As Christmas approaches, I wanted to say thank you to all of you who have given of yourselves this year for our Soldiers' and Veterans. To all of those who made donations to our cause at Soldiers' Angels we thank you! Remember our Troops and Veterans on Christmas as you celebrate with your family.
For any of you who are in the area my family and I will be going to DFW Airport on Christmas Day to welcome our troops. If you would like to join us it is a great way to spread some Christmas cheer to those who give so much for us!
This will be my last post until after the Christmas Holiday.
Merry Christmas to All!!
Twyla
Monday, December 22, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
What An Honor!
What an Honor my husband and myself had today. We were notified this morning that a Wounded Marine was flying into DFW Airport and that his family wanted as many people to be there as possible to meet him. Luckily I happened to have a Soldiers' Angels First Response Back Pack at my home. We took the backpack and a Soldiers' Angels coin and off we went.
It was our pleasure to get to shake this young hero's hand as he was reunited with his family after a long stay in the hospital for injuries while serving our country. He was appreciative of all who were there including the PGR, Southern Cruisers Riding club and many friends and family. Santa Claus was even on hand to Welcome him Home.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Send A Holiday Message To The Troops
Send a holiday message to the troops on Moment of Thanks. Let's give our family serving abroad some cheer and send them a message or a photo to put a smile on their faces…and let them know we're thinking about them this holiday season. Go to Moment of Thanks and share.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
America's Favorite Mom Plays Santa for the Troops
Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldiers' Angels, has given her prizes from the America's Favorite Mom contest to service members and their families.
New York, NY (December 16, 2008) -- America's Favorite Mom played Santa for a Day in New York, using the prizes she won to bring an early Christmas to military personnel and their families. Patti Patton-Bader, named America's Favorite Mom last Mother's Day, received the remainder of her prizes in New York last week, which she immediately donated in support of her heroes.
Such generosity is typical of Ms. Bader, who is president of Soldiers' Angels, a military support nonprofit she founded soon after her soldier son was deployed to Iraq in 2003. Five years later, it is now a volunteer-based organization operating over 30 different teams and projects in support of America's military, veterans, and military families around the world. "Soldiers' Angels is proud to acknowledge the continued generosity of its founder, Patti Patton Bader, through her donation of the proceeds and prizes she received from the America's Favorite Mom contest," said Soldiers' Angels Treasurer Mark Concialdi.
Redbook magazine interviewed Ms. Bader in New York at a private lunch with editor Stacy Morrison before she received her final prize of a shopping spree. At Ms. Bader's direction, the shopping spree was spent buying Christmas gifts for children of wounded soldiers living in Fisher Houses while their parents recover at nearby military hospitals.
The cash grand prize was distributed as a lump sum of $150,000, which Ms. Bader donated to Soldiers' Angels this summer. She has also donated the set of household appliances she received to nonprofit Homes for Our Troops, where they will be added to a home to be constructed for a quadriplegic wounded soldier. In a recent email, the soldier described his reaction. "We are indebted to you incredibly for your donation of those fantastic appliances. Your generosity is truly humbling," he wrote.
But Ms. Bader herself is humble about the experience. "The best part of winning was being able to give the prizes to America's heroes--our soldiers and their families. There are so many wonderful mothers in this country, and I was just glad to have the opportunity to shine the light on our military and the importance of supporting them in this time of war. I am so grateful to Stuart and Linda Resnick of Teleflora for developing the America's Favorite Mom contest," she said. The individualized, diamond-encrusted necklace declaring Ms. Bader "America's Favorite Mom" was donated to the Soldiers' Angels Museum, which documents the development of Soldiers' Angels and responses from Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen it supports. Ms. Bader was named America's Favorite Mom in a primetime NBC television show on Mother'sDay 2008, sponsored by Teleflora and hosted by Donny and Marie Osmond.
Established in 2003, Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-based 501(c)(3) non-profit providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, as well as veterans and military families. For more information, see www.soldiersangels.org or call 626-529-5114. Tax ID# 20-05834
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New York, NY (December 16, 2008) -- America's Favorite Mom played Santa for a Day in New York, using the prizes she won to bring an early Christmas to military personnel and their families. Patti Patton-Bader, named America's Favorite Mom last Mother's Day, received the remainder of her prizes in New York last week, which she immediately donated in support of her heroes.
Such generosity is typical of Ms. Bader, who is president of Soldiers' Angels, a military support nonprofit she founded soon after her soldier son was deployed to Iraq in 2003. Five years later, it is now a volunteer-based organization operating over 30 different teams and projects in support of America's military, veterans, and military families around the world. "Soldiers' Angels is proud to acknowledge the continued generosity of its founder, Patti Patton Bader, through her donation of the proceeds and prizes she received from the America's Favorite Mom contest," said Soldiers' Angels Treasurer Mark Concialdi.
