Arkansas Soldiers' Angels

The $10.00 Box!

2009-09-03T20:14:00.003-05:00

Whoever said that shipping a package had to break the bank? Not Soldiers' Angels that's for sure! Here is an example of a box that's only $10.00! That even includes shipping! So you can support a hero serving overseas for approximately $15.00 a month! That's a letter a week and a package a month. But to the man or woman that gets that package or letter its comfort from home. The satisfaction of knowing that he's cared for, respected, thought of, and missed. The comfort of knowing that there are proud Americans that support him and think of him. Go to www.soldiersangels.org and adopt your hero today!

Freedom Fest 2009

2009-07-02T19:27:00.002-05:00

Freedom Fest is an event for the whole family and community. Last year, over 5,000 people came out to share in all the activities; and this year, we are expecting between 6 - 8,000 people to come share in a free carnival, car show, and other activities, along with a huge fireworks show after dark. Various food vendors will be set up to complete this exciting event.

Radio Disney and KSSN 96 will be broadcasting on location during the event.

We would like to invite you to participate in this community event. It will be held on Sunday, July 5th at McArthur Church starting at 4pm. For more information, go to www.mcarthurchurch.com.

SHOW OUR HEROES HOW COOL THEY ARE!!

2009-06-04T19:52:00.003-05:00

Here's a challenge to you!!

We would like to show our Heroes just how cool they are this summer. The temperatures
are already soaring into the 100+ degree area. Imagine being in 113 degree temps with all the gear you could imagine.

We can send our heroes a cool scarf from the Angel Store for under $10.00!!

Our goal is to have a cool scarf sent to as many heroes as possible. Is it a doable challenge angels?!

www.AngelsStore.org

What is a cool scarf for the troops?

Troops that are deployed to the Middle East often face hot temperatures of 130 degrees and higher.

Troops wear them like ties around their necks, which gives them a feeling of a cool wet cloth on the

back of their necks.

A cool scarf is a strip of cotton woven fabric that has been filled nontoxic polyacrylamide granules

(crystals) concealed in the casing of the scarf. When the scarf is soaked in water for 15

‐30 minutes,
the granules absorb the water, expand 400 times, and turn into a crystalline gel. The cotton fabric

absorbs water from the gel, and then the water evaporates for a cooling effect. Scarves stay cool and

moist for hours due to the polyacrylamide's water

‐retaining properties. When the scarves are
allowed to dry, the gel returns to crystal form.

Cool scarves are easy to mass produce from readily available materials.

Ladies of Liberty

2009-05-26T01:10:00.004-05:00

I received this card the other day and thought I'd share. It's from one of our wonderful Ladies of Liberty.

"Katie~
I just wanted to let you know how much fun we had at the Laua! So much fun we are planning on doing it again in a few weeks! My time here is almost up, but I will always remember all the support team 3 has shown! Thank you SFC M.W & Team"

Heritage Day

2009-05-15T17:28:00.004-05:00

The Jacksonville Museum of Military History

announces

Heritage Day at the Museum

Saturday May 23rd
from 10:00 – 4:00

The Arkansas Department of Heritage has picked May as Arkansas Heritage Month. In celebration, the Jacksonville Museum of Military History will present “Heritage Day at the Museum” on Saturday May 23rd.
Memorial Day Weekend.

Come and explore Arkansas's rich and varied military history from the Civil War thru WWII and up to current day conflicts. We will have vintage military vehicles on display from the Arkansas Chapter of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association, an informational booth from the Solder's Angels, free food from Centennial Bank, live music form the “Sons of the Bomber Pilots” and free admission to the museum all day.

Come out and help us celebrate

ARKANSAS' RICH MILITARY HISTORY

What: “Heritage Day at the Museum”

When: Saturday May 23rd
10:00 – 4:00 (Memorial Weekend)

Activities include:

Vintage Military Vehicles from MVPA (Military Vehicle Preservation Association)
Soldier's Angels Information Booth
Free Food provided by Centennial Bank
Live music from “Sons of the Bomber Pilots” featuring John Lee
Free admission to the museum

More Information: Call (501) 241-1943 or e-mail dkduggarmilitarymuseum@centurytel.net

www.jaxmilitarymuseum.org

100Veteran's Circle
Jacksonville, AR 72076

Bob Woodruff Foundation Tweet Campaign

2009-05-14T17:15:00.000-05:00

The information below can be found at Remind.org or Tweettoremind.org and is from Bob Woodruff.

Dear Friends,

We all have people in our lives we consider heroes.

