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When you have a friend or family member serving the military on foreign soil, especially in a combat zone, sending care packages is a very common thing to do. One of the most often requested items is cigars, but that can be cost prohibitive for many families. Enter Cigars for Warriors.  The mission of Cigars for Warriors is to provide premium cigars and cigar accessories to members of the United States Armed Forces, especially those men and women serving in combat zones.

Many cigar shops and cigar events support Cigars for Warriors in various ways. When you visit a cigar shop that supports Cigars for Warriors, they can accept donations of cigars as well as donations of money to support the organization. Volunteers then pick up these donations and send them to the headquarters, where they are packaged and sent to troops who have requested them.  You can find donation centers in your area here.

The Cigars for Warriors are also usually at major cigar events. I first met them at the Drew Estate Barn Smoker, where they had a table set up with a raffle. The line to make donations and buy raffle tickets was constantly ten people deep at minimum, and all the volunteers worked throughout the day raising money and taking cigar donations.

Because of a change in FDA rules last year cigar manufacturers are no longer allowed to donate cigars, so it’s up to the brothers and sisters of the leaf to do so. Often times people will take a buy one, donate one approach, donating a cigar to their local cigar shop’s collection for every one they buy to smoke there. Other times people will donate things they haven’t gotten around to smoking yet to make room for new stuff. Spring cleaning is totally acceptable here as long as everything is in good shape. If you receive cigars as a part of an event promotion, consider donating a few to Cigars for Warriors.

If you aren’t dropping them off at a designated collection site, you can still mail them in to:

You will need to download and fill out a donation form along with your package. You can find that here.  It’s important to package your cigars correctly so they arrive safe and ready to be sent out to smoke. To do this you can place the cigars in a zip top bag with a hydration pack, available at your local shop for $1-5. Package this in a box so the cigars don’t get damaged in transit. (This is good information about mailing cigars.)

If you don’t have the time to round up cigars, you can simply make a donation to Cigars for Warriors online here through Paypal or with a credit card. Cash donations are always great for this organization – as the saying goes, cash is always the right color and size! They spend A LOT of money on shipping costs to get these cigars mailed to combat zones, so every dollar helps.

You can also volunteer to help out Cigars for Warriors. If you own a cigar shop you can apply to be a Cigars for Warriors donation center here. This organization depends on volunteers, so keep an eye out for volunteer opportunities in your area.

Supporting our troops when they are away from home is important, and it is as simple as dropping an extra cigar in the donation bin at your local smoke shop.