Founder's Notes

 

Dear Soldiers' Angels, Our hearts are with our deployed heroes in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it has once again been a tough week for our warriors and their allies.  Here at home we're working on big and small ways to show them our love and support. YOU Are Needed in Afghanistan! Hard Fighting & Tough Living The heaviest fighting right now is in Afghanistan, with conditions like the very beginning in Iraq—tents or even sleeping on the ground, monthly mail, no showers, no PX for basic needs, etc.  There is also a higher ratio of females.  Please help by joining the Ladies of Liberty team, donating items, adopting a hero, or helping with postage for the 5,000 packages sent out each week.  Help make sure our heroes know they're in our hearts as they face these trying conditions!  They need us! [more]   Fingertip Support 3 Ways to Help Heroes! We're in the final push for the Communicause contest to win a "Social Media Makeover" for SA.  We also have a great young patriot who is competing for $5,000 to help her support military families, and it's the final days for a deployed hero and wonderful leader to win a new car.  All it takes is a few key strokes to make a BIG difference.  Click to find out how! [more] Meet the Angel Leadership--Band of Volunteers Elaine Hodges, CTL, Menlo Park VA Elaine lives in San Jose, CA and has three adult children with her husband of 28 years.  She started supporting the troops after 9-11 through Operation AC, but when she heard about Soldiers' Angels on a talk show, it "grabbed" her heart and she began adopting heroes.  In 2007, deeply mourning her eldest brother's death, Elaine heard about VA Team CTLs; she jumped into the role and found healing.  When you are grieving, she says, "Reach out and help others who hurt and grieve.  Giving of yourself in love, comp the Menlo Park Team focuses on the Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) unit, holding bi-monthly activities for patients: a movie night with refreshments, and a home-cooked dinner with bingo or gift exchange.  Each visit, the grateful veterans in the unit welcome them with happy shouts of, "There's our Angels!"  Elaine speaks for her team when she says, "It's a lot of work, but it is truly a labor of love because we are dealing with those most precious men and women who have seen the worst of war." If you're very busy, the Angel Store (www.angelsstore.org) is a great way to support the troops.  There you'll find pre-made care packages and other gifts that deployed troops appreciate, and all funds raised go right back into Soldiers' Angels projects!  This week, in honor of Blankets of Belief, premade blanket kits are 50% off (use discount code ANGELS50). Please join us as we support our deployed heroes.  As I said above, they need us so much right now.  Please visit soldiersangels.org, spread the word, and see how you can help! Wingtip to Wingtip,  Patti Patton-Bader Soldiers' Angels Founder and CEO