- Taco Bell® Sauce Packets
- Seasoning salts, flavoring salts
- Cheese dips in plastic or canned (NO glass please)
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Do not send glass containers. Pork and pork by-products are not allowed to be shipped to most Middle East combat locations. Please send non-perishable foods only. Single-serving package sizes are preferred; large packages won't stay fresh and are harder to ship. If you can stuff it in your pocket and it's not going to spoil or melt during the summer season, it's a good thing to send!
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- Ground coffee, coffee drink powder
- Hot cocoa mix
- Lemonade mix, Kool-Aid® 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; see photo to the right)
- Sugar and creamer packets for coffee
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Send small containers please. We cannot ship liquids. However, the Marines do need flavors to add to the drinking water provided to them. Please send pre-sweetened or sugar-free flavoring mixes in small or single-serving packages. During the colder months, hot beverages are in great demand. Please do not send glass jars.
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- Hacky Sacks, Tennis Balls
- Deck of cards
- Hand-held games
- Movie DVDs (new or used; original only)
- Music CDs (new or used; original only)
- Portable DVD Players
- Portable CD Players
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- Long underwear during winter months
- Fingerless gloves
- Stocking caps (plain, gray, black or dark green)
- Cotton socks
- T-shirts (olive green or white)
- Cotton boot socks, green or black
(try military surplus stores)
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Color of underclothing and socks is not as important as 100% cotton. Send fingerless gloves and stocking caps during winter months only.
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- Disposable cameras
- Envelopes, paper, pens
- Small pads of paper
- Notebooks (a size they can keep in a pocket and keep dry)
- Drawing pads (small)
- Small, blank journals
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- 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)
- Quart-size and 1-gallon ziploc plastic bags
- Disposable, instant hand warmers
(during the winter months only)
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If you are a school or other organization collecting items where children under the age of 18 are involved, please do not encourage donations of tobacco items.
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- 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)
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Footcare is critical and the demand for quality products is very high. Be sure that all items are in the original, sealed packages.
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- Sunblock
- 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 (small containers)
- Saline spray/drops for sensitive nasal passages
- Q-tips
- Eyeglass wipes
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Lip balm is in high demand in desert areas. The lipstick-style tubes that you apply directly to your lips are preferred over the "tub" style. Eyedrops are to relieve dry eyes; please avoid sending eyedrops designed to remove redness as those will increase dryness and iritation caused by sand and storms in a desert climate.
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- Baby wipes for personal hygiene (alcohol-free)
- Liquid body wash
(no pump-style dispensers)
- Liquid hand sanitizers
(no pump-style dispensers)
- Disposable hand sanitizing wipes
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Please do not send pump dispenser style bottles. When the Marines are out in the field, facilities for showering and taking care of personal hygeine are infrequent and in many locations non-existant. Portable-sized packages of non-alcholol based baby wipes are in high demand for these Marines.
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For additional information or support, please contact the MarineParents.com corporate office at 573-449-2003.
Visit the web sites online at: www.MarineParents.com ~ www.TheCarePackageProject.com
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