It is difficult for the families of military personnel to have their loved one deployed overseas for extended periods of time, and it is especially trying on the youngest members of the family who may not completely understand the situation.

Operation Military Kids, a national program administered through the 4-H club, aims to help kids deal with these specific challenges. Friday, the organization is hosting a Summer Fun Day at Oak Mountain State Park for the children of military families from Jefferson and Walker counties.

The program provides educational programs to help kids understand the challenges of having their parent, older sibling, aunt or uncle serving far away. By bringing the kids together for the day, they will be introduced to 4-H activities available in the area, and get a chance to connect with other military families. Kids will go on a wildlife and nature hike, hula hoop, play badminton, volleyball and build sandcastles.

The camp runs from 9:30 a.m. till 4:30 p.m.

Soldiers’ Angels calls on all Americans to actively observe Memorial Day this May 30 by participating in an official Moment of Remembrance or undertaking other acts in honor of the over 1.3 million service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Established by Congress, National Moment of Remembrance asks Americans to pause in an act of remembrance for one minute on Memorial Day at 3 p.m. local time. The Moment can be as informal as ringing a bell, a moment of silence, a prayer or singing at a concert, etc.

Additional acts of Memorial Day remembrance can include the following:

• Visit a local VA hospital to learn the stories of patients’ fellow soldiers who never came home
• Use blogs, Facebook or other online resources tell the stories of family members who died in service to the country
• Read the names of fallen heroes on websites such as Honor the Fallen.
• Throw a care package party or write letters of encouragement for a hard-hit unit or the Mortuary Affairs units that care for America’s fallen heroes (for info, email events@soldiersangels.org)
• Visit a local military cemetery or memorial to stand in quiet solidarity with those who have lost their brothers and sisters in arms on the battlefield
• With conscious awareness of those who have made our safety possible, enjoy a weekend vacation or celebration in “the land of the free because of the brave”
• Attend a local parade
• Fly the American flag (at half-staff until noon and then full height until dusk, if possible)
• Use Angels Mail to tell your story of a fallen hero (send it to angels@soldiersangels.org and we will post it for you)

Please make a commitment to promote the National Moment of Remembrance and other Memorial Day activities to local leaders and businesses. This is a time to come together in honor of those who have given their lives so that we may continue to live free. In this shared remembrance and shared activities, we connect in gratitude as one America.

Wrapped in Holiday Spirit & Blankets of Belief

Please help us make sure that our deployed Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines this Holiday Season know: “We haven’t forgotten you, we support you, and we believe in you!”

Handmade “Blankets of Belief” form the heart of the Soldiers’ Angels Wrapped in Holiday Spirit care packages for the 2009 Holiday Season. These special Blankets are designed to tell America’s service men and women, “We believe in you.” When deployed service members receive a Blanket of Belief, they know that somebody back home remembers them, that somebody labored over a handmade blanket with love and belief in them. Along with the handmade Blanket, each Wrapped in Holiday Spirit care package includes a collection of yummy snacks, socks, and a holiday card with a personal note of thanks and support.

Many Ways to Help

• Spread the word with a general info flyer, or a flyer about sending holiday greeting cards [pdf files].
• Make a Blanket of Belief (we have a no-sew-option!)
• Donate a complete care package (you can now donate in honor of someone) or contribute hot chocolate packets toward care packages — select “Any Hero” for shipping address
• Donate other care package items: gum, candy/health bars, Tootsie Rolls, and white or khaki athletic/boot socks. Please include a note inside each box that contains your name, address, phone number, and an itemized list of contents with estimated value. Click here to purchase bulk items at a discount rate and ship directly to Soldiers’ Angels.

Soldiers’ Angels
Wrapped in Holiday Spirit
4408 PanAm Expressway
San Antonio, TX 78218

Soldiers’ Angels
Wrapped in Holiday Spirit
112 Greenhill Road
Ramseur, NC 27316

Soldiers’ Angels
Wrapped in Holiday Spirit
914 Tourmaline Dr
Newbury Park, CA 91320

Help cover the cost of shipping 140,000 care packages overseas

Soldiers’ Angels
Wrapped in Holiday Spirit
1792 E. Washington Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91104

140,000 Care Packages!