Redbook magazine interviewed Ms. Bader in New York at a private lunch with editor Stacy Morrison before she received her final prize of a shopping spree. At Ms. Bader's direction, the shopping spree was spent buying Christmas gifts for children of wounded soldiers living in Fisher Houses while their parents recover at nearby military hospitals.
The cash grand prize was distributed as a lump sum of $150,000, which Ms. Bader donated to Soldiers' Angels this summer. She has also donated the set of household appliances she received to nonprofit Homes for Our Troops, where they will be added to a home to be constructed for a quadriplegic wounded soldier. In a recent email, the soldier described his reaction. "We are indebted to you incredibly for your donation of those fantastic appliances. Your generosity is truly humbling," he wrote.
But Ms. Bader herself is humble about the experience. "The best part of winning was being able to give the prizes to America's heroes--our soldiers and their families. There are so many wonderful mothers in this country, and I was just glad to have the opportunity to shine the light on our military and the importance of supporting them in this time of war. I am so grateful to Stuart and Linda Resnick of Teleflora for developing the America's Favorite Mom contest," she said. The individualized, diamond-encrusted necklace declaring Ms. Bader "America's Favorite Mom" was donated to the Soldiers' Angels Museum, which documents the development of Soldiers' Angels and responses from Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen it supports. Ms. Bader was named America's Favorite Mom in a primetime NBC television show on Mother'sDay 2008, sponsored by Teleflora and hosted by Donny and Marie Osmond.
Established in 2003, Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-based 501(c)(3) non-profit providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, as well as veterans and military families. For more information, see www.soldiersangels.org or call 626-529-5114. Tax ID# 20-05834
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Monday, December 15, 2008
618 Soldiers' Need Adopting Can You Help?
There are 618 Soldiers waiting to be adopted this morning. Please adopt these heroes for Christmas and through the remainder of their deployment. One letter a week and 1-2 small care packages a month is all it takes. Click here to find out more.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Help Soldiers' Angels Ship Holiday Packages
Soldiers' Angels has 140,000 Wrapped in Holiday
Spirit packages in our 2 warehouses, ready to be shipped out. We are
shipping them out in waves as finances allow. However, we are still coming
up short on shipping costs and without additional donations, we may be
unable to send them all. If you could donate even $1, we would be closer to
getting these packages into the hands and hearts of our heroes serving
overseas this holiday season! Won't you please help? Click here
to make you donation now. Soldiers' Angels is a 501(c)(3) and all donations
are tax-deductible.
Spirit packages in our 2 warehouses, ready to be shipped out. We are
shipping them out in waves as finances allow. However, we are still coming
up short on shipping costs and without additional donations, we may be
unable to send them all. If you could donate even $1, we would be closer to
getting these packages into the hands and hearts of our heroes serving
overseas this holiday season! Won't you please help? Click here
to make you donation now. Soldiers' Angels is a 501(c)(3) and all donations
are tax-deductible.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Angel Attends Portrait Presentation At Texas Capital
Melissa McLaurin, an Austin area angel and VACTL for Waco VA attended the presentation of portraits by the Texas Fallen Hero Project in Austin last week. She has been kind enough to share her pictures of the events. Thanks Melissa, for representing Soldiers' Angels at this event and for sharing these great photographs.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Soldiers' Angels Founder's Notes
Dear Friends of America's Troops,
One of the most exciting things about Soldiers' Angels has been watching how individual people who support the troops have come together to accomplish amazing things. With each contributing to the mission in whatever way we can, we are truly greater than the sum of our parts! I was reminded of this as I saw the wonderful work the bloggers did for the Project Valour-IT fundraiser.
Valour-IT
Band of Bloggers
Milbloggers, diarists, political bloggers of all stripes, and new media leaders such as talk show hosts, online magazines, and podcasters pulled together to raise money for Valour-IT during these challenging times. As I watched with joy what you accomplished in just two weeks of fundraising, I was so proud of you, and so honored to be associated with you. Thank you for all you do! [more]
Adopt a Soldier
Each Warrior with an Angel for the Holidays
Adoptions are another way that we all band together to do great things. As I write this, we have over 200 soldiers awaiting adoption. Please spread the word--if we each tell a friend about the need, we can ensure that every deployed service member has an Angel for the Holidays, that they know they are loved and remembered even when the are so far from home. [more]
Meet the Angel Leadership—Band of Volunteers
Toby Nunn
Toby Nunn is a standout in many ways: a Canadian citizen who has served in the American Armed Forces as a Sergeant First Class, Toby is expecting his American citizenship papers any day now, and he is also a Soldiers' Angels volunteer-turned-employee. His two tours in Kuwait and Iraq with a transportation unit give him personal experience and insight into the issues of reintegration post-combat experiences, and as an author and documentary film star, his skills in the communications field are a treasure. It takes a nation to heal a war, and we are very honored to work side-by-side with Toby as he brings to SA unique talents we haven't had before.
