During this month of Thanksgiving, don’t forget to express your gratitude to our military service members. Many organizations and veterans groups offer ways to help support and thank the armed forces. You family can help a veteran, deployed service member, and/or military families. Here’s how:

Aid an expectant military mom.

Nothing relieves a soldier’s worries more than knowing his family is supported back home. Operation Top Knot, an organization started by college student Audri Cid in 2003, is a nationwide network of individuals who sew, knit, and create gift baskets to support new and expectant mothers whose spouses are deployed. To donate baby blankets, diapers, bottles, clothing, and other items, visit SoldiersAngels.org/top-knot.html.

Write a letter.

Remind veterans and their families that you are thinking about them and appreciate their commitment to our nation. Write a letter to a deployed soldier, a wounded warrior, or a veteran who has served in past wars through OperationGratitude.com, or to a military family through Operation Appreciation sponsored by Blue Star Families (BlueStarFam.org).

Support their furry friends.

Raise money to go toward fostering pets of active duty service members, wounded warriors, and homeless veterans. Guardian Angels for Soldier’s Pet is a nonprofit organization that finds qualified foster families to care for pets while soldiers are deployed or when military families transfer overseas. The foster families also care for pets whose warriors have died.

Contribute to Paralyzed Veterans of America.

This organization supports veterans who suffered a spinal cord injury. Participate in one of the organization’s sporting events or fundraisers, make a monetary donation, or collect and donate bags of clothing, shoes, belts, hats, books, CDs, and small household goods. Visit PVA.org.

Assist disabled & wounded veterans.

Volunteer at your local Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center, or help disabled veterans with running errands, doing yard work, or with transportation. Visit, DAV.org and check out the Wounded Warrior Project for other ways to help injured service members.

Help them call home.

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) supports and assists military veterans and their families through a variety of programs, including Operation Uplink. The program enables service members and hospitalized veterans to make free calls back home to loved ones for three days each month. Go to VFW.com to make a donation.

Aid service dogs.

PatriotPaws trains dogs to serve disabled veterans. You can help the organization by bathing and walking dogs, running errands, or fundraising. Learn more at PatriotPaws.org.

Clip coupons.

Don’t toss your expired coupons! Military families stationed overseas can use coupons for up to six months past their expiration. Visit CoupsForTroops.com for drop-off sites or to find out where to mail coupons.

Donate DVDs.

DVDS4Vets is a nonprofit organization started by Dr. Richard Landis, an orthopedic surgeon who helped build clinics in Afghanistan, and James F. Nicholson, who served as an Air Force pilot in Korea between 1950 and 1953. Landis and Nicholson identified a need to provide basic entertainment for veterans who returned home with traumatic brain injuries or other serious wounds and were undergoing long-term rehabilitation. To donate used or new DVDs to veterans, visit DVDs4vets.org.

Send a care package.

Soldiers who are serving far from home look forward to receiving mail. Visit Anysoldier.com to learn how to send a letter and what is appropriate for care packages. If you’d like to help support a veteran who does not have family to assist in the transition back to home and civilian life, check out the Adopt a Veteran program (SoldierAngels.org). Those who volunteer to be an Adopting Angel make a 12-month commitment to send a letter each week and a small gift once a month, tailored to the individual veteran’s specific needs.

Say thank you!

If you see a soldier in uniform or a veteran, a simple “Thank you for your service” is a considerate way to express your gratitude. For more ways to thank a vet, visit KidsThankaVet.com.

Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on November 11, 1919, to mark the one-year anniversary of Germany signing the Armistice to formally end WWI. It became a national holiday in 1938. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation to change the name of the holiday to Veterans Day to honor all those who served in American wars.