A Soldier's Hands

08/19/2026

I have so many stories to share about the amazing and talented crafters from...

🎨✂️Crafting with a Purpose🧵🧶

that you can look forward to seeing lots of great pictures of the beautiful work this group creates for us to include in our care packages. Here's a sneak peek.

🤝 How We Met:

We met thanks to another of our partners, Ship Thrifty. When Crafting with a Purpose reached out to Ship Thrifty in search of groups to support, I raised ASH's hand... and the rest is history.

ASH has received so many beautiful cards, pocket hugs, puzzle pages and so much more from this creative and giving group; we are so grateful for their generosity.

💌 What They Do:

Below are some pictures - creator names in the caption.

Some of these are blank cards for deployed service members to send home, and others are beautiful cards our volunteers use to write letters of thanks and support to the units we serve.

👉 Are You a Crafter?

If you'd like to know more about 🎨 Crafting with a Purpose ✂️, please see the link in the comments and request to join their Facebook group.

Enjoy the pictures!

08/16/2026

Delighted to share a couple of photos from a candy-bagging session last week.

Thank you to our volunteers from OLLI -- the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Penn State. We are so honored to work with this fantastic group of volunteers.

So, now I have a question for you...

🙋‍♀️ How would you do it?

With the new customs rule that our candy bags must weigh *exactly 2.0 oz*, I've noticed two different approaches when our wonderful packaging volunteers get going:

🍬 Team Set-it & Go:

Weigh one perfect 2‑oz bag and repeat that combo for every
bag until the exact mix runs out.

🍬 Team Freestyle:

Weigh each bag individually and make a fresh candy mix every time.

Which team are you on? Inquiring minds want to know! Let me know in the comments.

--Trish

08/12/2026

😊 In follow-up to yesterday's post, we'd like to draw your attention to a close-up of this sailor from the group shot -- big shout out for holding a letter in one hand, a star from a retired flag in another, and a lip balm with the teeth.

We appreciate the effort to showcase items from your care package, sir! 👏

08/11/2026

Sharing a message we received from the Ombudsman for the USS Gonzalez (DDG-66), currently deployed to the Red Sea (we shipped 325 packages there in June -- one for each sailor aboard):

🇺🇸 ⚓️ “The sailors received their care packages. Everyone loved their individually wrapped bags, and we want to extend our deepest gratitude to you and everyone who dedicated their time, talent and treasure to support our sailors.

🇺🇸 ⚓️ We truly cannot thank you enough.”

Never doubt that your efforts to support A Soldier's Hands have a direct, positive impact on our military members serving abroad.

Enjoy some photos of the USS Gonzalez crew below.

Thank you, as always, for your support of the ASH mission to support our troops.

08/03/2026

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08/02/2026

Such a great kid: meet Tony

🇺🇸 Meet Tony Doberstein - a local Boy Scout working on his Citizenship in the Community badge, and guess who he was helping here?

That's Right! Tony came out to volunteer with A Soldier's Hands during Kids Day at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.

When we say kids make all the difference, we truly mean it.

One of the greatest blessings of being with A Soldier's Hands these last two decades has been meeting all the young people who have been so willing and eager to help us fulfill our mission of serving our deployed troops.

Kids get it. And we at ASH are so lucky to get the chance to work with people like Tony as they grow and learn in community.

Thank you for supporting A Soldier's Hands with your help and time, Tony! We're cheering you on as you earn your badge! 🇺🇸

08/02/2026

🇺🇸 Meet Tony Doberstein - a local Boy Scout working on his Citizenship in the Community badge, and guess who he was helping here?

That's Right! Tony came out to volunteer with A Soldier's Hands during Kids Day at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.

When we say kids make all the difference, we truly mean it.

One of the greatest blessings of being with A Soldier's Hands these last two decades has been meeting all the young people who have been so willing and eager to help us fulfill our mission of serving our deployed troops.

Kids get it. And we at ASH are so lucky to get the chance to work with people like Tony as they grow and learn in community.

Thank you for supporting A Soldier's Hands with your help and time, Tony! We're cheering you on as you earn your badge! 🇺🇸