November 23rd, 2011
Before you go…
Before your arms are elbow-deep in turkey…
Before your brain is burned on football…
I would like to wish all of my family and friends below the Great White North a Happy Thanksgiving. May you have the joy of loved ones, good food, and — yes — football. May your travels be swift and safe.
To all the troops out there unable to be home with those they love — mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives, children, friends for Thanksgiving, sending you a special Thanksgiving greeting filled with encouragement and support. You are not alone. May you be enjoying a Thanksgiving feast as I post. Be safe.
To those military families with an empty place at their table this year, I send you the same. Know that the sacrifices each and every one of you make every single day matter.
167 deployed soldiers are awaiting adoption today with Soldiers’ Angels. Let’s not disappoint them.
July 19th, 2011
Yes! It’s the final totals for the Project Valour-IT Campaign Fundraiser for July 2011.
These were the totals at the very end of July 14, 2011 — the official end date for this campaign.
Total — $82,887
Air Force — $8181
Army — $31,703
Marines — $24,177
Navy — $7881
Non-specific — $10,945
Congratulations to Team Army on exceeding their $25,000 goal! Sauce of awesome. They haz it.
But, wait! After the official end date, something happened. People kept giving, and giving, and giving.
As of 9 o’clock Monday morning EST — July 18th — the final numbers looked like this:
Total — $88,606
Air Force — $9716
Army — $33,108
Marines — $25,688
Navy — $8166
Non-specific — $11,928
Did we meet our $100,000 goal?
No. We fell just over $11,000 short.
$88,606 delivers voice-activated laptops to 110 severely wounded warriors. Of course, we’re doing a divvy between laptops, Wii video game systems, personal GPS and iPads. Still, that’s a whole bunch of assistive tech.
I want to take this opportunity to say thank you. Thank you! to every follower on my Twitter list who retweeted or liked or donated. You rock. Thank you! to everyone who clicked the Give Now! button for Team Air Force that lived in the sidebar for the duration of the campaign. You have Team Air Force awesome. Thank you! to all who donated by mail, or clicked for any of the other mil-teams. Your light shines.
Without you, these monies would not have been raised. 100+ wounded warriors would still be waiting for technologies that would help them reclaim some of their former independence and plant them squarely on the road to recovery.
Thanks also goes to my readership for being so gracious when I interrupt the regularly scheduled posting to lend a blogging hand to the Valour-IT Project of Soldiers’ Angels. I do this annually. It’s a cause I’m passionate about.
Here are a few July laptop recipients.
These photos are copyrighted by Valour-IT and used with permission.
Soldiers, we wish you a speedy recovery!
Did I say thank you?
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
July 14th, 2011
This is the final day of the Soldiers’ Angels Valour-IT Campaign. We’re less more than halfway to within reach of our $100,000 goal. I’ll be updating the numbers hourly (EST), with the exception of a small window this afternoon when I will not be in phone-friendly territory. Please click here to donate by military branch, or to make a non-specific donation. Honor their sacrifice. Share the hope. Donate Now!
7 am — $39,564
8 am — $40,664
9 am — $42,309
10 am — $48,689
11 am — $55,223
12 pm — $59,773
1 pm — $62,543
2 pm — $65,573
3 pm — Lost in the Barrens
4 pm — $68,990
5 pm — $69,742
6 pm — $70,591
7 pm — $71,986
8 pm — $78,261
9 pm — $78,676
10 pm — $80,336
11 pm — $81,111
11:59 pm — $81,871
