Earlier in the year, SoA sent supplies to Captain William "Trip" Wash in Afghanistan under our Gifts for Children project.  With your contributions to the Gifts project, we provided 250 soccer balls with pumps and needles along with 250 school kits including backpacks filled with paper, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, markers, and scissors.

Captain Wash shared this message with us a few days ago:

"First off, I'd like to apologize for this taking so long.  In any given day, there are about 10 things I don't get done, and somehow getting you these pictures has slipped by for months now.  For that, I'm sorry.  The items donated by your organization have helped immensely, though, and we have been impressed by the quality of goods you've sent.
     These pictures come primarily from two events:  One was a humanitarian assistance mission in north-east Paktia province, Afghanistan, approximately 10 km from the Pakistan border.  Those pictures are numbers "Picture 2 246 (Opt)" and "Picture 2 247 (Opt)".  The remainder are from a ribbon cutting on a new school in the Owni Seydan village of western Puli Alam district, Logar province, Afghanistan.  The school was refurbished by Afghan contractors and was paid for by the US Army.  Your donor's items (both school supplies and sports equipment) were donated to the school itself for use in the upcoming school year, which should begin in mid-March.  All told, we've used your donations in approximately 30 humanitarian assistance missions in three provinces (Paktia, Logar and Wardak).  I'd estimate the total people served by these goods to be between 200 and 300.  We still have a good amount of school supplies left, but we're going to wait until the opening of school in March to distribute that.  We're almost out of soccer balls, but people love those all year.
    ... I want you to know we really appreciate the support your organization has provided for us- a lot of times the Afghanistan theater is overshadowed by Iraq, and it's important for donors to know Afghanistan is still here and in desperate need of any help it can get.  Thank you again for all your help, let me know if there's anything else you'll need."

All the Way
CPT William Wash
S5, 508th STB

Photos from the distribution:

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

SoA is very honored (and proud!) that one of our best sources of  new project contacts is through referrals from "satisfied customers", which for us means servicemen and women who have benefited from our project support.  When a project contact shares our information with his or her replacement and recommends our work, it tells us that we are accomplishing our goal of sharing the goodwill of the American people in a meaningful way with our troops on the front lines.  

A great example of that referral chain started with our support of Army Major Bryant Love stationed in Iraq near the end of 2005.  In January of 2006, we supplied Maj. Love with toys, soccer balls and school supplies under our Gifts for Children project.  The support was a big success and Maj. Love recommended SoA to his replacement, Les Moton, who referred us to his replacement, Army liaison Christopher Pflanz.  Through Chris Pflanz, we recently sent over 2,000 school kits to 3 different contacts throughout Iraq including Army Cpt. Angela Greenewald stationed at Camp Sykes near Tal Afar, Iraq. 
Cpt. Greenewald and her team are providing outreach for 3 schools refurbished in the area.  Thanks to the unmatched generosity of our donors, the 1,200 school kits needed to equip the students in these 3 schools were sent and received in time for the start of the school year.
Cpt. Greenewald shares this message:

"Thanks so much for the school backpacks. The boxes started arriving about 10 days ago. All 1,200 backpacks and kits have arrived.  As soon as photographs are available, I will send them to you.

Your support to our organization and the children of Iraq has been exceptional. We appreciate your support immensely. Keep an eye out for a CD of pictures to arrive via postal service."

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

Commander Chris Pflanz serving with the Army 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (CAB) sent us some absolutely beautiful pictures taken during his tour in Iraq.  Some of these aren't directly related to SoA's contribution of over 1,300 school kits and other items to Pflanz and his team through our Gifts for Children project...but they are too good not to share with you.  We hope you enjoy them!

Toys to Iraqi Kids 2

Toys to Iraqi Kids

One Young Boy

Women and Child

Women working the herd

Young Iraqi Children

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

Army 1st Lieutenant Tim Stevens serving with the 5-7 CAV, 1 BCT, 3ID serving in Anbar Province, Iraq has distributed some of the 250 soccer balls, school supplies and beanie babies donated at his request by Spirit of America through our Gifts for Children project. He will send additional pictures as time (and internet speed!) allow.

Those of you who have been following this request will note that Lt Stevens has been promoted from 2nd Lt to 1st Lt during his time in Iraq.  Congratulations to 1st Lt Stevens and a big thank you for his partnership with SoA during his deployment.