Please help Soldiers’ Angels place a gift and personal message of support into the hands of each deployed military man and woman this December. Help us tell them, “We believe in you!”

We are committed to providing Wrapped in Holiday Spirit care packages to every Soldier, Sailor, Airman and Marine deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s around 140,000 gifts to purchase, assemble, and ship halfway around the world! This is a big challenge but with your support and our wonderful group of hard-working volunteers, it can be done!

“I am part of [an] Air Control Squadron deployed to Iraq. I would like to thank your organization for the care package I received on Thanksgiving Day here in Iraq. The contents were very thoughtful and useful, and I greatly appreciated it. I would also like to thank the young ladies of Brownie Troop 547 in Buxton, Maine for their Christmas card.

Being away from our families and loved ones at this time of year is a definite hardship and this package has helped deal with the stresses of deployed life. Thank you again and God Bless you.”

Captain A.B.

“To those that have taken their time to prepare the packages for soldier’s here in Iraq: Thank you so much for the kind Christmas thoughts. Please see the attached. Happy holidays!!”

MSG Hyer

Tremendous thanks to Business Christmas cards leader Prudent Publishing for their generous donation of cards for the care packages for the third year in a row!

Soldiers’ Angels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and donations are tax deductible. Please consult your tax adviser for details.

…to celebrate Veteran’s Day next Wednesday, several major casual-dining restaurants — including Applebee’s, McCormick & Schmick’s and Golden Corral — are offering free food to the nation’s military vets and active-duty personnel, USA Today reports.

Outback Steakhouse is offering a free Bloomin’ Onion appetizer and a drink to vets and current military personnel on Wednesday. Krispy Kreme is giving away donuts, and even Home Depot and Lowe’s are getting in on the action offering 10 percent discounts to military.

At Applebee’s restaurants around the country, vets and active-duty military can get a free entree on Wednesday from 11 a.m. til midnight. And while Applebee’s will ask for military ID, the company says it won’t be sticklers for proof.

“We’re not going to argue with folks who might forget to bring it,” Sam Rothschild, senior vice president of operations for Applebee’s told USA Today.

McCormick & Schmick’s will give vets a free entree on Sunday instead of on the holiday so that vets can bring their families, CEO Bill Freeman told USA Today. The restaurant will also ask for military ID and recommends reservations.

Buffet meals will be free for both veterans and active-duty military at Golden Corral restaurants on Monday, Nov. 16, from 5 to 9 p.m. The event — the restaurant chain’s ninth annual Military Appreciation Monday — is not on Veteran’s Day so that it doesn’t interfere with holiday activities, spokeswoman Dolly Mercer told USA Today.

Additionally, the Ark Restaurant Group, which includes Bryant Park Grill, Canyon Road, El Rio Grande, Gonzalez y Gonzalez, Sequoia, RED, The Grill at Two Trees, Gallagher’s and Gallagher’s Burger Bar wrote in a e-mail alert to customers, “As a thank you to the service men and women and the veterans of our armed forces, Ark Restaurants will not be charging our soldiers and veterans for their meal on Veterans Day at any of our restaurants on the East Coast.”

Members of Soldiers’ Angels’ volunteer leadership have raised the stakes on this year’s online Valour-IT Veterans Day fundraising competition, which helps provide America’s wounded soldiers with voice-controlled laptops and other technology that supports their physical and psychological recovery.

Divided among four “virtual teams,” a wide variety of bloggers and other New Media mavens have been competing online since October 26 to inspire the most donations to help wounded troops by Veterans Day, November 11. If the teams of online fundraisers can blast through their collective goal of $140,000 and bring in an additional $100,000 in donations, founder Patti Patton-Bader and National Communications Director Shelle Michaels have promised to shave their heads in honor of the achievement.

