By Steve Huffman
Salisbury Post
Kim Brown said that when people trade in used video games, they typically get $3 apiece for them.
Not a lot, she noted.
But she knows a better use for those games ó that will give their former owners a lot more satisfaction.
Send ’em to troops in Iraq.
Brown’s brother is stationed in Fallujah, Iraq, and he’s told her what a difference some donated video games would make.
“There’s not much to do over there,” Brown said. “We’ve got a lot of single parents over there, and they can’t afford games.”
Brown, 27, is a Rowan County resident who moved here 11 years ago. Her brother, Shane Neuhaus, 31, is a Navy Seabee who has spent 14 years in the military.When he’s not deployed overseas, he lives with his wife and three children in Norfolk, Va.
Brown is helping her brother with a campaign to collect games for troops in Iraq. In Fallujah, Neuhaus is one of only a handful of sailors who serves primarily with Marines.
Neuhaus collects the games, then distributes them to other soldiers at his base.
“He wants to take care of his fellow soldiers,” Brown said. “Instead of leaving those old games just laying around, give ’em to the troops and make ’em happy.”
The soldiers aren’t especially picky about the games they receive. They can use PlayStation and Xbox games, as well as GameCube and Wii titles. (A few for which there’s really no demand are NES, SNES or N64, she added)
PC games also work, as long as they don’t require the latest graphic cards. Brown said there’s also a demand for new or used consoles.
New games make it to the base PX only on rare occasions, Brown says.
If you’d like more information about the video games-for-troops campaign, Brown will gladly take your call at at 704-245-2760.
People who want to mail their old games to Neuhaus for distribution, should use the following address:
SK1 Shane Neuhaus
30 NCR DET 1
FPO AP 09381-1702
Brown said the cost of mailing a game to a military base is the same as U.S. postal rates. She said it typically costs about $4 or $5 to mail a game to Iraq.
Not a lot when you think about the satisfaction you get in return.
nnn
Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4222 or shuffman@ salisburypost.com.