Something’s right here…

Today’s funny courtesy of ICHC:

Even they notice …

Soldiers’ Angels adopts 210,000th soldier

Ran across this via the Soldiers’ Angels blog, there’s a great interview with SA co-founder Jeff Bader on the News Blaze online site. Be sure to hop on by there and watch the video!

Cure that letter writer’s block!

The Soldiers’ Angels Mentor Team members are the absolute best. Mine is Dina. She’s been a huge inspiration to me and ever since I joined, she’s patiently answered all of my questions and helped out whenever I needed a nudge in the right direction, or some friendly advice.

One thing she emailed recently were suggestions for getting those creative juices flowing and getting around that letter writer’s block that some of us get:

• Buy a bunch of postcards from your area. On the back, jot down a note about what they are looking at, and what you did at that spot.
• Start looking for jokes on the internet or in your newspaper. Cut them out, jot a note and send it off.
• I hit the Dollar tree for funny cards, thinking of you cards, etc. (They are 2 for a buck) and then jot a note inside about the weather, something funny my son did, who won the big game, a movie I saw, etc.
• Grab a crossword puzzle book from the dollar store, and tear out a couple of the pages and send them along. Tell him that you’ll send the answers page in the next letter.
• Do you have any contact w/any school age children? If so, have them draw some pictures to send along. Heroes LOVE hearing from kids!
• Enlist the help of folks at church…grab a big card or cards and have a bunch of people sign it as a show of support.

Those are some great tips. A big ‘Thank You!!’ goes out to Dina for sharing.

Something else she shared with me:

One Iraqi Marine vet recently told an Angel he met that our letters and care packages are like “oxygen” to them … nothing means more to them than knowing a stranger cares about them while they are over there.

Amen! That’s pretty much what my soldier has told me as well. It may seem like a simple thing to us, but to those brave men and women overseas, our letters and packages are one of the most precious things in the world!

Do you have a tip to share?

All tips and suggestions for other letter writers out there are greatly appreciated!

Soldiers’ Angels Salutes the Nation’s Military Children

The following press release was posted to the SA Forums. I think it would be a great idea for us to contact local news media, city mayors, and state governors and request that April be designated Month of the Military Child.

April marks a very special month in the lives of the military families. Soldiers’ Angels joins the US Department of Defense in recognizing April as the Month of the Military Child, a time to applaud military families and their children for the daily sacrifices they make and challenges they overcome. Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger, established April as the Month of the Military Child in 1986, underscoring the importance of military children and their role in military families.

“Military families learn to be flexible, but extended hours and long deployments often prove to be difficult for America’s military children. I feel this month provides those of us (here) a time to celebrate the unique lifestyles of our military youth and the adjustments that families make during deployments and wartime.” says Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldiers’ Angels.

“Being a parent, it breaks my heart to leave my wife and kids behind when I am called to (deploy),” said Cpt. Mark McEvers NDARNG HHC 164 ENG BN SECFOR. “But that is what we do when we are called. We have sworn to support and defend and that is what we do. Our families know this, respect this, and stand by us. When we deploy forward and leave that hole in the family, it’s important for me to know that the nation has not forgotten about my family, and I am grateful that they are honored and supported this month.”

These children make sacrifices and serve their country as much as anyone in uniform does, quietly shouldering part of the burden, making their mom or dad understand that what they are doing is important. Military parents often have to miss holidays and special occasions, and children are left home to worry while parents go on difficult missions. Active duty military families also have to move every two or three years, making the children uproot, change schools and say goodbye to friends. Because military children have to transition and adapt a lot, they gain great life experience and maturity at a young age. April serves as a reminder for military families that there is support available to them with resources to help.

“I don’t think our children are told often enough how important and supportive it is to us when we come home from a difficult day and we see them smile,” Lt. Dan Murphy, North Dakota National Guard JFHQ Deputy Public Information Officer said. “It is my children (who) give me the energy and desire to put this uniform on each day to protect and defend this great nation for their future way of life.”

Soldiers’ Angels encourages the nation to stand up and support the military families in their surrounding area by getting involved in a variety of ways. Throughout the month of April, the military will be hosting special programs and events to salute military children, to include, carnivals, health screening for children, youth talent shows, and more. Please contact your local military facility to see how you can best utilize your time and talent to show your appreciation during the Month of the Military Child. To all of the military children in our nation- thank you for your service to our country, you are a very important part of our freedom.