In just over four years, Project Valour-IT has given 4,100 voice-controlled laptops to severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, and has supplied additional items that may be a surprising fit in a recovery regimen–Wii game systems and handheld GPS devices.

“This project changes lives,” says Patton-Bader. “Wounded heroes say that being able to use a laptop helps them feel whole again. Physical therapists are actually designing therapy sessions around Wii Sports! And something as normal as a handheld GPS reduces stress and helps a hero cope. With all that this project can do for our heroes, I’m happy to shave my head if it will motivate donations!”

Each of the devices Valour-IT supplies helps restore confidence and independence. Voice-activated laptops reconnect the wounded with the world and develop self-confidence by showing soldiers they can continue to be engaged and productive despite their injuries. Physical therapists report Wii Sports and similar programs are extremely beneficial when used in physical therapy settings. Wounded personnel with short-term memory loss due to TBI and severe PTSD use GPS systems to keep from getting disoriented when they move on to more independent living.

Details of the current fundraising competition are available at www.soldiersangels.org and www.valour-it.blogspot.com. Donations can be made online at Soldiers’ Angels, or by sending checks or money orders to Soldiers’ Angels, Valour-IT Fund, 1792 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104.

Established in 2003, Soldiers’ Angels is a volunteer-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing aid and comfort to the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, veterans and military families. For more information, www.soldiersangels.org or 623-570-3903. Tax ID# 20-0583415

According to the Applebee’s website, this offer is “available during business hours on November 11, 2009 at participating Applebee’s. (Dine-in from limited menu only.) Beverages and gratuity not included. Veterans and active duty military simply show proof of military service.”

Valid veteran and active duty identification accepted:

• U.S. Uniform Services Identification Card
• U.S. Uniform Services Retired Identification Card
• Current Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)
• Veterans Organization Card (i.e., American Legion and VFW)
• Photograph in uniform
• Wearing uniform

For more information and to see the dine-in menu, visit www.applebees.com/vetsday

(H/T: Karie @ Wife of a Wounded Marine)

Sandy Ballard waved a flag outside the Lakeshore Foundation tonight to give a group of veterans the greeting she said her loved ones did not receive when they came home from Vietnam.

“They need to see that people support them,” Ballard said.

About 450 people joined Ballard, a Bessemer resident, in welcoming a motorcade of classic cars carrying 35 veterans who suffered war injuries or have other disabilities, said Damian Veazey of the Lakeshore Foundation.

The former soldiers will be taking part in Lima Foxtrot — a program that includes activities such as rock climbing and scuba diving designed to help disabled military personnel.

The veterans said they were thrilled to be greeted by the flag-waving crowd.

“They say across America patriotism is dead. Actually, it’s not,” said Robert Silvia, a U.S. Navy petty officer 3rd class who served in the first Gulf War.

A genetic condition cost Silvia about 60 percent of his sight. His wife and two kids came from their home near Palm Springs, Calif., for the event, Silvia said.

Silvia said he was excited about the opportunity to fish and rock climb. “I’ve been gearing up for this for about four months,” Silvia said.

Marine Col. Don “Doc” Ballard, a Medal of Honor recipient who serves on a board of veterans who aid Lakeshore in fundraising, said soldiers today are more likely to survive war wounds, but as a result those injuries are often more severe.

“Life is what they want to make of it,” Ballard said. “The only disability they have is the one in their minds. It’s up to them to look for ways to re-enter society and be more active.”

What sounded and felt like a small earthquake in Fultondale on Saturday was simply a group of men and women wanting to help others.

More than 200 motorcycles roared in to American Legion Post 255 in Fultondale to take part in the American Legion Riders 9/11 Poker Run.

This is the fifth year that American Legion District 21 has hosted the ride. Each of the six posts in the district takes turns heading up the event.

“This is in remembrance of the fallen police officers and firefighters on 9/11,” said Ron Slay, vice-commander of post 255 and commander of American Legion Riders of Post 255.

Proceeds of the ride benefit the Fultondale Police and Fire Departments.

