A Soldier’s Hands sends care packages to deployed military units around the world — one package for every member of an entire unit, so that no one goes without a mail call.

How it all started

In August 2007, a mysteriously empty middle seat on a badly overbooked flight led Trish Shallenberger to strike up a conversation with the polite young soldier seated on the other side of that empty seat.

With a kind offer

The soldier, Mark, was about to deploy to Iraq. Trish noticed his hands were in rough shape — tops sunburned, and palms blistered after training in the hot Texas sun — so she offered him a tube of hand cream. After hearing his concerns about the harsh sun and heat in Iraq, Trish offered to send him some more hand cream and some sun protective products while he was deployed there.

And a heartfelt response

That's when Mark said the words that planted the seed that would become A Soldier's Hands: "Thank you, but I can’t accept your kind offer when I know that some members of my unit won’t receive even a single mail call while we’re there.” Trish immediately promised to take care of Mark's whole unit – all 177 of them.

That Thanksgiving, Mark’s unit received more than 180 packages, and the mission of A Soldier’s Hands took flight.

Since that day, and with the help of countless volunteers and contributors, A Soldier's Hands (ASH) has distributed more than 50,000 individual care packages around the world, unit by unit, so no member of any unit that ASH has had the honor of serving goes without a mail call.