What types of coupons should you send?
It is recommended that you
DO NOT send coupons any older than 2 months past the expiration date. Although the families WILL be able to use them for up to 6 months past the expiration date, it takes time for them first to REACH the base, and then be processed and distributed.
Manufacturer coupons are the coupons of choice, since they are accepted in any store on base. Most bases have 2 stores - one is called the “Commissary” which is a grocery store, and the other is the PX, or BX, which is a department store. Only name brand items, that are available in the U.S., are available for purchase in these facilities for military members and their families. The food and other products available to military familes cost more because of ther shipping costs, and the selection is small (
only Campbells soups, and/or
only Kraft Mac. and Cheese, for example) so there's also a limited choice. Brand name, manufacturer coupons help out a great deal!!
I also read that "buy something, get something
by mail" coupons are also welcome!! (For instance, "Buy a certain type of cold medicine, get a stuffed animal by mail"...) Coupons such as these would be a great help, and would make inexpensive holiday gifts for children!!
What types of coupons should you NOT send?
Do not send
Assistance Vouchers,
Food Stamps, or any other assistance items, or
restaurant coupons. Store coupons, or those that are only good at the store named on the coupon, are useless on a military base overseas.
How many coupons should you send?
There is no minimum number of coupons that you can send. Even the smallest donation, when combined with the donations of other individuals, will make such a difference in the lives of the many military families serving our country overseas.
How do you package them?
Coupon programs are primarily run by volunteers, who must first sort all incoming coupons into "food" and "non-food" catagories, and then distribute them. It would be very helpful if you were to
clip out and PRE-SORT the coupons before you send them. This will save the volunteers alot of time, and then the bundles woud be more quickly and easily placed in the correct venue (Commissary or PX/BX) once they arrive on base - expediting the coupons to the familes!!
Use baggies, or envelopes, to separate the coupons into two catagories: "food items" (for anything humanly edible, including Ensure and Slim Fast, for example), and "non-food" items (such as dog/cat food, and vitamins), and then label the outside of these. Do not use rubber bands, paper clips, or similar methods of keeping the coupons sorted, as these will almost certainly come apart during shipping.
Where do you send them?
Adopt a base to send your coupons to. (See above.) DO NOT send your donation to an OCP headquarters. They will only have to pay to resend them to the base, which would be a waste of your postage and effort, and take longer to reach the families.
How should you send them?
It costs NO MORE to send coupons to an overseas base than it would for you to send them to your next door neighbor!! All overseas bases are U.S. Territory!!
However, you will need to attach a Customs Form!! The U.S.P.S. requires
Customs Form 2976-A be attached to the outside of the mailer when sending directly to a base overseas. Use the description "Coupons" and record the value as "--$0.00--". Be sure to check the "Gift" box on the form, and for them to return the coupons to you if problems occur, if using Priority Mail. This will allow time to resend them to another base.
The CHEAPEST way to send your coupons is via "Parcel Post". Since this method takes much longer to travel to its destination, please make sure that the coupons you send are no more than two months expired on the date of shipping if you use Parcel Post.
The FASTEST method of shipment is to use a Priority Mailer from your Post Office. The Priority Mailer envelope will allow you to place as much in it as you wish for a flat fee!!
Contact your local post office for the current prices per pound, and suggested methods of mailing. They will give you this information by phone.
~*~ POINTS TO REMEMBER ~*~
1. If the Post Office requests a name to accompany the address of a base , explain that the package is going to a "position" and not to a "person." It is "Official Mail." By military regulations, personal mail requires a name with the address, but Official Mail does not. The "Commanding General" may be changed as the military wishes, but mail to the Commanding General is for that
position, not for someone who may now be a civilian. The coupons are also Official Mail for that base.
2. Confirmation Receipt:
This is no longer a good idea. Alot of the bases no longer have the volunteers available to fill these requests. What this means is that you may request confirmation of receipt of your shipments from your "adopted" base, but they may not have the ability to send the reply. The persons at the base handling the coupons are volunteers, and most bases operate short of volunteers most of the time. They will only acknowledge your shipment as time and available volunteers allow. And more and more, there is not enough time to do this.
If you wish to attempt to receive a confirmation, include a self-addressed, postage-paid postcard with your shipment. The card should be in an envelope attached/taped to the outside of the shipment. (They may get missed if inside with the coupons.) Mark the outside of the envelope with
"Pre-posted return reply enclosed." On the postcard itself there should be a short message, such as:
"Enclosed please find a donation of coupons from (your name/organization). Please return this postage-paid postcard when this shipment arrives." The staff at these bases will try very hard to comply with your requests, but again please remember their work is done with volunteers, which allows only limited time and minimal staff, and who simply may not be able to return the card. So please be patient.
I hope I have answered any questions you may have had about sending your expired coupons to our military families worldwide.
Please feel free to post any additional questions you may have, and I will do my best to answer them!!
Lisa...
~~Where to send EXPIRED COUPONS!!~~
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