All of us at the Bob Woodruff Foundation would appreciate your support and participation helping raise $1.65M for our heroes returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan by participating in our TweettoRemind campaign. Through the power of the social web, Tweet to Remind campaign aims to raise $1.65 million by Memorial Day, May 25, 2009 to ensure our service members get the help they need as they integrate back into society.

This is a call to action, requesting you write a short blog post or tweet telling us who your hero is on Tuesday, May 12.
After I was severely injured while reporting on location in Iraq, my family and I realized we had a unique opportunity to reach out and help many of our nation's injured heroes. In January 2008, my wife Lee and I started ReMIND.org, an organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for service members injured in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as their families. Our current project is the TweetToRemind campaign, which asks individuals and corporations to donate $5.25 or more in an effort to raise $1.65 million by the end of the Memorial Day weekend.

I have so many heroes in my life who have affected me in so many ways. But after what my family and I went through more than three years ago, my greatest heroes are the doctors, nurses, medics, soldiers, pilots and others who risk their lives on a daily basis to save injured soldiers and bring them back to their communities. They did it for me, and my family and I can never thank them enough.
This is what I ask of you: on Tuesday, May 12 post a simple blog or tweet answering, "Who is your hero?" and asking them to do the same. Please link to your blog post from your Twitter account, a link back to www.tweettoremind.org, and the ChipIn widget which you can copy onto your blog.

I hope you find it in your heart to support this effort on May 12 and throughout the campaign which ends on Memorial Day, May 25th.
Thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,
Bob Woodruff

"SUPPORT OUR TROOPS" IS NO LONGER A SLOGAN. IT'S AN ACTION.

info @ tweettoremind.org
www.tweettoremind.org
www.remind.org
www.twitter.com/Remind_Org
www.twitter.com/BobWoodruff
www.twitter.com/LeeMWoodruff

ReMINDers
*OEF and OIF veterans are eligible for free VA health care for their combat injuries up to 5 years after separation from duty. (VA)
*Nearly 20 percent of U.S. service members returning from combat will report symptoms of PTSD or major depression. (RAND)
*Nearly 90% of today's seriously wounded U.S. military service members are surviving. (VA)
*Over 320,000 U.S. service members have sustained a TBI during deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. (RAND)
*More than 1.64 million U.S. service members have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since October, 2001. (DoD)
*Costs resulting from PTSD and major depression for troops deployed since 2001 are expected to range from $4-$6 billion. (RAND)
*As public concern over these injuries grows, policy changes and funding shifts are already occurring. (RAND)
*Of those reporting a probable TBI, 57% have not been evaluated by a physician for brain injury. (RAND)
*Processing times for veteran disability benefit claims has decreased from 230 days in 2001 to an estimated 145 days in 2009. (whitehouse.gov)
*When combat stress exceeds the capacity of an individual to cope, literal injuries to the brain and mind can result. (RAND)
*Symptoms and repercussions of combat stress include depression, anxiety, misuse of alcohol and drugs, strains in family functioning, separation and divorce. (RAND)
*Nearly 5.3 million veterans will receive care at the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2009. (whitehouse.gov)
*Medical science provides a better understanding than ever before of how to care for a new generation of service members suffering the psychological effects of warfare. (RAND)

***Support our troops is no longer a slogan. It's an action.***

Help Veterans Fill Their Gas Tanks

2009-05-14T17:11:00.000-05:00

Thousands of troops are returning home and making regular trips to their local VA Hospital for evaluation, treatment or rehabilitation, and regular health care. With the high cost of gas, these vital trips are becoming more and more of a burden for some veterans.

Now the Soldiers’ Angels VA Team is stepping up to help with the Tank Support program. Grateful Americans can help give a veteran some “tank support” by purchasing a gasoline gift card. All gas cards received will be sent to the VA Hospitals across the country to help ensure returning OEF/OIF Veterans get the checkups and medical care they need.

“It’s so important that our returning heroes get regular evaluations and basic healthcare after having been in combat,” says Soldiers’ Angels founder Patti Patton-Bader. “The Tank Support program is an important way to help veterans to stay on top of their ongoing healthcare needs.”

You can help returning veterans by purchasing a $10.00 gas card today at any chain gas station in your area or ordering online through www.svmcards.net and using the shipping address below. You can also make a donation through the Soldiers' Angels site and indicate that it is for the Tank Support program.

Gas cars should be mailed to:

Soldiers’ Angels Tank Support
914 Tourmaline Dr.
Newbury Park, CA 91320

Please help us ensure our veterans get the healthcare they need!

Soldiers' Angels is proud to announce its inclusion in the 2009 Combined Federal Campaign

2009-05-04T21:10:00.000-05:00

Soldiers’ Angels is proud to announce its inclusion in the 2009 Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), an effort to encourage philanthropy among United States Government employees. This opportunity increases the organization’s visibility and respectability, building on its growing reputation for providing a wide variety of powerful and personalized support for service members, military families and veterans of all service branches.

