USMC care package PIF PLEASE READ!

[ThePatrician]

Gentlemen, we have brothers in need. Sue at Mama Bear has been in communication with a deployed Marine and his unit, all of whom are wet-shavers who are having to lead lives far away from their families, friends, and homes. They have been deployed for several months, and have several more months to go. These Marines are dedicated to keeping themselves neat and presentable, and have even gone so far as to name their bunk space “The Groom Room”. A little bird has told me that the Marine who has been in contact with Sue, a Harold Jefferies, recently placed a large order with Mama Bear, and the other Marines in his unit were looking over his shoulder telling him what they wanted. They are living lives without the usual comforts of home, as well as any trace of Americana.


However, we can help. Simply, and with minimal cost to us.


We all have our shave cave, man dens, whatever we choose to call it. I know I do, and I am sure that you do as well, have some things that are unopened and have yet to be used. Some of it may have even been purchased on a whim and then forgotten about, or may have been a free sample. Well, it is time to put it to use.


With your help, Sue and I can send a killer, I say again KILLER, care package to our deployed Marines. A few of our pogonotomist things (sampler items, an unused tub of soap, a travel or trial size bottle or packet of aftershave), unopened and unused for hygiene and shipping ease, or some home-baked goodies, or some tastes of Americana (hot sauce, small bags of coffee, a couple of candy bars, a small tub of Nutella, a bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup, or a tin of Old Bay seasoning) would go a long way towards giving these Marines a few comforts and tastes of home. I myself will be donating an as-yet unused tub of soap, several of the AOS trial packets of after-shave lotion, and some home-baked oatmeal raisin cookies. My wife will also be baking a few things to send as well. For anything you may choose to bake, please seal it in a plastic bag and seal the bag with duct tape, then label it so they know what they are getting. For everyone's sake, please no glass bottles, only plastic or tin.


Sue has graciously agreed to pay the shipping costs, all we have to do is get our items to her. Please send anything you feel you can donate to:
The Groom Room c/o Mama Bear's Soaps LLC
PO Box 57
Florence, WI 54121-0057


Please address whatever you choose to send to “The Groom Room c/o Mama Bear's Soaps LLC”, or otherwise mark the box for “The Groom Room”. If a lot of us donate one or two things, then together we can donate a lot.


For everyone's sanity and peace of mind, it is best if this is not open-ended. We will accept donations NO LATER THAN September 22[SUP]nd[/SUP]. This gives everyone the chance to get their things together, hem and haw over whether they can stand to live with XYZ, then get it in the mail with plenty of time to spare.


Let's make this a PIF to remember!


And to anyone who wants to see Marine Jefferies' response to hearing about this idea:

Thank you so much for the consideration! Oh wow! That's so nice of you! A care package would really boost the morale of the guys! We have been gone away from home for almost four months and won't be going home for a few more months. Anything from home always cheers us up!

We appreciate you all so much!

Baked goods and all would be great! We are currently in the Arctic ocean...(can't say where exactly for obvious reasons) but I don't think any of us have seen a cookie since before we left America!

 

[LittleLebowski]

Not that it matters but I'm curious as to what unit this is?

 

[SuperChris]

did the first one get deleted?

 

[ThePatrician]

EDIT: I heard from one of the mods, who told me that double-posts are not allowed. That was my bad.

 

[SuperChris]

Someone asked on the first post but I will ask again. Can we send DE blades?

 

[ThePatrician]

I don't see a problem with sending DE blades. I have ordered 100x packs through DPOs before without a problem. I believe they already have razors, but I am sure they would love it!

 

[SuperChris]

cool

 

[alex2363]

I will get some things today and send it on Monday nj time.

 

[Mama Bear]

Oh Matt, this is wonderful..

Here is the letter that started all of this.. I really wanted to share as it brought tears to my eyes.

Good afternoon Ms. Clark, how are you?

Thank you so much for the kind response, we appreciate it greatly.

I'm sorry to hear about the tub supplier. I hope that things somehow work out for them.

