HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR HELOISE: Do you know any ways I can support our veterans? I am looking for a way to help.

— Josh in Colorado DEAR READER: There are many, many groups that help our veterans. In fact, too many to list here. You can call the chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in your area for ideas. Here is just one you might consider, which I have written about for more than 15 years:

The Veterans’ National Stamp and Coin Club is a wonderful organization. They collect U.S. and foreign stamps and coins, postcards, sports cards and much more. This group then passes the items on to other Veterans Affairs support centers across the nation. The stamps and coins, etc., are supplied for therapeutic use helping veterans. Send donations to:

Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center Veterans’ National Stamp and Coin Club No. 135 S.C. 3601 S. Sixth Ave. Tucson, Ariz. 85723 You also can see if your city’s VA office needs help or donations. Thank you for wanting to support our veterans. They need all the help we can give them, and anything you or my other readers can do will be a wonderful way to say thank you to all of the veterans who sacrificed so much to keep us safe. And, don’t forget to say “thank you” in person to the military personnel in uniform, or retired, when you get a chance.

DEAR READERS: Here are other uses for straws:

Store necklaces in them for no tangles.

Clean a sink drain with one.

Make the spindle on your sewing machine taller to hold thread. Hull strawberries with one. Straighten flower stems.

DEAR HELOISE: I understand your frustration with the placement of box tops on products. In my time as a school box-top coordinator, I learned they place the box tops such that people can’t rip them off in the store without buying the product.

— Amy, via email DEAR READER: Thanks to you and all of the others who wrote about this. Sorry, but I just never would have thought about ripping off (really ripping off!) box tops! I would love to hear from grocery-store managers if this happens a lot. If so, what can my readers do to help?