Whoop! for Troops Returns for its 14th Year!

Executive Director of Community Service, Jessica Lochte ’15 from Fredericksburg, Texas, is heading up MSC LEAD’s Whoop! For Troops this year. This community service project is special to her because “it gives [her] the opportunity to do something great for troops during the holidays when they are away from their families.” Started in 2003, Whoop! For Troops sent 4,000 cards and 120 care packages overseas last year. Lochte hopes Aggie will help MSC LEAD send even more cards and care packages to troops this year!


This community service project brings Texas A&M students and members of the community together to show troops that they are remembered and appreciated during the holiday season. Elementary students in the Bryan-College Station area make cards, which are then brought to campus and signed by students. In addition to asking students and members of the Texas A&M family to donate items to Whoop! for Troops, MSC LEAD also reaches out to Aggie Mom’s Clubs across the state to collect items for care packages.  MSC LEAD members then package all of the goods for shipment overseas.

Card signing tables will be set up in the MSC and the Commons lobby for a couple of weeks beginning on November 3. Students and visitors who would like to sign a greeting card can stop by either of those locations between 9am-3pm.  Both locations will also accept donations of goods for care packages, and collection boxes will also be located in the Veterans' Services office in the Koldus Building across the street from Rudder Tower, and in the MSC Student Programs Office in suite 2240.  Persons interested in making a donation can also email leadservice@msc.tamu.edu.


Donated items Whoop! for Troops will be accepting for care packages include:

ENTERTAINMENT

• Phone cards (#1 most requested item; so they can phone their loved ones)
• VISA and Master Card gift cards (#2 most requested item; gives them maximum flexibility)
• Magazines (clean content)
• iPODs (empty) 
• Fun posters and calendars 
• AA batteries and AAA batteries 
• X-box games and Hand held games 
• Sudoku 
• Movie DVD's (clean content) 
• Music CDs (clean content) 
• Small earphones 
• 1 GB and 2 GB USB memory sticks (external hard drives) (blank) 
• Books (clean content)

TOILETRIES

• Liquid Hand Sanitizer 
• Body wipes in plastic pull-out canisters 
• Disposable razors – men's and women's 
• Chapstick Combs, Brushes, and Hair Gel 
• Contact Solution and Eye Drops 
• Deodorant Toothpaste, toothbrushes, and floss 
• Tylenol, Motrin, Advil, Aspirin packets 
• Body Wash and Facial Wash 
• Cotton Swabs and Band-aids 
• Shampoo and Conditioner 
• Feminine Hygiene Products 
• Sunblock, Lotion, Aloe Vera Gel

FOOD

• Beef jerky 
• Protein Powders 
• Tuna in foil packages 
• Peanuts and nuts in cans with lids 
• Seeds (Sunflower, pumpkin, etc…) 
• Condiments 
• Trail Mix, Granola Bars, Cereal, and Oatmeal 
• Tins and packets of flavored coffee and cappuccino 
• Candy Gum and Breath mints 
• Crackers and Cookies 
• Dry soup