Walking through our base exchange here at Ramstein, Germany, the other day, I came upon a group of girls inviting shoppers to write notes to deployed soldiers. I thought I saw a familiar smile, and sure enough, it was Lauren Ewest, the young founder of Cups of Love.  Click here to read more about this project in Spouse Calls.

Through her organization, Lauren has provided cups of love and encouragement in the form of candy and handwritten notes for hundreds of deploying soldiers who head downrange through the Ramstein passenger terminal.

She and her family and friends hand out treats and smiles to troops passing through the terminal during holidays, like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine's Day.

During the week of Valentine's Day they handed out 1200 packets to deploying troops, patients at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and others.

Now they are working on packets to be handed out on Independence Day, a great day to remember and thank our military men and women.

Lauren said she is still hoping to create a Web site for Cups of Love. Until then, to find out how to help, contact Melissa McKinney, Special Events and Volunteer Coordinator for the USO Kaiserslautern, at mckinneym.uso@tks-net.com.