Lifting Our Soldiers’ Spirits
12 unique ways you can support our troops
By Joshua H. Silavent

Independence Day is a time for celebration and reflection. It is a time to honor all our military men and women, at home and abroad, for the great sacrifices they make on the nation’s behalf. Their commitment to democracy and our way of life is nothing less than extraordinary. We at Atlanta Life Magazine wish to honor these heroes by providing you with a profile of 12 charities that support our troops. We hope you will be encouraged to contribute to these charities in return for the sacrifices our troops have made in their ongoing work around the globe.

Operation Iraqi Children
www.operationiraqichildren.org
www.ptpi-metroatlanta.org
Email: angelastarr@hotmail.com
Caring for the next generation of Iraqi citizens is one of the most universally respected goals of the occupying forces. Co-founded by actor Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump) and Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand, Operation Iraqi Children (OIC) fosters goodwill between American soldiers and Iraqi civilians by providing Iraqi children with desperately needed school supply kits. With more than 175,000 of these kits sent to Iraqi children as of May 2007, OIC contributors are doing their part to provide better educational tools to the future leaders of Iraq. People To People International (PTPI), a nonprofit group working to foster international relationships by providing educational, cultural and humanitarian services, has sponsored OIC’s efforts. The metro Atlanta student chapter has collected more than 1,000 school supply kits and driven them to the OIC warehouse in Kansas City, where the supplies are then shipped overseas (for free) via FedEx. Go online for further donation and shipping information or email the PTPI metro Atlanta chapter advisor Angela Berglund-Amick to learn where you can drop off your collections locally.

Spirit of America
www.spiritofamerica.net
Our soldiers are not just fighting terrorism, but are also providing humanitarian relief and building relations with cultures from the Middle East to the Horn of Africa. With our help, these efforts will have a lasting effect on our troops’ well-being and in those communities where they interact. Spirit of America helps relay requests of support from our troops on the ground to the generous American public. Current donations will purchase medical supplies for an Afghan hospital and sponsor freedom-of-speech initiatives in some of the world’s most repressed countries.

A Million Thanks
www.amillionthanks.org
Sometimes the best way to show your support for our military men and women is with a simple thank you. How can you reach our troops? Just send your personal letters of gratitude to A Million Thanks and they will be forwarded to active duty and reserve service men and women across the nation and the world. You’re encouraged to include pictures of yourself, your school or your congregation along with personal contact information where you can be reached. Go online for information about where to send your letters and join the nearly 3 million other letter writers who have given a grateful (and very welcome) thank you to our military heroes.

United Services Organization
www.uso.org
Our hardworking men and women in uniform overseas crave, and deserve, a little slice of the home that is so far away. The United Services Organization (better known as the USO) brings entertainment and recreation to our military across the globe, from Afghanistan to Japan. Actors, comedians, writers and sports stars among the likes of John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Bob Hope, Sammy Davis Jr., Charles Barkley, and Gary Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band have entertained our troops during the USO’s rich 66-year history. But none of this would be possible without the donations of people like you.

Homes For Our Troops
www.homesforourtroops.org
Our injured and disabled combat soldiers are among the forgotten casualties of war, having survived and returned home but often with unimaginable physical impairments. Homes for Our Troops founder John Gonsalves took his building expertise to the nonprofit sector in 2004 in order to provide disabled troops with handicap-adapted homes. Two projects for Iraqi war veterans have been completed right here in Georgia. If you’d like to donate money or volunteer your building skills, go online for further information.

Sew Much Comfort
www.sewmuchcomfort.org
In addition to specially adapted homes, our injured and disabled vets may also need specially adapted clothes. Sew Much Comfort volunteer seamstresses design customized clothing that accommodate prosthetics, braces and casts, providing wounded heroes with attire that is both comfortable and flexible. These unique shirts, pants and undergarments are distributed to several military hospitals across the nation and the world, including the Eisenhower Medical Center in Fort Gordon. Monetary and clothing donations are accepted and those wishing to become a volunteer seamstress can request a sewing information packet online.

Operation Homefront
www.operationhomefront.net
Our troops are not just single men and women, but are often husbands, wives, fathers and mothers, too. Operation Homefront works to support those families left behind when our military is deployed. The Georgia chapter provides financial assistance, home furnishings repair, as well as other services to military families across the state. You can help organize fundraising events, donate money, household items, vehicles or even real estate, or provide pro-bono or discounted services through your business. Click the “chapter sites” link at the home Web address for upcoming Georgia events and specific donation needs.

Treats for Troops
www.treatsfortroops.com
Take our word for it; receiving a care package stuffed full with snacks and supplies brings great excitement to those stationed abroad. Treats for Troops can connect you with a soldier and you can purchase for them any of a variety of specialty care packages–including candies, drinks, products just for her and games for him. If you’ve got a special soldier in mind, you can buy for him or her too. Peruse the Treats for Troops shop online and find that perfect care package for our deserving troops.

Operation Paperback
www.operationpaperback.org
If you want to do more than satisfy the appetites of our troops, you can feed their minds by sending them new or gently worn books. Become a volunteer with Operation Paperback and they’ll set you up with the addresses of troops who are eagerly awaiting action, mystery, science fiction, biography, memoir, history and bestseller books. Letters of thanks direct from the troops highlight their desire for good reading during their downtime. Register online to learn more about shipping instructions.

Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation
www.mcsf.com
Our society places great value on higher education, and it is becoming more and more difficult to find employment without it. With the motto “honoring marines by educating their children,” the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation’s (MCSF) American Patriots Campaign hopes to quest for higher learning to the children of our fallen heroes by raising money to ease the financial burden of their education. The MCSF raised $50 million between 2006 and 2010; having already awarded more than 20,000 scholarships totaling more than $31 million prior to the campaign, the MCSF’s ambitious goal to provide every child of a marine killed in the war on terror with a $20,000 scholarship depends on the generous giving of the American public. Go online to donate or apply for a scholarship.

Operation Uplink
www.operationuplink.org
Although our more than 325,000 troops stationed abroad have Internet access, emails can’t compare to hearing the voice of a loved one, especially during holidays, birthdays and anniversaries. Your donations help Operation Uplink provide free calling cards to our military men and women protecting us from afar. Go online to donate and learn more.

Strikeouts for Troops
www.strikeoutsfortroops.org
You can join Atlanta Braves stars Chipper Jones and Tim Hudson in donating to Strikeouts for Troops, a charity that benefits our military hospitals. Big-league ball players are giving based on their performance, so keep rooting for Jones to hit those homers and Hudson to strike out the opponents. Little Leaguers are even getting involved, collecting donations from team members’ families based on their own performance on the field. Go online to learn more about making a donation and keeping up with all the ball players’ 2007 stats.

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