Is anyone baking this round? I am hosting for the 1st time and thought I would send an invite over cc for anyone intersted. If you haven't joined a team and want to, go to www.bakinggals.com and review the host information. If you find you are able to bake, then register with the site and join a team... there are about 17 now. My team is Sugarbakerz Sweeties. We will be baking and mailing out starting Oct 31 to a soldier. Let me know if you have any questions. To all fellow bakers on CC already on a team to bake or hosting... THANKS A TON... I am a navy vet and remember these type boxes being a HUGE hit when they were flown onto the ship after 9/11.

lori

I have never heard of this...I am sad to say. It sounds like such a wonderful thing to do. I am a little curious about how it works. Are cookies shipped throughout the year? How many cookies does each team member bake and ship? Can anyone join an existing team? TIA for ahring more info. with me.

Can you tell me how much it costs to ship these packages? I know you may not have specific numbers, but any info would be appreciated.

Thanks!

jadak, nothing to be leary of... I sent about 5 dozen out last time, a couple weeks back. You can send whatever amount you like. This is just to give those guys and gals a taste of home. How it works.... there are team hosts (I am one of 30 this time), we recruit bakers and people who want to back. Then during the 10 mailout window, everyone mails their box. You will get the information for the address once you join a team. Each team is assigned or has chosen a soldier/s to send packages too. You can choose to put other non perishable items in as well, but it isn't a requirement. This is an amazing cause and makes you feel so much better when you are finished. My little girl helped me last time so her cookies were storebought, but she was so happy about the chance to write a letter and bake some cookies. It is very rewarding. I was in the Navy from 1998-2002 and was deployed during 9/11, my ships battlegroup were the 1st Navy vessels to arrive after the incident... we fought for boxes that came in from church groups, business groups, organizations, bakeries... you name it... it is such an awesome feeling to know that complete strangers cared enough to send something to brighten your day! Usually the assigened recipient will disseminate the cookies to their unit... so if you are interested let me know if I can help you out with other questions. You can join any team listed on the website www.bakinggals.com chose round 4 teams.. you will register and then join a team from there! Hope you choose to join the cause!

Rachael, I packed my last shipment in a Priority flat rate box designed by the PO for troops overseas. It held plenty, including bubble stuff for packing. It is a flat rate of $10.95 no matter the weight. You will have to fill out a customs form, but all of that information is available as we get closer to shipment.

jadak- the pkgs are sent once time every month- one so far one time to one soldier for each team- who in turn distributes amongst their fellow soldiers. There are different soldiers each month. You sign up for one month and you can keep doing it if you choose. You can bake as many cookies as you wantI have been doing it since the beginning and I also can attest that it is so worthwhile.
I am one of those who have a team for Ohio soldiers of Ohio bakers-and you can get more info and tips from my site for Ohio.
http://www.ohbakes.blogspot.com/
but please- I don't wanna hijack anyone so if you wanna sign up this month contact Sugarbakerz!

Please note- the boxes are Specialty Military flat rate boxes and are free from the USPS. But call first and make sure your local has them.
As Sugar stated they are $10.95 to ship.

thanks for chiming in zoomzone... no hijacking thought about, I just wanted to get the word out to all of us. I am glad to see a fellow OBG baker on here... it is amazing the joy it brings to people. Hope to continue baking with you.

Oh wow, I was just thinking aout this the other day, thanks for posting the link. I joined but I can't seem to find a group from NY!

KEEP IN MIND, you aren't required to join a team in your state or your area, I have people overseas as well as all over the US. You keep yourself updated by your hosts blog... so don't feel compelled to join a certain team, read the bios or writeups of the hosts and find one you like best. My host in Round 3 was all they way up North... so join in!

sometimes I throw in extra goodies, like beef jerky, fruit snacks, magz, that sort of thing... every little thing is a WELCOME act of kindess and love to these soldiers...

this is great!
I am so glad that you posted this - I hadn't heard of it.
I sent cookies to a friend-of-a-friend currently in Iraq.
it was really easy (with the flat rate box) and I was so glad to do it!

