Sam’s Club Donation Drive

Military Missions has scheduled an upcoming donation drive for June 9 and June 10 at the Sam’s Club on New Circle Rd in Lexington. This donation drive is one of our very important events as it brings in many of the needed items which enable us to send care packages to our growing list of deployed troops.

In order to man our donation table at Sam’s Club, we need YOUR help. If you have a couple hours to spare, we hope that you will consider finding a way to come out and help us.

We appreciate any sacrifice that you can make to help us man the donation table. Remember the sacrifice being made for each of us by our deployed troops and their families.

We need volunteers to work the following shifts:

Saturday 6/9/12

10:00 am to 12:00 pm

12:00 pm to 2:00 pm

2:00 pm  to 4:00 pm

Sunday 6/10/12

10:00 am – 12:00 pm

12:00 pm to 2:00 pm

2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

We are also in need of a couple of drivers with a pick up truck, minivan, or SUV to help deliver the booth supplies to Sam’s on Saturday morning and help with set up between 9:30 – 10:00 AM that morning, as well as someone to help us get the donations from Sam’s Club to our office at Millpond center on Saturday and Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm.

If you can help, please send Ginny an email to volunteer@military-missions.org or call Barbara at 859-221-9477 as soon as possible.

As always, we are extremely grateful for your support of our troops through Military Missions, Inc.

 

Saul Good July 4th Fundraiser

The annual Saul Good fundraiser for Military Missions has been a very successful event for the past three years. It provides a great venue for getting the word out about Military Missions Inc and we have successfully raised quite a bit of money to pay for rising postage costs. We need volunteers to help out at both restaurant locations on Wednesday, July 4th from Noon to 8:00 pm. Volunteers will be greeting customers and giving out information about Military Missions.

 

 

 

Volunteer Shifts

11:45 am – 2:30 pm

2:30 pm – 5:00 pm

5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

If you are interested in volunteering, contact Ginny at volunteer@military-missions.org or Barbara at 859-221-9477.

IF YOU CAN’T VOLUNTEER, COME ON OUT AND EAT WITH US! HERE ARE THE DETAILS!

On July 4th, Saul Good Restaurant & Pub will offer ½ price on all food as an incentive to generate donations for Military Missions, Inc.

Military Missions, Inc., a Lexington based nonprofit organization, is dedicated to providing care packages for every Kentucky soldier deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. These care packages contain essential items (eye drops, foot powder, socks) and sundries (CD’s, snack food, video games). Shipping costs alone run between $11 and $13 per soldier, per box mailed.

“We believe it’s important to let our soldiers know we have not forgotten them,” said Beth Pennington, founder of Military Missions. “The process of funding our care package division is a year round effort. While our list of requests for care packages has quadrupled in the past two months, we have seen a significant decline in donations. In these unsure economic times, we must dig deeper into our hearts and pockets to show our appreciation for our military.”

“We are thrilled to be a part of Military Missions quest to encourage and thank our hometown heroes,” said Rob Perez, owner of Saul Good Restaurant & Pub.

Saul Good Restaurant & Pub is an American pub, which serves a wide variety of chef driven food, including hand tossed pizzas, gourmet burgers, farm fresh salads and features a chocolate bar. The restaurant will offer ½ price on all food items on July 4, 2012, from noon to 8:00 pm. Donations for Military Missions will be accepted.

Saul Good Restaurant & Pub is located at the Plaza at Fayette Mall, 3801 Mall Rd, Lexington, Kentucky 40503, (859) 273-GOOD (4663) and at Hamburg, 1808 Alysheba Way, Lexington, Kentucky 40509, (859) 317-9200, and can be found on the web at www.saulgoodpub.com.

From Here to There

OPSEND EASTER was a huge success! We are so grateful to all who made it possible.  From those who donated cards and care package items, to those who packed everything up and got the boxes shipped out to the troops, we want to say thank you to each one who makes all of our efforts possible.

We received a message of thanks along with some photos from one of the units who received our packages which we now pass along to you, our faithful supporters! This is for each of you who faithfully support our troops through Military Missions Inc.

