Recently, while Jim was a guest on Fox's DaySide with Linda Vester, a member of the audience asked a question that went something like this "How do you know you're making a difference?"

Sometimes we receive reports from military personnel on the ground to update us on the effects of our efforts, sometimes Jim and other SoA staff travel to Iraq to see first-hand the impact of our support, and sometimes we get to read heartwarming articles like this one, Iraqis defy insurgents for Spirit of America, from USMC Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers that follows the story of an SoA sponsored shipment of medical supplies from the Marines who went to great lengths to make sure it found a home to the courageous Iraqis who eventually put the equipment to practial use.

The background behind this story involves our stellar corporate partner, Triad Hospitals. Triad's CFO, Whitman Burke, who is a Marine Reservist, reponded to a call for medical supplies and equipment to be donated via the Marines to hospitals in Iraq. Triad donated medical gear from 6 hospitals and SoA involved another of our magnanimous partners, FedEx, to ship the medical supplies to a main warehouse in Texas where they were palletized and transported by FedEx to the 1st Marine Division in Iraq.

The 1st Marine Division took posession of the supplies and then arranged to have them delivered to the 2nd Marine Division. No small feat given the intense terrorist activity in the 1st MarDiv area. But, as the Marines always do, they pulled it off! The donated supplies included everything from tubing for IVs to gurneys to EKG machines.

As Cpl. Beavers article details, getting the supplies to the right place was only half the challenge. Once the medical equipment was received, the Marines had to convince the local medical community to accept the donation despite threats of retaliation by insurgents. With additional security from the Marines and the approval of a courageous hospital director, over 13,500 pounds of vital medical supplies finally are being used to treat Iraqis in need.

But the medical benefits are just the beginning of the story. As one of the Marines involved in the project, Staff Sgt. Richard Suttles, points out in the article, "I saw proof that the Iraqis are going to be okay without us."

With your help, we ARE making a difference.