Ok, I have a few questions. After wondering about this myself I looked into it & came across a website that had a list of things to not send troops & homemade baked goods was one of them---unless you knew the soldier. It even said that soldiers are told to not eat homemade goods unless they know the sender b/c of the possibility of poisoning.

Another ? What if we have soldiers we know are serving---I actually know 3 (one in special forces, one army & one pilot serving his 3rd tour). I've contacted their wives for shipping info. One got back to me & said her's is gone so much (on a ship for a month or so) that she's waiting to see if her package & cookies survived before she gives me his address.

Then, what ships best as far as cookies go? I have so many recipes I'm wanting to try for the holidays (roll & drop) and wonder if they'll stay good. Are there any tips to packaging? Is all this addressed on the site? (sorry, its bedtime at my house so I'll have to read after the kids go to bed)

We are sending to a soldier that is expecting our packages and the package should include OBG on the From address line, so barring complications, our soldiers get the packages.

If you have a soldier and would like for him to be included- contact Susan at the baking gals website and he can be put on a list for someone to host a team for him in the future. (You can host if you have a blog).

It takes about a week for them to receive the packages so ship something that will stay fresh and tasty. The restrictions are pork and meltables (like choc candy BARS).
You can use choc chips or the like in cookies. If you have a vac sealer it works great to suck as much air out as you can before they go flat, and then seal. Some other things you can include are instant pudding mixes or single crystal light mixes (anything that can be mixed with water).

yes and putting them in the ziploc containers works well too, avoid smashing them and keeps them fresher. Trust me, I was in the Navy and no one is going to get mad if you mail them some cookies. The trick is to label everything you send. If it is a batch of White Chocolate and Pecan, then label that batch as so...usually they wind up putting them out in a common area for everyone to grab as they walk by... so the label helps for those with allergies. I have seen the sites that say don't mail HB goods, but I don't think we need to worry about that, as all of our guys and gals are expecting these.. so there is no suprise and it has to do with OBG. Please post any further questions you have. Send your troop members to Susan at the www.bakinggals.com site, and she can put them into a group. They may or may not make it into this batch, but it usually happens once a month or so... thanks for asking!

That new little reynolds hand held vacuum sealer is great for this since you can take out as much or as little air as you want and they can reseal (not re-vacuum, but it's good to be able to seal it up) the bag after they have some cookies. The unit is only 10$ at wal*mart and the bags are usually about 3$ for a box.

My brother is overseas and he said that baked goods are always great.. everyone loves them.

I was wondering would I just send one package during the shipping dates or can you send more than ones?

I just saw an advertisement for Ziploc having a new vacuum thing too, but it's like a handheld pump thing and not seen it to see how much it is.

The ziploc one works like a basketball pump.. it's manual whereas the reynolds one is battery operated so there's less work. It's a little loud, but it's effortless.

I use my reynolds vacuum for everything.. it's great for the money. I'd love a real FoodSaver, but this will do for now. LOL

you are welcome to mail as much as you would like, there is no requirement... you can join more than 1 team also if you'd like HTH

It doesn't say if the 20,000 have been reached, but they are giving away coupons to get a free ziploc one. I'll go for free for sure.

http://www.rightathome.com/offers/OctGiftPack/default.aspx

(off subject, but jkalman, I've been meaning to tell you that your flower avatar is absolutely stunning!)

Why thank you very much.

I visited the site after your post & signed up with a team. The "winning" team has a soldier who has a birthday in November. That was the deciding factor for me. Figured there wouldn't be a better way of celebrating my birthday (also in November) than making it brighter for another fellow Scorpio.
Thanks for posting this so I knew about it.

Oh and please don't forget Veterans Day is November 11... this is a great way to honor these men and women and let them know we support their cause!

I joined your team yesterday. I'm very excited to do this.

thanks toleshed, happy to have you aboard... it is an exciting and rewarding thing to participate in this cause.

we just finished up our holiday baking blitz for our Round 5 soldier... If you are interested in coming onboard to bake with a team for the New Year, check out www.bakinggals.com for more information.