Santa Marcus ... with all those care packages ...
- Since 2002 I have been ‘adopting’ troops who are on deployment in Iraq, Afghanistan, & other parts of the globe. The service members have explained to me over and over again, the importance of receiving mail to help them cope with the time away from their loved ones back home. In an effort to uplift spirits and boost morale over the holidays, “The Sky Angel” is doing my fourth annual “Mail Call for Our Heroes”.
My goal: To raise $4,000 for 45 AT&T Calling Cards (for our 1/6 “HARD” Marines), along with 4 Christmas trees with all the decorations for the 4 valiant heroes I am currently supporting in Iraq and Afghanistan (including the Combat Surgical Hospital in Afghanistan). The money raised will also include the cost of postage to get the items to our deployed troops. 🙂 If you want to send calling cards to me, they must be AT&T and they must be for at least 500 minutes.
The second aspect of this project, is to collect 2,000 individual cards, letters, or notes so each service member in each unit I am supporting will have a piece of mail to open over the holidays. It would be wonderful for you to express your thoughts to any of the service members in these units, so they feel a little less lonely as they serve our country far away from their loved ones. Please get your childrens schools, girl/boy scouts, senior citizens homes, churches, social clubs, and families involved!
To be a part of this special project for our heroes away from home, please send donations (checks should be payable to Robin Schmidt) to the address below. If you would like to use a credit card or make a donation online, you can do so via PayPal to the email address of supportourheroes@live.com (or clicking on the donate button at the top of the http://alwayssupportourheroes.com/ ) .
Last year the troops were ecstatic with how much I was able to send because of the generosity of everyone who got involved. It was absolutely AMAZING to see how you all rallied with me at the last minute to take care of our 3/5 Marines. Adopting the 1/6 “Hard” Marines is an extension of that commitment; one I do not take lightly.
After collecting enough money for the calling cards and decorations, I will “screen” all the hand made cards & letters to make sure they are appropriate for our troops in harms way, or our Wounded Warriors. My hope is to be able to visit with some of the Wounded at Bethesda, and Brooke Army Medical Center, like I did last year. Actually as fate would have it, I was on a layover in Austin, TX Christmas day and delivered Christmas cards to the Wounded at BAMC. It was probably one of the best Christmas’ I have ever had. These Wounded Warriors need to be told face to face they are remembered, prayed for, and not broken. I see them as whole individuals, who have sacrificed tremendously for our safety and freedoms. Any extra cards will be hand delivered or mailed to those locations or sent to the Combat Surgical Hospital in Afghanistan.
- Santa Sgt. Tim Gallagher delivering smiles to Task Force Dirigo ~ Dec 2009
It seems a little early to talk about the holidays; but I need to act on it quickly so the cards are received in Afghanistan before Thanksgiving and Christmas come to pass. It currently takes 3 to 4 weeks for some of the mail to get to one of the units in Afghanistan, which already puts time constraints on this project. Yesterday I was actually told by one of the soldiers I support, that I have to have anything I am sending to her, mailed before 31October. So please jump on this ASAP! 🙂
In order to get the holiday cards to Sgt. Hadzic and his 1/6 “Hard” Marine unit, the deadline for this project will be 11 November 2011. Perfect date to have everything to me by! 11/11/11 (Veteran’s Day).
If each of us takes action … we can change the world … one life, one person at a time.
Thanks so much for helping make a difference for our valiant heroes and being a part of “Mail Call for Our Heroes 2011” !! **If you have any other items you want me to include in the care packages, you can send them to the address below as well! (if you need a street address other than a PO Box, please let me know). Thanks again!**
Robin Schmidt
PO Box 449
Mercer Island, WA 98040
Tags: 3/5 Darkhorse, Community Event, donations, hero, heroes, humanitarian, Marines, Robin Schmidt, Supporting our Heroes, The Sky Angel, troops, volunteering, Wounded Warrior
I am ready.
What do you need from me, Lori? Thanks for helping me … it means the world to me that others are getting involved with our troops, so none of them ever feel alone on the battlefield, or when they return home. 🙂
Please call or email me – I need a physical address to ship a couple of hundred back scratchers for our wonderful heroes. Thanks for all you do Robin! J
Thank you a million times over! Just sent you a physical address earlier via email. It seems the easiest thing to do this year, rather than giving you the addresses for the troops in Afghanistan … especially since I have such a large transition of troops coming/going right now. Hugs and love to all of you at Cinema Concepts. I am forever grateful, as are our troops. 🙂