During the yearly “campaign season” of September 1 through December 15, CFC provides federal civil servants, military personnel, political appointees and elected politicians with a list of verified and respectable charities they can be confident in supporting. Donations are collected through payroll deductions, offering employees the chance to make gifts that add up to substantial support over a twelve-month period.

Soldiers’ Angels founder Patti Patton-Bader says, “We’ve been working very hard to meet CFC’s guidelines and we are so thrilled to be a part of the campaign this year. It makes it so much easier for people to donate to Soldiers’ Angels and will help us continue the important work of taking care of our military and their families.”

As a CFC-approved charity, Soldiers’ Angels has been subject to extensive review of its financial and governance practices, auditing performance and program activities, ensuring federal employees can be confident in supporting the organization. The approved status also gives Soldiers’ Angels the opportunity to participate in meetings, exhibits and other events hosted at federal agencies and departments during campaign season, including providing speakers and other representatives.

The Soldiers' Angels CFC number is 25131.

Pennies for Heroes

2009-04-18T14:16:00.000-05:00

The post below is from this week's Founder's Notes. Included is the Pennies for Heroes project that you can step in and get involved with today!Dear Friends of America’s Troops,Recently a letter from one of our deployed heroes landed in my email box and grabbed my heart. It came from a commanding officer of a unit conducting convoy security missions in Iraq, one of the most dangerous jobs over there these days. He wrote:

We have been here for several months and the quantity and quality of support we have received from you and you volunteers is truly humbling.We receive mail each day, and there has yet to be a single day pass that someone in the company does not receive a letter or package from a Soldiers' Angels volunteer. Most days it is multiple letters and packages. I can assure you, the Soldiers' Angels charter “May No Soldier Go Unloved” is alive, well, and flourishing…I became familiar with the Soldiers' Angels organization during my last deployment when I was wounded and evacuated to Germany. I received countless emails, letters, and visits during my hospitalization which I will remember for the rest of my life. Soldiers' Angels has been there for my men (and for me) during our darkest hours and in our moments of triumph. You are all Angels in the truest sense.Thank you for all that you do, have done, and will continue to do in the future, for all of us; you will always have my gratitude, respect, and appreciation.Sincerely and Respectfully,Captain O.

This beautiful letter shows how much knowing they are loved and supported means to our heroes, how much the work we do matters. Shipping a care package to a soldier who doesn’t get a lot of support, backpacks for the wounded, vet packs, support on the homefront and so much more… Soldiers’ Angels changes lives.Please help us continue this work! Afghanistan is heating up, and more units are deploying to help out; conditions are much rougher than Iraq, and daily life is hard. Please help us make sure that these heroes have some pieces of home to show them how much they are loved and appreciated!Right now, Soldiers’ Angels needs your help to continue this important work!

United We Stand, United We Give! Spread the Love, Spread the Blood!

2009-04-08T17:12:00.003-05:00

United we stand, United we give! Spead the love, Spread the blood!!On 9-11, Keith Fairben of Floral Park, NY responded to the call minutes after the first plane hit the Twin Towers.He hasn't been heard from since the towers fell. My friends Ken and Diane Fairben lost their only child, a young man with a penchant for saving lives. He had been working as a medic at New York Presbyterian Hospital in upper Manhattan. "It was Keith's love and passion," said his father, who called him on his cell phone at 9:10, minutes after he heard about the plane crash. "I knew he would be there," he said. The 6-foot-3, 240 pound medic loved helping people, he added. He wasn't surprised when his son answered the phone and said: "Dad, I'm really busy. I'm at the World Trade Center. I can't talk now." "Be safe," Ken said. "Call us later." By 5 o'clock that evening, Ken called his son's dispatcher and asked how everything was going. "Keith is missing," he was told. "His ambulance was found, but he was not there." Since that day, Keith was declared dead. Ken and Diane are keeping their son's name alive through scholarships and other events.On April 10, 2009 the 5th Annual Keith Fairben Blood Drive is set to happen in Floral Park, NY. Many have become very good friends of Diane and Ken through the years and in a heart beat would love to be there for them. Distance is the issue. Thus, I personally challenge everyone that reads this- to spread the word and if you can, go give blood at your local blood bank on April 10 in memory of Keith Fairben and in honor of our freinds Ken and Diane.Have a photo taken of yourself giving blood and send the photo to ShelleMichaels@msn.com and I will post it on this page, or you can just add a comment here in support.If you would like to leave a note for Diane and Ken- please do so on Keith's Legacy page- http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=145286United we stand, United we give! Spead the love, Spread the blood!!