Iraqi boy and his soccer balls

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

Marine Sergeant 1stClass Michael Maples serving in Fallujah has written us previously that the school kits provided by SoA have had a positive impact on the children in the area.  He is once again seeking our help in supporting a large request--up to 14,000 kits-- for school backpacks filled supplies.  As Maples says, "these simple gifts give great hope to the children, who truly are the future of this country." 

 We hope you'll consider helping through our Gifts for Children project.  Together, we are making a difference to those who matter most--the kids who will guide Iraq through the future.

Here is SFC Maples email:

 "Howdy from good 'ole Camp Fallujah.  I have received lots of requests for backpacks and school kits.  I realize this is a lot, but they total 14,000 of each.  They are extremely popular and have gone a long way towards building trust between the citizens and the Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army.  Our teams hand them out along side of the IP and IA.  Is there any way y'all can send as much of what has been requested as possible.  I truly wish the people back there knew what a difference is being made here, at least in my neck of the woods.  These simple gifts give great hope to the children, who truly are the future of this country.  Thanks so much for your support.  Please know that we here appreciate greatly your dedication and support.  May God bless you and all the others who have helped us out.

Many thanks,

SFC Michael Maples
TPDD 93 NCOIC
C/9th POB(A)

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

CPT Mendez

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

Kids in Anbar receive schoolpacks requested
by Major Britt Rosenberry

Anbar schoolchildren receive new school packs

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

While walking a patrol with the Iraqi Army in Fallujah last week, I ran across a group of young children heading to school. Many of them had backpacks, and all of the backpacks were identical. This immediately made me think of Spirit of America's school backpack program, so I contacted Jim Hake and Michele Redmond. Michele is confident that these backpacks are indeed part of the Marines “Benefit Day” outreach program in Al Anbar province. The Marines Benefit Day program was conceived by LtCol Jeff Nagel and sought to put 60,000 backpacks in the hands of Iraqi children in western Iraq. Spirit of America contributed over 10,000 backpacks filled with school supplies, along with a gift and an Arabic-language book for children.




It was just amazing to see this Spirit of America program at work in the heart of Fallujah. School supplies continue to be one of Spirit of America’s most popular requests. The Gifts for Children project supplies school materials.

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Posted by: Bill Roggio

This time of year, with shoppers navigating crowded malls balancing shopping bags filled to the brim with Holiday presents, it's hard to imagine what life is like for children caught up in the midst of war.  For many children in Iraq and Afghanistan, simple things like soccer balls & nets and school supplies are in short supply. 

During this season of giving, we are so grateful for our donors who allow us to respond to military requests to give gifts..and hope..to children.  Thanks to your donations to SoA's Gifts for Children project, soccer balls and nets are on their way to U S Marine Sergeant Dean Marquart to compliment their work to refurbish a school in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. 

In addition, over 2250 school backpacks filled with supplies will be distributed by Army Civil Affairs team member Les Moton for schoolchildren in Balad, Iraq and to Major Britt Rosenberry stationed in Fallujah.  You can read an account of Bill Roggio's meeting with the Major in the blog, School Supplies for the Children of Al Anbar.   Major Rosenberry  wrote to us in his initial request, "We are faced with terrorists trying to close schools and convince the population they do not need a formal education.  In order to keep kids interested, we've been handling out backpacks with notebooks and pens/pencils.  The kids (and parents) can't get enough of them."

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

Les Moton serving with Army Civil Affairs stationed in Balad, Iraq sent us these delightful pictures of thankful schoolchildren receiving their school supplies donated by Spirit of America as part of our Gifts for Children project. School supplies and backpacks are very well-received by Iraqi children who not only get the practical benefits of much-needed supplies but also the encouragement of having strangers reach out in kindness. 

Spirit of America was delighted to help an enterprising girls soccer team in Indiana find a home for the soccer equipment that they collected for teams in Iraq. 

You can read the full story in this article, "Equipment drive scores on International level".  It's a great reminder that a few people working together toward a common goal CAN make a difference!

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

The Iraqi children love getting beanie babies and soccer balls.  Distributing gifts to the children gives the soldiers an opportunity to interact with the locals in a positive way.  The loyalty and trust built up with the children is invaluable because they are the future of the country. 

Iraqi girl and her daddy with new beanie babies

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Posted by: Nancy Hope

LtCol Tayrn Gude a US Marine and mother of two understands the significant impact that even a small gift can have to bring joy to a child. As she serves her tour of duty in Iraq, she encounters young children surrounded by the horrors of war, many with very few materials possessions.  She writes, "There is nothing in this big, bad world better than the smile on a child’s face". 

