Seems it is all the rage to have an armed force Soldiers’ Angels Valour-IT thermometer widget on a blog or website right now! It is not too late to join in, the fundraiser does not end until November 11th.

1.There are a variety of items up for Valour-IT auction. Go bid on one of them!

2. Go register your blog or website to join one of the 4 teams and get your own thermometer widget.

3. Make a donation – no matter how small. Remember 100% of proceeds go directly to purchase & delivery of technology to our wounded heroes.

4. Tell everyone you know about Project Valour-IT! Create a viral email or put on you Facebook wall.

5. Buy a fabulous gift for yourself or for someone for the holidays from one of the businesses supporting Valour-IT. Or buy register for the opportunity to win a beautiful Christmas quilt.

Though either Army, Air Force, Navy/Coast Guard, or Marines will be declared the winner of the competition and will gain bragging rights until next year, our wounded heroes are the winners! Go Project Valour-IT!

I admit I’ve been distracted lately. Ok, maybe distracted is too weak a word. How about overwhelmed? Yeah. That fits better.

My “duties” as a military parent are not so obvious to others now that Mike is back in the US. However, I have many organizations that I am a member of that are not dependent on what country my son is in at the time. Sometimes, they seem to overrun my life and then when I try to weed through and thin out those that I could let go of with certainty that someone would fill the position…I am at a loss. It seems that many people are not so interested in helping those outside their immediate family circle. So I will continue to be sporadic here, and keep on chugging along in all my other endeavors. One thing that can not be let go any further though is my income. Gotta pay those bills, right? So today is dedicated to getting my store in order, as well as it can be. I’ll try to space out my bombardment of new items so you aren’t wondering whether I gave up the Army Mom gig and moved over to Retail Store Mom.

Thanks to everyone that has visited so far! I do appreciate you all!

And without further adieu.. here is my newest shirt…

Custom Girlfriend of a Deployed Soldier Shirt

In the last 36 hours, bloggers from “left” to “right” have teamed up with the American Legion and other military support organizations to support the survivors of the battle at COP Keating. And Soldiers’ Angels has jumped in to help!

Not only did the soldiers of COP Keating fight a ferocious battle that included a breach of the base at one point, they lost eight of their brothers (while they donated blood as the battle raged) and watched their living quarters go up in smoke. A participant in the battle who got out later wrote via email, “Most people back home don’t even know, no one gives a s***.”

Well, he’s already being proven wrong!

Blogger and troop supporter extraordinaire “Tanker Babe” was the first to sound the alarm, pointing out that while the very-most basics would be replaced by the US Army, these heroes needed more. Bloggers across the political spectrum answered the call as Tanker Babe began to coordinate specific item donations of extra clothing and toiletries. Soldiers’ Angels pitched in with 54 pairs of socks and a stack of cards and letters written by kids, and within 36 hours Tanker Babe was proud to report, “Mission accomplished.”

The American Legion also stepped up to lead in lifting the morale of these brave warriors another way:

In the battle for Combat Outpost Keating, the men of Bravo Troop 361 Cavalry lost every possession they had, save for the clothes on their backs. These men have lost friends, their outpost, and all their belongings. One soldier who made it out wrote that “most people back home dont even know, no one gives a s***.” Well, many of us do. And you can prove it by giving whatever you can. These guys need things like running shoes, and other essentials, as well as some comfort items like iPods and DVD players. The American Legion has kicked in $1000 to start the fund, and your humble blogger will be the first to donate $100. I intend to get these items out by the end of next week. ANY amount you can give, no matter how small will help us prove that we care.

Congratulations to all involved in this great effort, a wonderful example of the amazing things Americans can do when we all pull together!

Business people from Southern New Hampshire are getting a jump on the upcoming Valour-IT fundraser by conducting a little fundraiser of their own. From the Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce:

Eastern Expo Challenges Nationwide Bloggers in Support of Soldiers’ Angels

Attendees of the Southern New Hampshire Expo will be taking on the blogging world on October 22 at the Hampshire Dome in a competition to raise money for wounded veterans. At stake is the goal of supplying voice-activated laptops through Soldiers’ Angels Project Valour-IT to servicemen and women who were injured while deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce is partnering with local Soldiers’ Angel volunteers to raise funds for Valour-IT laptops through direct donations or by admission to the Expo. “Mention the name Soldiers’ Angels at the door, and one dollar of every paid admission to the Expo will go to Soldiers’ Angels,” explains Richard Mori of Mori Books, Co-Chairman of the event. “We are hoping to raise enough money to purchase at least 10 of them.”