Soldiers’ Angels currently supports tens of thousands of American service members stationed wherever the American flag is raised. Soldiers’ Angels is dedicated in supporting the military during and after their deployment. In the time honored tradition of civilian support of American soldiers, Soldiers’ Angels sponsors programs which provide support to American soldiers and their families. Soldiers’ Angels’ programs include first responder packs, support, and laptop computers to wounded soldiers who are receiving treatment at American military hospitals; care packages, letters, and support to deployed soldiers; armored blankets to military ambulances; items shipped for deployed soldiers to give children in the war zone; and memorial trees for the families of soldiers who have died in the service of their country. There are several ways to support our troops through Soldiers’ Angels, for more information please go to our national website www.soldiersangels.org or contact Soldiers’ Angels at (615)676-0239 or soldiersangels @ gmail.com.

Remember to vote for Patti!

There’s a little over a week left in the America’s Favorite Mom contest and as of this writing, Patti is in the lead! Voting ends March 31st, and you can vote once per day so bookmark this link and go vote!

New addition to SA HQ

I noticed something new on the Soldiers’ Angels main site this morning, a counter depicting how many soldiers were waiting to be adopted.

Nice addition!

Get your kids involved!

My daughter loves drawing pictures for my soldier and his platoon to enjoy. I’m willing to bet that many of you out there that have young’uns do the same.

I was reading on the Soldiers’ Angels blog just now about getting kids involved by printing and coloring an adorable Family Circus cartoon.

I know I’ll be printing out several copies in the morning for my daughter and her friends to color and decorate. How about you?

New VA fund raiser

Lori with the Soldiers’ Angels VA teams just emailed me about a fund raiser they’re having. Need to renew a magazine subscription, or looking to pick up a new one? Now’s the time! Magazines will be offered at a discounted price. Best part is: the Veterans Support Team will receive 40% of the profits!

Please take a moment and go look at the link below to check out the magazine offers. Renew or order a magazine and help them help our Veterans!

Link: http://www.freewebs.com/soldiersangelsveteranssupport/

Soldiers’ Angels 101: Reminders

One angel emailed me this morning, it seems she was having trouble remembering when she had or hadn’t emailed her soldier, and she was looking for suggestions as to how to remember this important task and perhaps organize her duties a bit. Well, I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m a forgetful type too. I get busy and time escapes me, I know I’m not alone in this. We all get busy but we should never neglect our adopted soldiers!

I’ve found it’s helpful to setup a “nag” to remind me each week. For example, every Monday morning I have both my Google Calendar and my Outlook at work nag me to write that afternoon. Tuesday mornings, I have another nag set to remind me to mail out the letter. (Or, in the extreme case that I was so busy I forgot to write, to write it!) Google Calendar is a free service and can send you reminders by email, SMS (standard charges will apply!), or popup.

If you are a Mozilla user, there are two apps which may be of interest to you: Sunbird (a stand-alone app) and Lightning (Thunderbird plugin). Both are free, and perform basically the same tasks as Google Calendar and Outlook’s calendar feature.

There are a TON of free reminder services if you would prefer an alternative to the above.

There’s a wide world of free tools and technology out there just waiting for us, so let’s put it to good use!

Soldiers’ Angels 101: Things I have figured out along the way…

• Keep an eye on cheap printing sites, such as VistaPrint. They are constantly having sales and offer free printing for various products. Better yet, check online coupon hubs, such as RetailMeNot, for coupon codes for heavily discounted items or free shipping!

  If you are looking for higher quality printing, I have been using Overnight Prints. They cost a bit more, but the quality and service I’ve received has been phenomenal. (Plus they sometimes have coupons listed on RetailMeNot!

• If you use Intuit’s TurboTax software or online services to file your taxes, you can use their It’s Deductible to keep track of your out-of-pocket costs for Soldiers’ Angels.

  Granted, I’m not in this for the tax break, but it sure helps when it comes time to buy supplies and postage!

  NOTE: Per TurboTax’s Live Community support forums, donation of time, web services, etc. are not deductible — only out of pocket expenses (keep copies of your receipts!), or donations of physical/tangible items.