We Can Make A Difference!

It’s important all year ’round, but especially important during the Holiday season.  Listening to the radio yesterday, I heard about an organization that assists the families of our military called Operation Homefront.   As stated on their website,

“Operation Homefront is one of a select few charities privileged to operate under a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) presented by the Department of Defense.  Operation Homefront provides emergency assistance and morale to our troops, to the families they leave behind, and to wounded warriors when they return home. A nonprofit 501(c)3 founded after September 11, Operation Homefront leads more than 4,000 volunteers in 31 chapters nationwide. Since its inception, Operation Homefront has provided critical assistance to more than 45,000 military families in need.”

I can only imagine the hardship caused to families when so many soliders, some of whom had not planned on extended service, are posted overseas for multiple tours or are wounded.  Operation Homefront gives us a chance to donate time and money to help those most in need.

And, How’s This for a Bit of Christmas Magic? 

Today, I received an email from a gentleman I don’t even know, but here’s an excerpt from it (emphasis added):

I came across your recent blog post mentioning America Supports You, so I thought I’d drop you an e-mail making you aware of some misinformation regarding mail to our troops.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of cards, letters and care packages addressed to “A Recovering American Soldier” (or a variant thereof), are returned to senders. For a variety of reasons-documented on USPS.com, Snopes.com, MSNBC.com article, and on Walter Reed’s Web site-a 2001 Defense Department policy forbids the delivery of generically addressed mail to service members.

Instead, the DOD encourages people to send mail to one of two homefront groups associated with the America Supports You program (http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/americasupportsyou/wounded_letters.html):

Soldiers’ Angels
1792 E. Washington Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91104

Or, for those in the metropolitan Washington, D.C.-area:

We Support You During Your Recovery!
C/o American Red Cross
P.O. Box 419
Savage, MD 20763-0419

Both Soldiers’ Angels and the Red Cross will collect, screen and deliver the well-wishes of those who want to brighten the day of a wounded service member who is recovering away from home this holiday season.

Thanks for your time, and happy holidays!

Jonathan Rick
Director of New Media
Susan Davis International
www.SusanDavis.com

Thanks, Jon, for taking the time to pass this information along.  You can read more about the restrictions on mail to the military at MSNBC. 

It DOES Make A DIFFERENCE!

Here’s an excerpt from one of the responses from a soldier who received postcards and a gift box from Let’s Say Thanks:

As I was leaving an un-eventful Valentine’s Day today, one of the mail clerks yelled “Adams!! You have a package!!” A package, I thought to myself. I’m not expecting anything. What could this be? I took the box into my office and closed the door. As I opened the box, a flood of joy came over me as I looked over the cards from you and the young ones, one of my co-workers walked in to see tears rolling down my eyes. I had never received a gift with this much love, packed into one little place from someone that I’ve never known.

As I thought about what the cards talked about with soldiers giving their lives and privileges up to ensure the freedom of Americans, it was nice to know that someone out there does not take it for granted. I don’t know who you are, but you are truly a gift from God. The gift that gives me the drive to serve my country proudly. As you pray that the Lord keeps the soldiers here safe and brings us home, I pray to the Lord that people like you do not die off from this world. Your contributions are nowhere near inadequate. Please never forget what this means to a soldier. Thank you for your love and thoughts.

Don’t forget to answer the poll! 

The year is almost over, and it’s flown by, as usual.  They say that time seems to speed up as you grow older for a very logical reason.  When you’re 5 years old, a year is 1/5 of your life, so it seems like it goes on forever.  When you’re…  well, older than 5, a year is a much smaller increment in terms of how long you’ve been on the planet.

I have many things to be thankful for this year, not the least of which are the great clients I’ve had the opportunity to work with this year.  To all of you whom I’ve come to know personally, I thank you for your camaraderie, and for your business.

For everyone who reads this blog, I thank you for your interest, and I hope you find this blog helpful.

I’m taking tomorrow off, so see you back here on Monday! 

Remember our military at the holidays!  As you may know, there are many ways  to show support for our military folks who give so much all year around.  Two Internet-based opportunities:

• Send a postcard to someone in the military.  Visit Let’s Say Thanks.  Xerox Corporation has set up this website where you can select a postcard from among designs created by children all across the country, and personalize it with your own greeting.  The postcards are then printed by Xerox and mailed in care packages sent to military personnel serving overseas by a military support organization, Give2TheTroops.
• Send an e-mail.  Visit America Supports You. 

And, please join me in a prayer for peace.

Memorial Day 2007 is just around the corner.  Don’t forget our troops this Memorial Day.  Here are two legitimate ways to show support for our fighting men and women.

Let’s Say Thanks – This site is sponsored by Xerox Corporation.  You choose a card design that was donated to the site by school-age artists, select a pre-written greeting, or write your own.  Xerox prints the cards and sends them to our troops serving overseas.

AMillionThanks.org – You may have seen the advertisements on TV for this organization that is partnered with Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealerships.  You can write letters and drop them off at any dealership to be mailed to our soldiers.  It’s a good idea to check out the website first to read up on the guidelines for what to send.

December’s Newsletter is now published.  This is an abbreviated version of the newsletter, intended to wish all of you Happy Holidays!

But, just for fun, it also contains information about a way you can create a font in your own handwriting to use on your computer.  It works just like Arial or any other font you have on your computer!  Check out the details in the Real Estate Marketing Newsletter.  And, if you create a font, post a comment here to tell everyone how it worked!

Don’t forget our troops this holiday season.  You can mail a card for free at the Let’s Say Thanks website.  If you haven’t had a chance to do that, you can also send an e-mail at the America Supports You website.