America Supports You @ MindSay

As we gather to celebrate the holidays,

it is all too apparent that not all have family nearby.

Consider sending a card or note to a soldier/sailor/marine or airman away from home.

Thank you!

To drop a package, card or note to a service member,

click the icon then ... to Our Soldiers

~ B

By Samantha L. Quigley

American Forces Press Service

Dec. 10, 2007 - Many deployed servicemembers have received a morale boost thanks to computers donated by a Michigan-based organization. "We are a group of volunteers (who) rebuild laptop computers and supply them to deployed units for (morale, welfare and recreation), education and entertainment," said James R. Payne, a Vietnam veteran who's president of JDS Computer Donations.

The group accepts laptops, which it refurbishes and donates to nonprofit groups, public schools, and most recently, to deployed servicemembers. Nearly 500 of the refurbished machines already have been sent overseas to help servicemembers keep in touch with their loved ones back home.

Payne and his volunteers have received many responses from grateful servicemembers, many of which appear on the JDS Computer Donations Web site. One from the executive officer of Company A, 50th Signal Battalion, is a good summary of the sentiment expressed by others.

"On behalf of the soldiers, NCOs, and officers of Alpha Company, 50th Signal Battalion, I want to express how grateful we are for the donation of laptops to our unit," said Army 1st Lt. Benjamin Quimby. "Especially with the price of telephone minutes being so high, being able to use computers to communicate to loved ones back in the States is a convenience that we do not take for granted.

"Your effort in supporting our deployed soldiers is inspiring and represents the true heart of the American people," he concluded.

JDS Computer Donation as part of the Any Soldier Inc. support team. Both JDS Computer Donations and Any Soldier Inc. are supporters of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

By Meghan Vittrup

American Forces Press Service

June 22, 2007 – A North Carolina group has taken a creative approach to supporting the military by promoting patriotism through the arts.  "We promote love of country, respect for the American flag and projects that support the patriotic art education of children," said Eileen Schwartz, Flags Across the Nation's founder.

Some of the projects include three annual art contests: the Flags of Freedom Patriotic Art Contest, the I Love America Day Photo Contest and the Patriot Day Photo Contest. The art submissions from the contests are used to create quilts that are displayed around the country.

In the past year, quilts appeared at venues including the Virginia Air and Space Center, Charlotte Douglas International Airport and the Charlotte Museum of History, Schwartz said.

The quilts also have traveled overseas to the deployed troops, and Veterans Affairs medical centers also have received quilt donations.

"We hope that we can get funding and more quilters in order to make thousands of art and photo quilts to donate to VA medical centers and Fisher Houses," Schwartz said. Fisher Houses provide families with a place to stay while visiting wounded servicemembers being treated at military and VA medical facilities.

"We are looking for quilters from all over the country," Schwarz said.

This year, the winning photos from the I Love America Day Photo Contest will be turned into hardboard art tiles. The public can purchase these four-inch-square tiles as part of Flags Across the Nation's "Photos in a Box" fundraiser. Each box will contain 12 art tiles and will be shipped to deployed troops to help boost their morale.

Flags Across the Nation is an America Supports You member. America Supports You is a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

The organization has benefited from this membership through exposure and increased credibility, Schwartz said. "We regularly receive e-mails from our deployed troops and families who are seeking support," she said. "They find us on the America Supports You Web site."

Last fall, a servicemember who was deploying to Iraq to take over the dental clinic at Camp Liberty in Baghdad contacted Schwartz. He was requesting patriotic art to display in his clinic.

"We have sent letters, art, posters and most recently our set of patriotic photos from our I Love America Day Photo Contest," Schwartz said. "We also partnered with General Dynamics, and the company made one of our Freedom Flags that is on the way to this unit."

Flags Across the Nation participants have vowed to continue to promote patriotism through the arts and are seeking more volunteers to assist with the organization's expanding list of projects.

