My Nonprofit Reviews

I was in elementary school when the US carried out Operation Desert Storm. At that stage in life, I was trying to figure out what things were real, and what were not. I remember thinking that the soldiers that went to combat had to have been fake, like giants or Teddy Ruxpin. Soldiers were just make-believe people. There was no way a REAL person would actually go to war for anything, much less for the sake of their country. Why would these "people" fight for me when they don't even know me???? Unfortunately, about a decade later I would learn just how real soldiers are. Along with the rest of my country, I was very devastated on Sept. 11, 2001, and heart broken when our country went to war. I had always felt indebted to our military, but this feeling of gratitude grew exponentially after that day. I thought about our deployed all the time. One fateful day in 2004 I was reading a magazine my mom had in her car. There was an article about an organization called "Soldiers' Angels." I thought, 'Hmmmm, that's a different name. Let's read on...' My life has never been the same since! I have always felt connected to our country's military, yet I had never known anyone in the wars and knew very few people in the military. I didn't know what an APO was nor a single thing about the military, but I knew this was my calling. Here I am seven years later and I am just as excited to be involved in Soldiers' Angels as I was back then. SA gives me the chance to feel connected to our military, despite my obvious lack of exposure to this magnificent institution. I have adopted soldiers through their adoption program. But SA doesn't stop there. Oh, no they don't! They have numerous teams for people to be involved in. For example, there are Angel Bakers that send baked treats to our troops. There is the Ladies of Liberty team that focuses on female soldiers. The sewing team makes pillowcases and blankets of love. The list is amazing! SA allows you to use your interests in ways to benefit our deployed. I have always thought the concept of having a pen pal was fun, but never followed through with my interest. Soldiers' Angels changed that for me! In April of 2005, I joined their Letter Writing Team. Every week I get an already adopted soldier to write to. These are soldiers that really appreciate their Angel that has adopted them through SA, but are feeling down and would like a little extra something to boost their spirit. That's where I come in. I send them a letter and make sure to thank them and remind them that their country has not forgot about them. I have sent hundreds of letters and it never gets old. It's one of the greatest opportunities I have ever had in m life. My favorite example that I like to show everyone is a soldier that wrote back. He sent me a beautiful Christmas card from Iraq, and told me he lived in the same town as me! What a small world! He thought maybe I was a member of his family's church sending him a package, but nope. It was just a weird coincidence. Through Soldiers' Angels, I have contacted US soldiers in my own neighborhood and soldiers who were originally born in other parts of the world, but we have one thing in common. We all love our country and are all very grateful for the folks at Soldiers Angels.

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