Dear Friend of our Troops,
Wow! Another month has flown by, and we have now shipped 112,000 pounds of
care packages to our Troops. In July, Randy had help from Jake Langlois
and his fellow Boy Scouts. Jake worked with Operation: Care and Comfort
for his Eagle Scout project, and collected 1500 pounds of food items for
our Troops, as well as $235 to use towards shipping! Jake and his troop
also worked with Randy to pack all of the items for shipment. Jake is
only 13, so this is quite an accomplishment for him. Our congratulations
to Jake and his family!
So many folks use their talents and ideas to make Operation: Care and
Comfort successful. Our good friend Gwen donated a beautiful quilted
motorcycle wall hanging that we raffled at the Hollister Independence
Rally. (Thanks to Keith W. and Custom Chrome for inviting us to participate
in their booth again this year!) Melanie, a KFOX listener, decided to help
raise funds by selling her Beanie Babies. She raised $60 for us! Leslie,
another KFOX listener decided to go around her neighborhood with her daughter
to collect money for Operation: Care and Comfort. She plans to do the same
thing at work, and will hand out our famous flag pins to all who contribute.
She and her daughter have already raised $200, and she started this today!
As we always say, it isn't equal gifts, but equal sacrifice that keeps this
program humming! We also wish to thank Helen and her group, Families Serving
the Military, for their faithfulness in assembling care packages for OCC. Joan
and her group, Operation Yellow Ribbon Monterey deserve the same thanks, for a
job well done. These two groups have assembled care packages for us monthly,
for two years! Kudos to all that helped us support our Troops in July!
Special thanks to Greg Kihn and 98.5 KFOX for working so hard to raise
that $20K that he wanted to win for OCC on "Hit Me Baby One More Time."
Greg and KFOX have helped raise $16,500 towards that goal!
Requested items for August:
Food items: Beef Jerky and packaged nuts. Hygiene items: Q-Tips, Baby Wipes,
Band Aids, and Disposable Razors! This is also the perfect time to purchase
pencils and pens at back to school sales, to ship to the troops!
Here's a great email that just arrived on 7/29:
This is 1LT James Rucks with greetings from Taji, Iraq. I just wanted to send
a quick email to say thank you very much for all of the care packages that you
have sent. I have passed them around my platoon, and all of the soldiers send
their thanks as well. It is a great feeling to know that so many people back
home are thinking about the soldiers who are currently deployed to Iraq and
Afghanistan, and take time and money to send us such thoughtful gift packages.
It is people like you that are a constant reminder of why I and many of my
soldiers are over here. It is so that our families and children will not have
to do the same thing that we are doing now when they grow older, and bringing
the fight to the enemy keeps the enemy from bringing the fight to us. To give
you a little information about myself, I am currently a platoon leader of Alpha
Battery, 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team,
1st Armored Division. Yes, I know it's a mouthfull! Our current job is patrols
of both Taji and Baghdad along with providing Artillery support if needed.
I have a platoon of 19 men, all who benefit from your prayers, gift packages and
pictures that you send. I am from Bakersfield, CA until I moved to San Diego,
CA my senior year of H.S. I then attended San Diego State University where
I received my Bachelors of Science in Biology. In June 2003 I went to Basic
training at Ft. Benning, GA, and then on to Officer Candidate School where I
received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. I then went to Artillery School at
Fort Sill, OK for 6 months and am now permanently stationed at Fort Riley, KS.
I am married to my beautiful wife Frances who I met in college and who is
currently living in Mountain View, CA. I have 19 soldiers from all over the
U.S. and from all walks of life. Some from well to do families, some from
the inner city of Brooklyn. They are overall a great bunch of guys and I am
lucky to be in command of such a great bunch of young men. At 26 years old,
I'm considered old to these guys who average about 19 or 20 years old.
Hopefully this gives you an idea of all the lives that you have
touched from your wonderful gifts
Iraq is very hot these days. It's been about 117-120 degrees daily here at
Taji. Taji is about 30 minutes north of Baghdad. It is an old military base
of Sadaams. There are currently U.S., Iraqi, Spanish, Macedonian, Australians
and British troops that are stationed here. There are also Army, Marines, Navy,
and Air Force as well as Private Security Personnel that live and work from Taji.
It's a very hot and dry climate. I am looking forward to my leave when I fly back
to Bakersfield sometime in mid August. It will be a nice 2 weeks away from the
heat. Well, I thank you again for all you have done for us. I hope to talk to
you soon and God Bless.
Sincerely, 1LT James Rucks
Doesn't this speak volumes about how our little program is touching so many lives?
Here's what we plan to do in August and September!
August 5, 2005 (Friday) 9:00 pm - closing
King's Head Pub, Campbell, CA
MidLife Vices will be playing, and Chris Jackson from 98.5 KFOX will make
a special appearance at the King's Head Pub and Restaurant. OCC will be there to
collect items and monetary donations. We will have our made in the USA products
(car magnets, mini magnets, wrist bands and lapel pins) there for a $5 donation,
and will have a raffle. Prizes include SF Giants and Oakland A's tickets!
Tickets are 5 for $5, 13 for $10, and 30 for $20! The raffle drawing will be
held at the Pub, but you do not need to be present to win! Come down and help
Cookie have a great time, and raise some money for OCC!
September 1, - December 15, 2005
Operation: Seasons Greetings 2005
September 1, 2005 is the official start of our holiday drive for 2005! Holiday
themed packages will begin to ship in October. This is the time to set up donation
drive through work, schools, church, and your neighborhoods to gear up for the
Christmas holiday. Talk to your families about supporting our troops as part
of your holiday tradition! Packages shipped by November 15th will make it to
our troops by Christmas. Last year, we shipped 25,000 pounds of holiday care
packages to our troops. We will need to raise $25,000 in order to ship what
we did last year!
For information and ideas on how you can help, please contact
Julie DeMaria at (408) 373-8635 or troopsupport@comcast.net.
September 13, 2005 (Tuesday)
Iron Construction Charity Golf Classic at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club
Just in time to kickoff our 2005 holiday drive! Iron Construction, a Willow
Glen Company, is sponsoring a charity golf tournament on Tuesday, September 13th,
to benefit Operation: Care and Comfort! There are many ways that you can get involved and help us raise the funds needed to send holiday packages to our troops. Sign up for a foursome, or sponsor a hole or the event with raffle prizes, or sponsor a foursome for your chosen military branch! Download the flyer at www.ironconstruction.com, or contact Mary Halley at mary@ironconstruction.com, or
(408) 282-1080. Last year, we had shipped 25,000 pounds of care packages
for the holidays. At $1 a pound, we will need to raise $25,000 just to ship
what we did last year. We hope that you will help!
Have a great August! Enjoy your last month with the kids before
school begins!
|