Thanks for the care packages that we received. It’s nice not only to get stuff that we can use, but even more to know that we have support. Every Armed Forces Member should have advocates like you in their corner. Keep trudging on, you have a lot of people behind you. Thanks for being our voice!

To see OPSEND Assembly photos click here.  To LIKE us on Facebook and keep up with our updates and photos, click here.

We need YOU to Volunteer for Military Missions!

Military Missions Inc is in the process of looking for volunteers to help out with the following positions.  If you are experienced in these areas, and are looking for way to give back to our troops, our veterans, and their families, this is a great way to get involved without having to leave home.  All you need is a computer and some time to give.

WEBMASTER: We are looking for someone to keep our website updated when current information needs to be posted.  This would require an hour or two of your time each week.

SOCIAL MEDIA REP: We are looking for someone who has an hour or two, 3-4 days a week to keep our Facebook and Twitter accounts active and help us to keep a presence in online communities.  This individual needs to have a good understanding of the use of social media.  The chairman will potentially be supervising a team of volunteers who will help with this need.

NEWSLETTER EDITOR: We are looking for someone who is willing to write our monthly newsletter. This is an online task that is produced via the Vertical Response website. The newsletter keeps our volunteers and supporters informed about what is going on at Military Missions.  This would take a few hours each month.

WRITER: We are looking for someone who is willing to write an article featuring events and other important issues that need to be posted on our website. If you are interested in writing for us, we could use your help a few hours each month.

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD REP:  We are looking for someone who is willing to post our events onto online calendars and bulletin boards.  This position requires just a few hours each month.

If you are interested in volunteering for any of these positions, please contact Beth Pennington at beth@military-missions.org.

Thank you for your support of our troops, our veterans, and their families through Military Missions Inc.

Meet Unsung Hero, Linda!

If you haven’t met Linda yet, it is time you did.  She is one of our amazing volunteers and unsung heroes at Military Missions Inc.  You can find Linda working in our office each Wednesday.  She always has a big smile on her face and she is willing to do anything needed.

In addition to working as part of our volunteer office staff, Linda Cummins has taken on two enormous jobs.  She coordinates our donation drop boxes set up at locations around the state of Kentucky, which is a huge job in itself.  She also takes care of most of our correspondence for the items that are donated for our care packages.  She makes sure that hundreds of letters of thanks are sent out each year.

Besides all just mentioned, if you know Linda, you know that she is constantly recruiting people to get involved with Military Missions Inc.  She is one of our biggest cheerleaders, and because we rely on word of mouth advertising, her enthusiasm, her smile, and her willingness to get out there and share about our organization is greatly appreciated.

Linda is one of the many civilians within our organization who wants our troops and veterans to know that they are greatly appreciated.  We are so glad that Linda loves serving her country in this capacity and that she gives her time to Military Missions Inc.  Without people like Linda, we couldn’t do what we do for our heroes.

From all of us at Military Missions Inc. we thank you Linda for your faithful support!

Meet Our Unsung Hero, Judy

Because Military Missions is a small nonprofit, we are really more like a family than a business.  Everyone rolls up their sleeves and works together to accomplish the goal of supporting our troops, our veterans, and their families. One of the awesome things about being a part of the leadership at Military Missions is that we are often approached by our volunteers with great ideas which we can quickly decide to initiate into hands on projects.

Last fall, we had a donation drive going on at Sam’s Club.  It’s actually a lot of work to set up one of these drives.  It takes a lot planning, a lot of set up, lots of manpower, and it can be exhausting.  Not only is it tiring, but it is not for the faint of heart as 90% of the people who pass the table try to avoid making eye contact because they don’t want to make a donation.  You have to be able to take the rejection which is why most people shy aware from this volunteer job.

One of our volunteers, Judy Blackburn, didn’t care about all of the difficulties.  Her son serves in the US Army and she knows how important it is to support our troops.  Even though she works two jobs and has only one day off each week, she offered to set up a booth at each of the Walmart stores in Lexington last October.  Every Sunday during the month, on her only day off, Judy got up early, recruited volunteers to help her, and set up and ran the donation booth all day long.