When LtCol Gude heard of the popularity of Fula dolls she enlisted the help of Spirit of America and our wonderful team in Iraq to purchase the dolls locally to bring smiles to the Iraqi girls that she meets.  She even joined the ranks of SoA donors and contributed personally to the Gifts for Iraqi Children project.  She shares this message with us:

"I was able to join Spirit of America and make my donation – the two most important things I’ve done today!  When I return to the U.S., I look forward to being an active member of SoA.  Thank you so much for helping me jump-start and get some traction with this initiative. 

You and your supporters will never know just how grateful the little girls I took pictures of are for those dolls.  As you can see, they’re pretty little things – but absolutely filthy and without shoes.  So, the dolls were a bright spot in an otherwise blighted environment."

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

"The Spirit Of America gifts that our Marines, Soldiers and Sailors distribute on a daily basis are a great "ice breaker" with Iraqi citizens, especially children, in the areas we patrol. The gifts have shown the Iraqi people that America truly cares and demonstrates that U.S forces are more than body armor and weapons. The Iraqi children of the neighborhoods we patrol on a regular basis, are no longer afraid of the Marines and Soldiers, and eagerly approach our patrols in hopes of a gift.

Additionally, the schools that received school supplies and athletic equipment expressed a genuine appreciation for the donations and several remarked that without our donations, they would have gone without.

I'm extremely proud to assist SoA in Iraq and am very humbled by the generosity of those that donate. The donations really do make a positive difference in the accomplishment our mission in Iraq."

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

Thanks to all the Marines in 2nd MarDiv who worked to transport, unload and distribute the items to the kids, your generous donations are making a difference. What is especially impressive is that this group of Marines have only been in-country a few short weeks and already they are working hard to improve the lives of the people where they serve.

You can view a photo update here

Photo update of 2ndMarDiv receiving gifts for Iraqi children

Our heartfelt thanks to all of you who contributed to this project, including Timex, Champion and Elan-Polo. Remember, this is just the first shipment so look for more good news stories to come.

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

Elan-Polo, which is headquarterd in St. Louis and Nashville, has been incredible to work with and very generous with thier donation of new shoes for Iraq's children.

The shoes were provided as part of our "Gifts for Iraqi Children" project and will be distributed by the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Blue Diamond, Iraq.

Look for email and photo updates in the near future from the Marines. Hopefully we'll get a few pictures of these kids proudly wearing their new sneakers.

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

A key element of the Marine’s plan in Iraq is to build trust and improve relations by demonstrating that there is “no better friend” than a U.S. Marine. However, increased violence in the area has created a need for heightened security check-points which inconvenience innocent Iraqi families. Many of these families have small children, and whenever possible the Marines try to brighten their day with a smile and some small token of friendship.

One of the items that the Marines identified as particularly popular are children’s watches, but obtaining them locally can be difficult, if not impossible. When we learned of this need from Lt. Col. Jeff Vold, we did what we always do. We posted the request on our website and sent out an email to donors for help. As in the past, the response was immediate but this time from an unexpected source.

Lou Galie, Senior Vice President of Research & Development for Timex and a loyal SoA supporter, learned of the need and quickly gained the support of Timex CEO, Joe Santana and the Timex executive team. As a result, Timex generously agreed to donate over 7,500 children’s watches with custom labels reading “A gift of friendship from the American people” in both English and Arabic to be shipped to Kuwait and then airlifted into Iraq to fill the Marine’s request.

“Timex is proud to support Spirit of America”, said Lou Galie. “We believe that their efforts demonstrate to the world the best attributes of the American People. The entire Timex organization is pleased that America’s best watches can play a part in this noble endeavor.”

Now that is the embodiment of the true "Spirit of America": generosity, rapid response and using what you have to get the job done.

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Posted by: Michele Redmond

Today is the 229th birthday of the U.S. Marines - so to all you Marines on this message I’ll take this opportunity to say Happy Birthday, every interaction I’ve had with you has made me proud to know you.

As you know, for the last year we have been supporting the Marines and, with your generous support, meeting their requests for items ranging from school supplies to sewing machines to television station equipment. All these goods benefit the Iraqi people and support the Marines mission in Iraq. That mission is security, freedom and peace for Iraq.

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Posted by: Jim Hake

Posted by: Donovan Janus