On hand to receive plaques and recognition from Post 255 Commander Bill Steber and other officials were Fultondale Assistant Fire Chief Larry Adams and Gardendale Police Chief Mike Walker, along with other members of both departments.

Also on hand at the post Saturday were representatives from the Breast Cancer Foundation and representatives of Kendall Thomas, both of whom were taking up donations.

On Sunday, Walker attended a District 21 meeting at Post 255, where he received a $1,000 check for the Kendall Thomas foundation.

Kendall Thomas, a former softball player at Gardendale High School, has been diagnosed with leukemia.

“That’s what the Legion is, helping the community and helping people in need,” said Slay.

The riders stopped at the American Legion posts in Fairfield, Tarrant and Leeds, giving plaques to the police and fire chiefs there.

The group also picked up extra riders at every post before ending the ride at the Birmingham Race Course.

Slay thanks the dozens of sponsors, who donated more than $2,000 in cash and items for door prizes.

A veterans group in Fultondale is working hard to recruit new members. Recruitment is one of the main purposes of a picnic that North Jefferson VFW Post 10250 is hosting on Sept. 12 at Black Creek in Fultondale. The picnic, scheduled at noon, is free and is open to all VFW members and their families, as well as to those eligible to join.

To join the VFW, a veteran must have served in the U.S. military overseas during a war. Active duty, Reservists and National Guard members are all eligible, whether or not they are still in the military. Those no longer in the military must have an honorable discharge. The membership fee to join the North Jefferson VFW is $25 a year.

Post 10250 Commander Robert Mattox said that only about 10 percent of the post’s roughly 128 members participate in VFW activities, such as attending the monthly meetings in Fultondale and volunteering for committees and programs. Mattox, a World War II veteran, wants to see the younger generation of male and female veterans get involved in the local VFW.

One Iraq War veteran has not only joined the VFW, but has stepped up to serve as an officer. Michael Thorin, a member of the Fultondale and Hoover fire departments, is also VFW Post 10250’s new quartermaster. Thorin took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom from June 2005 to September 2006 as part of the 31st FSB. He was a cavalry scout and a medic, and served as gun truck commander and later as acting platoon sergeant. Thorin’s missions took him to areas such as Baghdad, Fallujah, Mosul, Tikrit and other areas where U.S. and coalition troops were operating.

“I decided to become a part of the VFW because I love my country,” Thorin said. “Now that I am out of the military I have a desire to be a part of an organization that holds dear the values which myself and so many others have fought for.”

Other veterans are invited to the VFW picnic on Sept. 12. The event will feature free barbecue with the trimmings, live local music, and activities for children. VFW officers will be on hand to talk with those interested in joining and to answer questions.

To learn more, call Mattox at 205-841-2424.

The PGR (Patriot Guard Riders) will be hosting an honor ride on Thursday Sept 10. The escorted ride will start at the front of Bryant Denny Stadium and proceed to the quad where we will park and line up for a ceremony Honoring America’s Heroes. You do not have to be a PGR member to participate in this ride. Simply loving America is all that’s required. We are standing in honor of those Military and uniformed personnel that serve us while remembering 911. Come on out and enjoy a short escorted ride and ceremony that should last about 30-45 minutes. I will have some flags available, but if you have a flag please bring it and “Show your colors” in support of America’s heroes.

http://www.patriotguard.org/ALLForums/tabid/61/forumid/53/view/topic/postid/1234338/Default.aspx

Please be at the front of Denny Stadium by 5:20 PM KSU (kick stands up) at 5:50. Ceremony starts at 6pm.

Speakers will include UA President Robert Witt, Colonel Duane Lamb USAF (retired), Tuscaloosa Fire Chief Alan Martin and others.

Mission Coordinator: Eddie Fulmer 205-242-0950

Courtesy of The Birmingham News, there is a 9-11 remembrance Friday in Birmingham:

9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at 9 a.m. Friday at Homewood City Hall. The fourth annual 9/11 ceremony in the Home­wood City Hall courtyard with the cities of Homewood, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills participating.

Note: If your city or organization is having a memorial event, please email me and I’ll post the details here!