Since the "Season of Giving" officially kicked off right in the middle of "I Love Watertown" month, I thought it would be fitting to find a local Watertown charity to donate to. I was tipped off to Operation American Soldier by a writer for the Watertown Patch, and after reading through their website, I'm more than happy to make a donation to this wonderful cause.
In short, Operation American Soldier is an organization that was started by John and Wendy Rocca, a Watertown couple with 3 children who have all been deployed at one time or another. After hearing their daughter tell a story of fellow soldiers who were not receiving any mail or packages at mail call, the couple decided to launch OAS to ensure that no soldier left mail call empty handed.
Sometimes the Rocca's organize packing parties where they gather volunteers to assemble the "cheer boxes" (usually filled with toiletries, snacks, drawings from children, personal letters from volunteers, and etc.), but since I didn't see one listed for this month, I decided to make a donation instead. For between $10 and $25 dollars you can sponsor a box that is shipped over to a soldier in need. Interested in sponsoring a box? Click here to donate.
I'd like to extend my gratitude to the Rocca family for creating and devoting themselves to such a wonderful chairty, and of course, to all of the soldiers who selflessly serve our country every day. A sincere thank you for your service.
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Danne-
ReplyDeleteNice article about Operation American Soldier. I'm the 2012 president of the Massachusetts chapter of a Realtor organization (Certified Residential Specialists, or CRS) that has also chosen to sponsor OAS.
I love your idea of allowing people the opportunity to sponsor a box, and will promote that concept at our chapter events and have a similar link added to our website. Thanks for the idea.
John and Wendy Rocca are members of CRS, and we're extremely proud of them. In 2010, because of their tireless work for OAS, they were one of five winners of The Good Neighbor Award, given annually by the National Association of Realtors. To give you some perspective on how difficult that is to achieve, there are more than a million members of NAR.
Anyway, good on you for featuring OAS and good on anyone who supports them. It's a great cause.
And I also wanted to add that I love your concept of 12 Months of Lent. I might have to give that a try, myself. We could all do a lot worse than bringing a minimum of 12 positive experiences into our lives, and the lives of others, over the course of a year.
Have a joyous holiday season and a terrific 2012!
Bill Kuhlman, Certified Residential Specialist (CRS)
2012 President, Massachusetts CRS Chapter
Thanks for your comment Bill, I'm glad you stumbled on my blog! That's wonderful that John and Wendy were the recipients of your Good Neighbor Award, Operation American Soldier is a wonderful cause and very deserving of any recognition that it gets. I was very happy to donate to it and hope that my readers will consider doing the same.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays to you as well!