Toby will be the Team Development Director, a soldier liaison with a special emphasis on combat veterans. His work will focus on coordinating the integration of programs within SA and around the country that assist combat veterans dealing with PTSD, helping to develop cooperative efforts to fill the gaps in assistance and remove the stigma of seeking treatment.
All of these wonderful people are doing great things for our veterans. It does take a nation to heal a war, and it is so inspiring to see how Americans are standing up to help our heroes heal. Thank you so much for being a part of that!
Wingtip to Wingtip,
Patti Patton-Bader
Soldiers' Angels Founder and CEO
One of the most exciting things about Soldiers' Angels has been watching how individual people who support the troops have come together to accomplish amazing things. With each contributing to the mission in whatever way we can, we are truly greater than the sum of our parts! I was reminded of this as I saw the wonderful work the bloggers did for the Project Valour-IT fundraiser.
Valour-IT
Band of Bloggers
Milbloggers, diarists, political bloggers of all stripes, and new media leaders such as talk show hosts, online magazines, and podcasters pulled together to raise money for Valour-IT during these challenging times. As I watched with joy what you accomplished in just two weeks of fundraising, I was so proud of you, and so honored to be associated with you. Thank you for all you do! [more]
Adopt a Soldier
Each Warrior with an Angel for the Holidays
Adoptions are another way that we all band together to do great things. As I write this, we have over 200 soldiers awaiting adoption. Please spread the word--if we each tell a friend about the need, we can ensure that every deployed service member has an Angel for the Holidays, that they know they are loved and remembered even when the are so far from home. [more]
Meet the Angel Leadership—Band of Volunteers
Toby Nunn
Toby Nunn is a standout in many ways: a Canadian citizen who has served in the American Armed Forces as a Sergeant First Class, Toby is expecting his American citizenship papers any day now, and he is also a Soldiers' Angels volunteer-turned-employee. His two tours in Kuwait and Iraq with a transportation unit give him personal experience and insight into the issues of reintegration post-combat experiences, and as an author and documentary film star, his skills in the communications field are a treasure. It takes a nation to heal a war, and we are very honored to work side-by-side with Toby as he brings to SA unique talents we haven't had before.
Toby will be the Team Development Director, a soldier liaison with a special emphasis on combat veterans. His work will focus on coordinating the integration of programs within SA and around the country that assist combat veterans dealing with PTSD, helping to develop cooperative efforts to fill the gaps in assistance and remove the stigma of seeking treatment.
All of these wonderful people are doing great things for our veterans. It does take a nation to heal a war, and it is so inspiring to see how Americans are standing up to help our heroes heal. Thank you so much for being a part of that!
Wingtip to Wingtip,
Patti Patton-Bader
Soldiers' Angels Founder and CEO
Monday, December 1, 2008
Fallen Texas Hero
Sgt 1st Class Miguel A. Wilson, Jr. 36, of Bonham, Texas, died Nov. 21 in Abu Sayf, Iraq, of injuries sustained during a rescue attempt of another soldier while their unit was conducting a dismounted reconnaissance mission. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas. The incident remains under investigation.
In 1990, Miguel Wilson graduated from Bonham High School in Texas. Wilson joined the military in January 1997 as an indirect fire infantryman. Since September 2006, he has been with the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, Texas. He deployed to Iraq in November of 2007.
On November 21st, Sergeant First Class Wilson was on a dismounted reconnaissance mission in Abu Sayf, Iraq. The Fort Hood soldier from North Texas died of injuries suffered during a rescue attempt of another soldier.
"Its hard for me to be sad when he was doing exactly what he wanted to do," stated the soldier's mother, Wanda Wilson.
Military sources indicate Miguel was crossing a bridge when he saw another soldier struggling in the water below. The soldier jumped over the side of the bridge wearing a 65-pound backpack and managed to rescue the soldier in the water, although Miguel was unable to make it to safety...
Sergeant First Class Wilson's decorations and awards include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, NATO Medal and Overseas Service Ribbon.
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