When Judy first came to me with the idea, I told her she was crazy! I let her know I appreciated her enthusiasm, but I really thought it was too much for one person to take on.  I know, firsthand, how easy it looks, but how hard it is to pull it off.  Judy already helps out with so much at Miltary Missions Inc and I couldn’t imagine her giving her only day off to such a taxing job.

Judy insisted she did not mind, in fact, she said it was the least she could do for our troops.  She said she was fortunate to have found something she can do for our troops because they do so very much for us. She knows that our troops work long and strenuous hours without complaining.  She stated that if this was a way to give back for what they give us daily, she would do all that she could to support and honor them.

Through her efforts, we were able to collect many items which were included in our Christmas care package mailing to 3000 troops.  In order to accomplish these great tasks, we rely on amazing volunteers such as Judy.  All of us at Military Missions are blessed to work alongside her and are so grateful she found us.

Judy is just one of our many volunteers who enjoy the opportunities our organization brings to the community.  If you are one who appreciates and loves your country and those who sacrifice so that we can live with freedom, we hope you will join us. Come meet Judy and many others like her who get joy out of giving back to our heroes and their families.

Meet Our Unsung Hero, Ginny

Ginny Hodgkin found Military Missions a couple of years ago when she was looking for a local nonprofit organization for which to give her time.  She understands the importance of supporting small businesses in the local community and we are so blessed she decided to give her time to us.

It didn’t take Ginny long to do more than just show up at our events.  If you have ever volunteered for one of our events or activities, there is a good chance you have already met Ginny, at least through an email exchange.

Ginny takes care of all the emails that come into our volunteer email account which can be very time consuming. We get all sorts of inquiries from all over the country. People are always looking for a way to support our troops and they can come up with some very interesting ways to do it.  Ginny helps those who are inquiring to channel their ideas into something which Military Missions can use to support our troops and our veterans.

In addition to answering our emails, Ginny volunteers at our office every week and she coordinates our annual Sporting Clays fundraising event.  She does a lot more, but if you want to know everything, you will just have to come into the office and meet her one day. Ginny is a great asset to our Military Missions family and we are so blessed to have her giving her time to our organization.

Meet Unsung Heroes Larry and Jo

If you have been around the Military Missions office you probably know Larry Neuzel.  If you don’t know Larry, then it’s time you met him.  Larry is usually in the office when it’s open and he’s usually in the office when it’s closed.  He is another one of our volunteers who is busy with a lot of other organizations and activities, and he’s got a bunch of grandchildren who keep his calendar full, but if Larry has an extra hour to give, he is in our office doing something productive.

Larry reminds me of the energizer bunny.  He is never still and I’ve never seen him do anything slowly.  He can get more done that ten hardworking people and he’s dedicated to supporting our troops.

If you have ever received a care package from Military Missions, there is a good chance Larry had something to do with the box.  He either built it, packed it, or taped it shut. He helps our office manager, Joanne, keep everything in order and he helps to make sure everything is stocked.  He coordinates our trips to the post office, which is no easy feat.

In addition to serving on our board, Larry takes 90% of the photos you see on our website so he is often the one missing from the group pictures but now and then one of us can catch him for a photo if we move fast or stand in his way.

Larry is great at recruiting friends to come in and help out and he is often joined by his wife, Jo, who seems to be in the office just about every day herself.  We are so blessed to have Larry and Jo Neuzel as a part of our Military Missions family.

Unsung Heroes You Need to Know: Joanne and Tom

The day Joanne Blanck walked into Military Missions to see if she could lend a hand, no one could have foreseen the role that she would eventually take on in our organization.  She responded to a request for volunteers that we posted in the local paper a couple of years ago, and now she is practically running the place!

We have many volunteers who come and go.  Many volunteer once. Others volunteer for a season or two.  Still others have been coming around for years, but few have been willing to take on the leadership role and the responsibility that Joanne has gradually and willingly taken on over the past couple of years.

