At Sandboxx, we are always working hard to listen to our customers and families. In this series, learn more about people who utilize Sandboxx to stay connected with their recruits and service members.
Meet Shannon, a Marine Corps mom. Sandboxx made it easier for her and her husband to reach out to their recruit and not worry too much about their son while he was away.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your recruit.
We are from north Idaho, about an hour from the Canadian border. Ryan was a part of the DEP (delayed entry program) for right over a year. He went down to the USMC recruiting office to enlist as soon as he was able to. His dad is also a Marine and many other members of our family. I think being a Marine has always been a goal for Ryan
How did you first hear about Sandboxx? After using it for a while, what do you think about Sandboxx?
Ryan brought home a paper about Sandboxx from his recruiters office a couple months before he shipped out to boot camp. He made sure his dad and I loaded the app on our phones.
Sandboxx is a great tool for any parent or loved one of a military recruit. I know my letter is going to get to him sooner than traditional mail. It doesn’t replace being able to pick up your phone to text your child, but knowing that your letter will get to them in a day is amazing. I can attach a picture to any letter he gets. We found making a collage of pictures is awesome too.
Each letter I send has a collage of motivational quotes or pictures of Ryan’s pets and friends.
How did sending letters with Sandboxx help you connect and stay in touch with your recruit during basic training?
Every parent worries if their child is going to be ok or is doing ok… do they have everything they need? Sending a letter with Sandboxx takes the worry away of will they have paper and a stamp to send a letter because my letters to Ryan include stationary and a prepaid addressed envelope. Yes we all know they have stationary from the PX but a parent still worries.
And I get a notification when Ryan writes back. It does make you smile seeing the notifications pop up.
Sandboxx is making it possible to keep in touch with Ryan and hopefully help keep him motivated throughout boot camp.
Any plans for your recruit after basic training?
Ryan will have a 10 day leave before his next training starts, so we are going to catch up before Ryan starts on the next phase in his future!
