re: Do soldiers in Iraq, etc. really need random fundraisers for sunscreen?

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Anyways, it just seemed like an odd thing to raise money for.

What do you think?

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Donate to WWP, DAV, PVA, etc. - due your due diligence to make sure the charity supports your goals and ideals, but I'm a veteran of OIF and, indirectly, OEF (via a deployment to Kosovo) - and we had everything we needed - churches fill up bins (or they used to) with everything you can imagine and our chaplain's office bulged with toothpaste, floss, soap, sunscreen, coffee, etc.

If a specific unit needs something specific, then donate in kind and work through that unit's FRG or rear detachment.

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I came across some care package fundraiser ad where you can donate up to $600, which supplies Mary Kay brand sunscreen to 48 soldiers.

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Think about this for a second: $12.50 a soldier for sunscreen - I'm sure the PX they have access to has it cheaper - pre-paid Visa cards would be wiser investment - IMHO.

(My bona fides - 26 year veteran of the U.S. Army, all of it in the USAR or Louisiana Army National Guard - I have deployments to Kosovo, Iraq and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.)