Bibles For Soldiers
We have been shipping Bibles and other aid to deployed US troops since 2003, during our first six months in existence we shipped over 400 tons to our troops, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan. In partnership with our sister site, BooksForSoldiers.com, we built the largest English language library in the Persian Gulf States. With BiblesForSoldiers.org, any deployed American soldier, sailor, airmen or Marine can get a free Bible or any Christianity related book, DVD or musical CD. It is also a great resource for Chaplains to get study material for Bible study classes conducted on the front lines.
Books For Soldiers
This was our first soldier support mission. Books For Soldiers was founded on March 1st, 2003, three weeks before the US invasion of Iraq.
During the first Gulf War, several college friends of the founder of BFS were in the reserves and were activated to fight the Iraqis. CNN reported that once the soldiers were deployed, they were faced with massive downtime and were restricted to their base due to the travel limitations set by the Saudi government.
Being a voracious reader and at the beginning of the Gulf War, he had a closet full of paperback books – books that were not being used. So instead of selling them at the used book store, he packed them up in small care packages and sent them out to all the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen he had addresses for.
Within a few weeks, he ran out of books before he ran out of addresses. Friends and family members began donating their paperback books and in the end, over 1000 books were sent to the Gulf.
After 9-11-2001, we knew we wanted to do the same thing for our troops that our founder, Storm Williams, did back during the first Gulf War, but we knew we couldn’t do it alone. That is when he came up with the idea of creating a self-serve website that puts volunteers directly into contact with the troops serving overseas.
Regardless of our feelings on the war, the troops deserve our support and if we can make their deployment easier, then all the better.
Specific Books For Soldiers Programs
Operation Forgotten Soldier – Many of our brave young men and women in uniform literally have no one back home. No one to write them, no one to send them any snacks, no one to talk to except those they are deployed with. This war has had the highest suicide rate of any other war. And because our soldiers now face the most strenuous deployment schedules of any other war, many can quickly fall into despair. We work with Chaplains in forward combat areas to help identify soldiers that show signs of isolation and are in need of a boost, a friend – just someone to reach out and care.Birthday Card Jamboree – We organize postcard parties for soldiers on their birthday. We coordinate our army of them.
Christmas Trees In A Box – Every Christmas, many troops find themselves in the most remote and despicable places on the face of the Earth – without running water, hot food or shelter. For these brave soldiers, we ship a tiny Christmas tree complete with tinsel and ornaments so they too can have a little piece of home while they are at war.
College For Soldiers
Many soldiers are missing their educations while they are serving and protecting us overseas. This web site offers a brochure “Guide To Rapid Graduation” (download PDF) especially designed to use new Internet technologies so deployed soldiers can earn a college degree from a regionally accredited university. College For Soldiers also recommends several colleges who have robust degree programs that are superb for soldiers on the go. Soldiers can also order a free text book from the site.
Sundays For Soldiers
This is a ministry-based service that helps churches easily include care package deliveries for deployed US troops. Every year, Sundays For Soldiers reaches out to Christian churches to send Bibles, Christian-based life enrichment books and the occasional box of brownie mix to US service members deployed outside of the United States. Last year we shipped over $2.7 million in total aid to our brave men and women in uniform.
