You Did Make a Difference — Congratulations and Thank You
For this project, the PitBoarders and the members of the Pit Board Charity donated 100 phone cards that will provide nearly 24,000 domestic minutes of lifeline for our wounded and recovering veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center — that’s almost 400 hours overall (an average of almost 4 hours per card) of being able to talk to family and friends. That’s great news from good hearts.
Through these donations, you (we) have reminded these seriously injured servicemen and women that we remember them, that we thank them for their service and their dedication, and that we understand the importance of being able to keep in touch with family and friends for that extra support to get through very tough surgeries, treatments, and rehabilitation.
The PBC thanks each of you who contributed to this project. Each phone card will make a difference to one of our veterans. A special shout-out to Patrick M. who got his co-workers involved and donated nearly 20% of these cards, and to the kindergarten students at an elementary school in Baton Rouge who decorated coffee mugs and picture frames for our veterans.
Tricia (one of the PBC’s Directors) has delivered the cards and other goodies to the Staten Island post of the American Legion. When the Legion team returns from Walter Reed, we’ll be sure to share news of their visit with you.
Again, thank you for joining with us on this project and making a very real difference to men and women who deserve many thanks and great respect.
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You Can Make a Difference — and Now We Have More Time
Update: To date, the PitBoarders and the members of the Pit Board Charity have donated 45 phone cards that will provide 11,165 minutes of lifeline for our wounded and recovering veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center — that’s more then 186 hours or almost 8 full days of being able to talk to family and friends. That’s great news from good hearts.
But … now we get to keep building those numbers even higher. Walter Reed has asked the American Legion to delay their trip until June, so we’re extending our project an extra month – through Memorial Day, May 26.
Here’s a brief recap of the project, if you’re new to it.
Imagine you’re a serviceman or woman seriously injured while serving this country somewhere in the world and now facing months of surgeries, treatments, and rehabilitation in a military hospital. Perhaps you’re separated from everyone in your family — your wife can’t be with you because she has to keep working; bills have to be paid. Or your husband is with you, but your parents are taking care of the kids back home, and you’re stretching that military paycheck tighter than tight to cover two households. Too often, our veterans have to choose between reaching out for love and comfort and that boost to morale, or putting yet one more strain on the budget — and they put their families, not themselves, first.
This spring, we want to thank our wounded veterans by helping them communicate with loved ones and are teaming with the American Legion, the largest veterans’ service organization in the U.S. In early June, the Staten Island post of the American Legion will visit Walter Reed; one purpose will be to donate phone cards to recuperating military veterans to help them keep in touch with family, friends, and their units. E-mail and snail-mail are fine, but being able to hear that special voice, tell your child a bedtime story, or share a joke — that’s truly special. And that’s where we come in.
It’s simplicity itself. The next time you visit your favorite phone store, discount store, or drug store, please stop by the pre-paid phone cards and add one (or several) of a good name brand to your shopping basket. For less than $20, you can give a veteran 300 minutes of lifeline; at my local big-box store this morning, $40 would buy 1,000 minutes. If you’d like to buy international minutes, that’s fine too. Then tuck the card (or cards) in an envelope and send to the following address. If you want to include a supportive card to be delivered with a phone card, please do. Please also send us a message at dalejrpbcharity@aol.com so we know what to expect.
PBC AL Project
c/o Patricia O’Brien
Tricia (who’s on the PBC’s Board of Directors and who has worked with this post for years) will deliver all the cards to the American Legion post right after Memorial Day. When folks return from Walter Reed, we’ll be sure to share news of their visit with you.
Again, please join with us on this project and make a very real difference to men and women who deserve many thanks and great respect.
