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Supporting the troops

 
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dale



Joined: 22 Aug 1999
Posts: 3087
Location: Seattle, WA USA

PostPosted: Wed Nov 23, 2005 2:29 am    Post subject: Supporting the troops Reply with quote

A friend's son-in-law, has been in Afghanistan for the last year. He has put together a list of places that directly support the troops overseas, and that you can support in your day to day shopping.

Please consider these places when you are shopping or donating in the coming year.

I've edited down the text somewhat to reduce the length, and also remove some of the personal details.

Dale
===============

1. AAFEX PX/NEX. Army/Air Force Exchange Service Post Exchange/Base Exchange and Navy Exchange Service are non-profit agencies that have stores on all U.S. military bases and many, many outposts in the combat zone. With the proceeds from their sales, they donate millions of dallars each year to fund MWR (morale, welfare and recreation) activities for deployed soldiers. Unfortunately, AAFES/NEX is only available to troops, their family members, and retirees. But if you are one of the lucky folks who can shop there, please do.

2. USO. The United Services Organization has been a staple of military support for generations. This organization is funded entirely by donations of corporations, foundations, and most importantly, individuals. To lear more or donate, the website is http://www.uso.org .

3. Windermere Real Estate. A lot of volunteer groups send things to troops, and we are always grateful, but often it is stuff we do not need, and with our limited living space, we often give a lot of stuff away to interpreters and locals. The Windermere folks have broken that mold. One of my mates gets contacted by a volunteer from a Windermere office in California, and they actually ask us for requests.

4. Fisher House. http://www.fisherhouse.org , Fisher House provides "a home away from home that enables family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful time -- during hostpitalization for an illness, disease or injury." Fisher Houses today are busting at the seams. Fisher House also relies on the generosity of the public to sustain their support, and I have an easy and cheap way for you to donate to Fisher House. Go to your local bookstore and purchase _The Long Road Home_, by G.B. Trudeau ($9.95). Mr. Trudeau is the author of the _Doonesbury_ comic strip. The book _The Long Road Home_ is a collection of strips about one of the characters, B.D., who suffers a serious injury while serving as a reservist in Iraq. If you're not into the politics of _Doonesbury_, don't worry, this collection is not at all political, it is just good old fashioned military humor, plus a nice foreword by Senator John McCain. But if will give you a good laugh, and 100% of the purchase price of the book will go to support Fisher House.


..

7. Operation Truth. Found on the web at http://www.optruth.org , "Operation Truth is America's first and largest nonprofit, non-partisan advocacy organization for the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars." Unlike past generations, most of today's Senators and Congressmen/Congresswomen have not seved in the military, and as a result, veteran's issues have taken a beating in recent years. Medical coverage, disability benefits, and other care ofr veterans are the least we can offer to those that sacrifice years of their life to keep us safe. I frequet this website a lot, and I am proud of the work they are doing to ensure that today's troops are not forgotten in the future. You can donate directly to OpTruth at their website, or link to a number of other soldier charities.

8. Books for Soldiers. Books for Soldiers is a soldier support site that ships books, DVDs, video games and relief supplies free of charge to deployed members of the US armed forces. I discovered this organization while leafing through some postcards in our recreation room. I saw one from San Francisco, and having lived in the Bay Area for a while, I looked to see who sent the card, discovering BFS. The volunteers for this organization not only sent me a book (a hardback edition of "October 1964" by David Halberstam) and a DVD (a brand new Collector's Edition of "Pulp Fiction"), but also sent encouraging emails and in one case, a 10-page handwritten letter, telling me how much they value what we do for the nation. Dozens of soldiers here at my camp have received books, movies and more. Dispite all that we do here, the "down time" is tremendously boring, and these gifts from the home front make the time pass much faster while we wait to get home to our families. You can donate to them or even sign up to ship items to troops at http://www.booksforsoldiers.com .
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donaldan



Joined: 01 Jul 2001
Posts: 1881
Location: Ft. Myers, FL

PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 4:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dale, it is very nice of you to think of our troops. I fully share in your support.
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