After talking it over with my buddies, we all agreed that the tubs are a really convenient way of storing the soaps. When deployed, we usually do not have the shaving scuttles or bowls that we use when we are home. Most of us just lather the brush up in the soap tub. We know that getting the soap wet during the lathering process decreases the life span of the soap, but we often have no choice due to our circumstances. Sometimes all we have is water, a brush, a razor, and the soap tub.

When we are deployed, we have very little personal storage space. With the tubs, it is easy to stack them on top of each other to keep them organized neatly. If we had just pucks alone, we would probably have to store them in Ziploc bags or anything else we could think of. That might look unkempt and also may not be good for the life expectancy of the soap, especially when the soap gets wet. The tubs really make storage and transportation of the soaps incredibly convenient. And the nice labels on each of the soap tubs make it easy to know which soap is which.

Honestly, your shaving soaps are so great, we will take them anyway they come, tub or no tub!

I really hope that the folding of the tub supplier doesn't adversely affect your business. Sometimes I wonder what I would do if I didn't have Mamabear soaps...I really do! I have spent years trying out different shaving soaps and creams but once I tried Mamabear's products, I found everything I was looking for.
I just recently ordered the Summer Aftershave Milk (Vanilla Cream scent) and I can't wait to try it out!

Your products have made a big impact on the morale of my unit. We are in the middle of a 5 month deployment and getting Mamabear products in the mail really brighten our spirits! Every month we order a few things to have shipped out to us, it gives us something to look forward to and helps break up the time. I can explain it, but something about your products remind us of being home...

A buddy of mine here took a whiff of my "Aromatic Tobacco Pipe" shaving soap and wanted to try shaving with it. He did it once and was hooked. He just placed an order at Mamabear a few days ago! He is looking forward to surprising his wife with his newfound shaving soap discovery when he returns home (he knows she'll love the scent), and also surprising her with few bars of your glycerin soaps!

We even started calling our berthing area "The Groom Room" because of how much we like using your products to stay well-groomed.

As for the Aqua Di Gio fragrance, I would like to order 3 pucks of it, if available. I just recently placed an order over the weekend.
Should I add the purchase to that order, or place a brand new order on the website? Here is the confirmation information:

Order Confirmation from Mama Bear's Soaps, LLC

Harold Jefferies
Order Number: 10588
Date Ordered: Sunday 02 September, 2012

 

[Matt555]

Ok, I thought it was me. I'm not sure what is up!
My question was I was also thinking about a razor that I intended on PIFing around here but, would much rather give it to those guys. Do we know if they already have this sort of thing? I would think so if they were ordering cream but, you know!

There is an organization by me that does this exact same thing, and to answer your question, it is best to assume they have nothing but their rifle and bullets. So DE blades and cream are a very good idea. The flyers from the organization by me asks for anything from shampoo, toothpaste, razors and cream, playing cards, etc. Most people, including me at times, have a hard time understanding how they don't have these things already. Thankfully people take it upon themselves to remind us they don't and to put things like this together.

 

[ThePatrician]

Alright, cookies are baked, and I burned the daylights out of the tip of my thumb (the same one that I cut the tip off of four years ago.) Very nearly everything is together, so this will probably go out on Tuesday. Cheers!

 

[Mama Bear]

Alright, cookies are baked, and I burned the daylights out of the tip of my thumb (the same one that I cut the tip off of four years ago.) Very nearly everything is together, so this will probably go out on Tuesday. Cheers!

Oh thank God, I am good in the kitchen as long as it involves. soap, soup or stew.. I can't bake.. I am fat so its probably not the worst thing, but everyone loves cookies... this is awesome, thank you SO MUCH! remember to put a note to them in your package please?

 

[ThePatrician]

I'm no good at writing notes; about the best I would do is "Enjoy the oatmeal raisin cookies". It's honest and descriptive, sure, but faith and begorra is it trite. I'll think of something though. And I am a monster baker!

 

[ThePatrician]

Package will be on its way tomorrow morning. There was a problem with click'n'ship.

EDIT: package was sent this morning. It will be on its way tomorrow. Here's hoping USPS gets it there on time!

 

[ShaveYourSoul]

Sent a soap yesterday...love this idea!