Group Registration

Thank you for your interest in signing up as a group to participate in the Manhattanville My Soldier program. 

Groups interested in Hats Off to Veterans, please (click here)

Groups interested in earning Community Service Certification please     (click here)

Teacher interested in classroom kits, please (click here)

Groups interested in My Soldier Fundraising Kit (please read below)

For groups who want register today, you may do so in conjunction with the purchase of a My Soldier Fundraising Kit. You can place an order by calling 914-323-5172 or making a secure donation online. When we see a donation made in the amount of $58 we automatically process this as a fundraising kit order.

Using the kit allows your group to break even on your investment. Moreover, there is the opportunity if you choose, to raise additional funds. All sales of My Soldier kits and donations are applied directly towards the program’s operating expenses. All funds you raise our yours to keep for your own operating expenses.

The Basic Training My Soldier Fundraiser Kit costs $58.00 and includes:

• 30 My Soldier Hats for you to raffle or sell
• 50 Bracelets
• My Soldier Fundraiser Guide (tips on who/how/where to hold an event)
• My Soldier Information and Awareness Postcards
• Starter Kit that contain a soldier contact(s) and letter writing guidelines

Frequently asked questions
How can hats in the My Soldier fundraising kit help us raise money?

The My Soldier baseball caps can help you raise funds through direct sales, a Raffle, or by holding an event such as the Crazy Hat Day described below. 

My Soldier Hat Raffle
Raffling off the hats that come with the My Soldier Fundraising Kit is a great way to recuperate the cost. The easiest and most effective way to raffle off the gear is to partner up with another event—if you’re a school then some sort of sporting event, if you’re an office then a company function. 

Sell raffle tickets for the hats throughout the duration of the event. If you’re going to use a sporting event, ask that half the winners be announced at halftime and the other half after the game. If you’re going to be raffling the hats off at a company dinner, perhaps giving them out after each speaker would punctuate the entertainment. If your event is something like a picnic or another event where people come and go frequently, be sure that participants put their contact information on their tickets so they can be notified of their win, or make it clear that they must be present to win. 

Crazy Hat Day
Crazy hat day is a fun way to promote team spirit in a work or school environment while recuperating the cost of your Fundraising Kit. It’s a very simple event to plan, with minimal time and effort required. Crazy hat day also has the potential to be as creative or simple as you wish. 

To make this project more creative (ideal for a younger academic setting), participants can create their own hats, wearing their works of art on the designated Crazy Hat Day. For a more basic approach, establish the date of your Crazy Hat Day and then notify students or employees that on that day, for the donation of a dollar or less, participants can wear their hat all day long. You should mark participants with a sticker or stamp to ensure that everyone wearing a hat is actually participating in your fundraiser.

Do you have any guidelines for a group or class project?

Absolutely! We created the I Heart My Soldier care package program especially for groups. Gathering and assembling Care Packages for a platoon is a great activity for a group, including school groups and youth organizations. It delivers a moral boost for soldiers and teaches the importance of volunteering, the values of service and community and the knowledge that one person can make a difference. 

While the regular My Soldier program attempts to foster an ongoing pen-pal relationship, I Heart My Soldier is tailored to groups who want to send some support without making a continuing commitment. Group participants may opt to adopt one soldier or an entire platoon but must be willing to a care package of letters and goodies.


Do you have any suggestions for Care Packages with a theme?

Yes! Here are a few ideas from our Care Package Hot List to get you started.

“Heartfelt fun”

© Homemade Cards with handwritten notes
© Hugs & Kisses! Hershey's Good Night Hugs Hot Cocoa mix & Chocolate Kisses
© Friendly gifts such as My Soldier Hats, warm socks, silk flowers, luxurious body/skin care products, and international phone cards. 
© Reading Material: especially current best sellers and hobby, sport and fashion magazines. 
© Games: Board games, puzzle books and new (or slightly used) Play Station and XBox games are very much in demand and will help the soldiers feel “Young at Heart.”

“Poker Party”

§ Cards, Poker Chips, & Play Money
¨ Make your Own Pizza Kits: Boboli Pizza Party Pack or Chef Boyardee Pizza Kit
ª Pizza Flavored Snacks: Pizzalicious Pringles, Cheetos Cheese Pizza Flavored Puffs
© Bubble Gum Cigars 

“Ladies Night- Spa Party”

Small inflatable pool (so they can all soak their feet), peppermint foot soak, facial mud mask, pumice stone, nail brush, lotion, powder, fingernail polish/remover, cotton balls/swabs, flip-flops, fun socks, fashion and beauty magazines, herbal tea, instant specialty coffee

”Taste of Home A to Z”

A - Apple Pies (Hostess or Drake Cake individual sized), Applejacks cereal, A-1 Sauce 
B - BumbleBee tuna, Bazooka bubble gum
C - Crackerjacks, Chocolate Chips Ahoy cookies, Crunch n’ Munch
D - Dried Fruit or Del Monte Fruit To-Go, Doritos
E - Easy Mac, Easy Cheese 
F - Fruit Loops, Fritos
G - Girl Scout cookies, Goldfish crackers
H - Hershey bar, Hawaiian Fruit Punch 
I - Idaho instant potato mix, Instant specialty coffees 
J - Junior Mints, Juicy Fruit gum, Juicy Juice Juice Box, Jerky, 
K - Kool-Aid, Kellogg’s cereal (single size boxes)
L - Lipton onion soup mix, Lemonade mix
M - M&M's, Moon Pies, Mallomars
N - Nabisco graham crackers, Nilla wafers
O - Oreos, Ovaltine 
P - Pop-Tarts, PowerBars, Prunes
Q - Quaker Oatmeal, Nestlé’s Quik
R - Ritz crackers, Rice Krispie Treats 
S - Spaghetti O's, Spices, Sardines & Salmon (canned)
T - Triscuits, Twizzlers, Tabasco Sauce, Twinkies, Tuna, Tostitos Snack Packs
U - Utz potato chips and pretzels
V - V-8 juice, Veggie Chips
W - Whoppers malted milk balls, Whoopie Pies, Wrigley’s gum
X - CheX MiX, Trail MiX
Y - York Peppermint Patty, Yoodles 
Z - Zagnut Candy Bar, Zweiback

Comfort Recipe

Lifesavers - to remind you that that's what you are 
A Match - To light your fire when you're feeling burned out 
Smarties - To help you on those days when you don't feel smart 
Mounds Bar - to remind you of the mounds of love & support you have from back home
Tape- To fix things that will not work 
Confetti- To remind you to have fun 
A Starburst - To give you a burst of energy on days when you don't have any 
Pack of Gum - to help your unit stick together 
Cotton Ball - to cushion the rough roads 
A Rubber Band - To stretch yourself beyond the limits 
A String - To tie things together when everything falls apart 
Penny - we all need a little luck 
A Marble- For when you lose yours 
Battery - To give you that extra charge to keep you going... and going.
Piece of Rope - When you reach the end of yours, this will keep you going a bit longer 
Sample pack of Excedrin - Thank you, I know this job can be a headache 
Paperclip - to hold it all together 
A Hershey Hug- to let you know there's always someone on your side 
Mint - because you are worth a mint 
Phone cards-reminder to call home
Candle - to light up the darkness 
Tootsie Roll - to help you roll with the punches 
Laffy Taffy- to remind you to laugh 
Jolly Rancher - to remind you how sweet things can be
Map of USA-- so you will never be far from home. 
Yellow Ribbon-So you will know you will always be supported till you come home

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