This real world effort in Milford is competing with a cyber network of blogging supporters who will be raising funds for Valour-IT through their websites, beginning on October 26. Bloggers and other New Media mavens will compete as teams of Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force supporters to see who can raise the most money for laptops and other technology that supports the recovery of wounded warriors.

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. These laptops are important to a wounded service member’s recovery. Not only do they allow communication with family and friends, but they can be a powerful tool for recovery as patients educate themselves on medical treatments and use computer-based treatment/recovery tools.

Matt Bernard of Brinestone Network Security and IT Consulting, a twice-decorated Purple Heart veteran of Iraq, brought Valour-IT to the attention of the Chamber’s Expo committee. “Soldiers’ Angels was the first group to reach out to me when I landed back in NH after being wounded. They provided what I needed to get back on my feet. I know how necessary these laptops are to get people on their feet,” Bernard explains. “Getting this fundraiser underway is just my way of paying it forward.”

The Souhegan Valley Chamber reaches beyond the typical business to business connections in planning its events. “This partnership with Soldiers’ Angels is one more way the Chamber is providing a vehicle for the nonprofits that serve our communities to raise the money needed to do the important work they do,” from Mike Brisebois, Hitchiner Manufacturing and Co-Chairman of the Expo. “All the organizations – business, civic, government form a network that supports the towns and our citizens. The success of one lends strength to the others. We hope everyone will help us by attending the Expo on October 22 at the Hampshire Dome in Milford.” Over 150 booths will be displaying the products, services and food samplings of the exhibitors from all over the region, northern MA and southern NH. Major sponsors for The Southern NH Expo are Walmart, First Colebrook Bank, PSNH and the Cabinet Press.

Those who want to donate directly to SA and credit it to this fundraising event can use the donation buttons on the SA site, then add “from Souhegan” in the comments section. For more information, contact May Balsama: may@souhegan.net, 603-673-4360.

I haven’t actually seen him yet because he is stationed in New Jersey and I’m in Florida.  We were going to go up for their homecoming but short notice and financial logistics made it impossible.  Plus he asked us to wait until he gets time off to spend with us, or wait for him to come down here.  Whichever can happen first.

I’m so glad he’s finally back in the USA and now I can just worry normal mom worry-thoughts…not be terrified because people are actually attempting to blow him up on a daily basis.

Being a Blue Star Mom means I hang with all the moms of our Armed Forces. I respect each one the same and know I can share my worries, excitement and more with them. I know quite a few of them read my blog and I told them I’d share when I got this made…so here it is. The first of many Marines shirts….

the Proud Marine Mom shirt!

Proud Mom of a United States Marine Shirt by WendyMilonas

This is made and available on my Zazzle store. I think they are having a special this month too…no shipping charges for June. That’s a pretty cool deal I might take advantage of myself.

With just a couple of clicks, you can help Soldiers’ Angels win a $25,000 social media “makeover!” Just type “Soldiers’ Angels” into the box at the link and follow the directions.

Twitter, Facebook, and other interactive online platforms are one of the most potent ways to advocate, motivate, and spread the news these days. Soldiers’ Angels is an Internet-based organization, and having an expert makeover on the social media side of things would help SA reach out even more effectively to inspire Americans to support our heroes and make sure “No Soldier Go Unloved.”

Marcelle Turner, CEO of MindComet says, “Our hope is that the campaign will bring the participating organizations some national awareness through affiliation with the program, provide their constituents a focused mission to champion, and will ultimately result in a nationwide uplift in charitable giving driven by the power of social media.”

The contest, created by interactive agency MindComet and dubbed CommuniCause, runs through July 31st. At the conclusion, a winner will be selected at random from the ten highest vote-getters. One vote per email is counted, but the length of the campaign gives supporters the opportunity to spread the word about the contest through email, personal websites, and relationships within their local community.

In addition to voting, supporters can place a badge on their website, or use Twitter to compile votes through “re-tweets” (@CommuniCause #cause2255). Click here and scroll down for details.

Competition began April 27, so Soldiers’ Angels has some catching up to do! But we’ve got a great word-of-mouth “ground game,” so the Top Ten isn’t out of reach. Let’s make it happen!