Joanne is what most of us would call a blessing from Heaven.  She retired from a full time job several years ago, and continues to be involved in volunteer service in other organizations besides Military Missions Inc.  She and her husband, Tom, both give much to our organization as well as several others.  If they aren’t giving to an organization, they are helping a friend or family member.

Besides the fact that Joanne serves on our board, and makes sure our office is staffed with volunteers with a job to do, she always has a huge smile on her face and she makes everyone who walks through our door feel welcome, special, and important.  She knows the troops on our list by name and she looks out for each and every one of them as she goes about the planning she does each month.

I couldn’t begin to count the hours that Joanne gives each week, but I think it’s safe to say that we would have to pay her overtime if we were in the business of paying people by the hour.  Anyone who has come into our office has seen Joanne in action, but what we see in the office is just the tip of the iceberg.  She spends lots of time answering emails and phone calls outside of office hours.  She comes in on evenings and weekends when there is a task to be done, and she spends a lot of time planning for events and activities.  Did I mention that she often accommodates the schedules of many who can’t come in during our office hours to participate?

Joanne recruits her husband for all sorts of jobs that need to be done around the office, and I guess he caught the fever too because this is the second year that he has handcrafted over a hundred games to be included in our care packages.  This couple obviously never stops doing for others.

The time given by Joanne can only be matched by the heart and humility with which she gives.  She makes sure that everything in the office is in order and ready to go, and that we have the manpower and the donations to get every task completed. She goes beyond the call of duty to make sure that the boxes are special for our troops and she creates some amazing gift bags which are given to our Veterans each month.

If we had more people like Joanne and Tom Blanck, who were willing to give so much of themselves for others, this world would be a much happier place.  We are so blessed to count Joanne and  Tom as members of our Military Missions family.

There’s a Story Behind Every Customs Form

When I think about all that Military Missions means to me and the good that is accomplished by our organization, it’s not about the number of packages we send out and it’s not about the donations we bring in each year.  It’s about the relationships built, the lives touched, and the heart and soul behind everyone’s participation.

Most of what we do would be described as tedious, but everyone who helps has a smile on their face and enjoys the purpose for their seemingly mundane task. Some of our volunteers can come in and work in the office. Others can’t work their schedules around our office hours so they will do what they can from home.

Have you ever written out a few hundred customs forms?  It’s not a fun task, but somebody’s got to do it.  Unless you are the one addressing these forms, no one really gives much thought to the work involved in getting them ready.  For those of us who have done it, what comes to mind first is the reminder of the writer’s cramp we get and the constant wonder about why we even need to fill the forms out since the boxes probably don’t go through Customs anyway.  There is certainly no spotlight for those who sit down and fill out all those little boxes on the forms, but it must be done and our volunteers are happy to have an opportunity to give back to our troops.

What makes a stack of customs forms personal?  For me it’s the fact that the wife of a sailor wants to help, but she is physically unable to come in and work at our office so she takes the forms home and writes them out, one by one.  She wants to be a part of the Military Missions family and say thank you to those who serve.

It’s about the sister of the deployed Marine who sits down at night to write addresses on 200 forms despite the fact that she is already volunteering in the office two days a week and trying to go to school full time. She is giving back, and she is also finding a positive way to survive deployment until her brother is safely home from war.

It’s about the name being written on that customs form.  That name belongs to an American hero.  It belongs to someone who is willing to stand in the gap so you and I can be free.  It belongs to someone who is a child, a spouse, a sibling, a parent, a friend, and a neighbor to countless people back home.

Each one who comes in the door of Military Missions Inc. has a story and a reason they want to give back to our troops and veterans. We all go through the motions of what appears to be a multitude of tedious tasks, but we all know that we are making a difference in the life of someone who needs to know we appreciate what he or she is doing.

We wish there was a way to package up the sentiments and share them with everyone involved.   Because we can’t do that we invite you to check out our blog and our photo albums where we will try to capture the heart and soul behind the snack bars, the foot powder and the customs forms.

To see a few of the faces of those who are giving back, click here.