April is Month of the Military Child

2009-04-02T17:29:00.001-05:00

April marks a very special month in the lives of the military members. 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.
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.
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. Please contact Soldiers' Angels or 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 PROCLAMATION
Whereas, Thousands of brave Americans have demonstrated their courage and commitment to freedom by serving the armed forces of the United States of America in active duty posts around the world; and,
Whereas, More than 40 percent of these soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines have left families with children behind; and,
Whereas, More than one million of America's children have at least one parent currently serving active military duty; and,
Whereas, These children are a source of pride and honor to us all, and it is only fitting that we take time to recognize their contributions, celebrate their spirit, and let our men and women in uniform know that while they're taking care of us, we're taking care of their children; and,
Whereas, The recognition of the "Month of the Military Child" will allow us to pay tribute to military children for their commitment, their struggles and their unconditional support of our troops, because when parents serve in the military, their Kids Serve Too; and,
Whereas, A month-long salute to military children will encourage support for "Kids Serve Too" and other organizations and campaigns established to provide direct support to military children and families; and now therefore be it, Resolved, That I, Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldiers’ Angels, do hereby proclaim April 2009, as The Month of the Military Child within the Soldiers’ Angels organization. I encourage all Angels to observe the month with appropriate ceremonies and activities that honor, support and thank military children. Patti Patton-Bader Soldiers' Angels Founder Shelle MichaelsSoldiers' Angels National Communication Officer

Angelpat

2009-03-24T01:23:00.002-05:00

Good morning all,

I have been bitten by the spring cleaning bug. I am trying very hard to simplify my life.I am looking forwqard to meeting all you Arkansas angels on April 4th in North Little Rock. I think we can do some amazing things for our troops and whether or not you support the war, these people are over there taking care of our security. Let's show them that we care and we support them.

I have some ideas and I know Katie does too so ya'll come and we can work on this together.

Pat Lozier
Arkansas State Coordinator
Garland County CTL

So here I am!

2009-03-17T21:01:00.000-05:00

So here it is St. Patrick's Day, my first blog day, and my grandfather's birthday. Papa Jim, as I call him, served in the Air Force during Viet Nam. I saw a few pictures just a few months ago, and I've heard one story of his time there. But he also told me that he has EVERY letter ever written to him while he was there. They're in an old box that he never goes through, but that he can't throw out regardless. Soldiers' Angels has many such heroes waiting for someone to do the same thing for them. Someone who will take the time to say that they care for and respect the men and women who serve this country expecting no thank you. There are currently over 1000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines that need our love and support. So please go to www.soldiersangels.org and see what you can do to help.

Soldiers' Angels

2009-03-17T20:20:00.000-05:00

As a volunteer-based nonprofit, we have over 30 different teams supporting all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Through special projects, dedicated teams and individuals supporting our troops, we make a visible difference in the lives of our service members and their families. To get involved, check out the list below or learn more here www.soldiersangels.org

Teams & Projects - How to Help

Adopt a Soldier - Individualized support throughout deployment
Angel Bakers - Homemade treats for the deployed
Blankets of Gratitude - Handcrafted love for hospitalized veterans
Blankets of Hope - Handcrafted comfort for the wounded
Cards Plus Team - Extra TLC for soldiers & families
Chaplain Support Team - Help chaplains support the troops
Community Team Leaders (CTLs) - Representing Soldiers' Angels at home
Eagle Cane Project - Handmade canes for the wounded
First Response Backpacks - Supplies for wounded in-country
Hero Flights - Emergency travel assistance
Hero Packs - Care packages
K-9 Support - Caring for military working dogs and their handlers
Ladies of Liberty - Extra TLC for deployed females
Letter Writing Team - Personal letters for the deployed
Living Legends - Remembering the fallen and their families
Memorial Portraits - Drawings for families of the fallen
Operation Birthday Cake - Shipping gourmet birthday cakes to deployed troops
Operation Outreach - Supporting families waiting at home
Operation Phone Home - Calling cards
Operation Top Knot - Handmade gifts & virtual baby showers
Scarves - Handmade heat and sand protection
SOS:Kids - Helping deployed soldiers help local kids
Tank Support - Helping Veterans Travel to Medical Appointments
Valour-IT - Adaptive laptops for the wounded
VA Crochet & Craft - Handmade comfort & dignity for hospitalized Vets
Veterans Support - Assisting veterans facilities
Wounded TLC - Letters and care packages for the wounded
"Just navigating through your site humbles me. Just the concept of how much you do for us brings a tear to our eye. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart." - Anonymous Soldier