By Samantha L. Quigley

American Forces Press Service

June 8, 2007 – After having breakfast with some of her fans in Nashville, Tenn., yesterday, country music singer LeAnn Rimes, as one of her songs says, had absolutely "Nothin' Better to Do" than present a handicap-accessible van to a severely injured veteran.  Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Peter Reid and his wife, Michele, attended Rimes' fan club breakfast, part of the Country Music Association's annual Music Festival. Little did they suspect the award-winning singer had more than an autographed photo for them.

"We were sitting by the table, and LeAnn Rimes walked up and introduced herself, like we didn't know who she was," Peter said. "She said she had a surprise for us outside."

Waiting for them outside was a Chevrolet Uplander equipped with an automatic door and ramp, and other systems necessary to accommodate Peter's wheelchair. Rimes presented them with the keys, then signed the back window of the vehicle.

The nautical blue vehicle has "all the goodies," Peter said. A Chevrolet representative told the crowd and media gathered for the event that the vehicle had everything Peter needed to ride in comfort.

Peter, a Seebee with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 14, was severely injured in May 2004 while serving in Anbar, Iraq. He suffered a severe brain injury, paralysis to the left side of his body and several blood clots caused by shrapnel lodged in his brain from the mortar attack, which killed five fellow Seabees and wounded 34 others.

Previously it took the Reids nearly 30 minutes to get Peter in and out of their other vehicle. This one, donated by General Motors, will cut that time to less than five minutes, Michele said.

"We have been pretty much housebound for the last three years," she said. "Now ... I can open up the doors and have him ride the wheelchair right in. I can strap him down and we can go.

"It's going to make a big difference in our lives," she added.

But first, it was off to treat the people who made this possible - Coalition to Salute America's Heroes officials - to a thank-you lunch, Peter said.

"I told them it's up to them. They can pick any place they want. We got nice transportation, you know," he said with a chuckle. "It's got OnStar, so it's not like we're gonna get lost."

The Reids learned of the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes more than a year ago through the organization's emergency financial relief. They now serve as national spokesmen for the group, which brought Rimes, a supporter of the coalition, and Chevrolet together to present the new vehicle.

"This is what (the coalition) is all about, reintegrating wounded (servicemembers) back into society when they come home," Rimes said in an interview for Chevrolet after the event. "All they want is a chance at a normal life again.

"I kind of feel like no matter where you stand politically, we need to support these men and women coming home from the war," she added.

The coalition, a member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, provides assistance to veterans wounded and disabled in the global war on terrorism. America Supports You connects citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.

By Samantha L. Quigley

American Forces Press Service

May 29, 2007 – Girl Scouts in southern Nevada are preparing to ship more than 11,000 boxes of Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos, Tagalongs and other Girl Scout cookies to servicemembers overseas. The Scouts' donation was made possible through the generosity of the Girls Scouts of Frontier Council, which donated the cookies. The Nevada Benefits Foundation offered its assistance by coordinating the effort and covering the cost to ship the cookies to servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Community service is a long-standing tradition in Girl Scouting, allowing girls to learn the value of helping others," Toni Carey, product sales director for the Girl Scouts Frontier Council, said. "Their service and generosity significantly contributes to the quality of life for our servicemen and women."

Through the same collaboration in 2006, troops serving overseas received 4,700 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. They were most welcome, Phil Randazzo, president of Nevada Benefits and its foundation, said, adding he has received several requests for the cookies this year.

Nevada Benefits Foundation is a non-profit organization originally created to support U.S. troops and their families who fight in the war on terror. To date, the foundation has raised more than $942,000 through its rallies, "Defending Freedom" wristbands fundraising, and its Web site.

"They just crave a little taste from home," Randazzo said. "Toni Carey at the Girl Scouts came through again this year, doubling this shipment of Girl Scout cookies, and they should really be proud!"

Randazzo also offered kudos to the Palm Casino Resort, in Las Vegas, for helping to make the shipment possible.

Note: To find out about more individuals, groups and organizations that are helping support the troops, visit www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil. The Defense Department's America Supports You program directly connects military members to the support of the America people and offers a tool to the general public in their quest to find meaningful ways to support the military community.

Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.