San Antonio – The Holiday Stockings for Heroes campaign at the nonprofit Soldiers’ Angels is happening now.
Every year, the organization collects stuffed holiday stockings from around the world and sends them to deployed service members and veterans in VA hospitals.
“Our deployed service members may not be able to celebrate the holidays, but being able to give back to them and let them remember that America is thinking about them even during (the) holiday season while they are away from their families is really impactful for them,” Michelle Julazadeh, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Soldiers’ Angels said.
Some items to add to your holiday stocking include Slim Jims or Beef Jerky, playing cards, puzzle books, candy, socks, hats, gloves and note pads.
Items to avoid are glass, sharp objects, products containing alcohol, hand sanitizer, glitter or political materials.
People can include handmade holiday ornaments and write letters to make the stockings even more personal.
“We have a holiday themed ornament list that you can take a look at, and you can make your own DIY ornaments and include that,” Julazadeh said. “And that’s something you can do whether or not you pledge a stocking, so it’s a great little project if you want to do a family project.”
Stockings must be sent no later than December 8, 2023.
This year’s goal is 40,000 holiday stockings, and you can participate in a new way. The nonprofit created an Amazon registry gift list with some of the most wanted items.
“The way we use those is sometimes we don’t get stockings that are full to the brim, so we will use those items to backfill and make sure our deployed service members get the items they really want,” Julazadeh said.
The special campaign is designed to bring people together to collect the items our service members and veterans need.