Airborne Angel Cadets of Texas sending care packages to U.S. troops

CARROLLTON - U.S. troops deployed to conflict zones around the globe will soon get special care packages shipped directly from North Texas.

The Airborne Angel Cadets of Texas, a nonprofit based in Carrollton, want to make sure our men and women serving overseas have the toiletries and other everyday items they need that are often hard to find on base.

"We hope they smile," said one volunteer at a packing event in Farmers Branch this week. "Just that somebody's thinking of them."

The boxes include items like lip balm, suntan lotion, batteries, coffee, deodorant, air fresheners, snacks, hard candy, baby wipes, razors, and letters from home.

Shipping care packages to faraway military outposts is expensive.

"I was a flight attendant for 40 years, and I had the honor and opportunity to fly many troop transports, and through those, I learned that many of these young men and women come from families that can't afford to send them anything," said Nancy Carter, the founder and president of Airborne Angel Cadets of Texas.

Carter knew how important it was for her son, who served in the Navy, to get someone from her in the mail. She couldn't bear the thought of others going empty-handed.

"It just was a natural progression to becoming mom to all of our men and women," said Carter, who created the organization 19 years ago.

Seven times a year, dozens of volunteers pack 400-500 boxes for people serving in the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

"We don't send to friendly countries because they can easily get off base and get supplies," Carter said. "In the hot spots, they can't do that. They're relegated to stay on base for their safety."

One of the biggest challenges is covering the cost of shipping for all these packages. It can take $60,000-70,000 a year to make sure they reach their destinations around the world.

"We are 100% donation-based," said Carter. "Not one of us takes a salary. So we're spending, oftentimes, a lot of our own money to fund this. We just love our men and women and we want to let them know they deserve to be taken care of."

Every item is carefully picked and packed with love, so those who sacrifice so much know they're never forgotten.

The nonprofit's greatest need is cash for our mailing costs: "We are a 501(c)(3) charity, so your gifts are tax deductible. We accept checks to Airborne Angel Cadets of Texas, P.O. Box 116691, Carrollton, TX 75011. You can donate via credit card through our Click and Pledge account, or you can Venmo us at NancyCarter@AirborneAngels."

Airborne Angel Cadets of Texas also keeps a full list of items they need for their next packing event here: https://www.airborneangelcadets.com/

The organization says homemade cards and letters they can put inside the packages also go a long way towards boosting morale.