My DIARY cherry, that is. What were you thinking?
This is my very first diary. It never would've happened without the sometimes derided community diaries.
The community diaries at dKos serve a very important purpose. Beyond building community, they may also encourage formerly inactive folks to take part in our democracy. I oughtta know. I'm one of those people.
I'd never been involved in a campaign, beyond basic research and voting. I came to DailyKos to learn about Obama during the primaries and found myself learning so much more. I don't know that I would have stayed after the election, had I not found my comfy niche in Mojo Friday, full of compassionate, zany people. I felt right at home. Having found a home where I felt safe, I ventured more widely out into the wild and woolly general KOS, mostly reading and recc'ing, commenting only occasionally.
Of course, the inevitable happened. The more I read, the more invested I became. The more invested I became, the more action I began to take. Started by joining online political groups and signing their petitions. Moved on to donating money to campaigns and causes that particularly touched me. Even went so far as to phone bank for the first time, for a candidate not in my district, encouraged by a diarist I read faithfully. None of this would have happened if not for the community base in the community diary I think of as dKos home.
I've never written a diary. I've never been involved in issues relating to the armed forces. But my community here at dKos is heavily invested in Netroots for the Troops, and so I am happily compelled to do my bit. The more NFTT diaries I read, the more I learn about the importance and impact of sending these packages, these bits of hope and home, to our troops overseas. I'm so grateful to have been awakened to this need. I feel privileged to be able to make this small effort that will hopefully make a difference, however slight. I hope you'll join me in whatever ways you can.
Donate your time, your money, your energy. It matters.
I know, I know. Many of you donated this past week during the community donate fest, hosted by two well-known, funny, wonderful Kossacks. I donated this past week. You may be all donated out for awhile. But maybe you could donate $1? Just one. Or maybe $5? Five dollars isn't THAT much for the weekend. Possibly even $10? Every little bit helps. If you're in here this evening, won't you please take it one step further and make a donation, however small? Even $1. It'll make you feel good. Try it!
Thanks for coming along for the ride. Details to answer all of your NFTT questions follow.
Our goal for Netroots For The Troops 2009 is $50,000.00 (cash or in-kind donations).
PLEASE DONATE HERE
We realize that you would like to donate something tangible to go inside the packages that will be mailed to the troops. Unfortunately, accepting in-kind donations from individuals is not practical in terms of storage and handling of the items. The Pittsburgh Convention Center is a union shop so we have more stringent rules that need to be followed. Instead, we will only be accepting corporate donations or cash from YOU to purchase items for the care packages this year.
Here’s how YOU can help:
- Please contact TexDem or VeloVixen if you know someone who might be helpful in securing the corporate in-kind donations. To help you think of companies who could donate products, see below* for a list of potential items. Put your thinking caps on and let us hear from you. It takes time to get through the corporate processes so we need to hear from you ASAP!
- We are accepting cash from individuals and
beg ask that you DONATE HERE to contribute to this worthy cause. Your donation will enable us to purchase the things that we are unable to obtain through corporate donations, and will help to pay the costs of shipping them to our troops. This year your donations will be tax deductible, thanks to Netroots Nation and their partner Netroots Arts and Education Initiative, a California 501(c)3 corporation.
- Sign up for a diary! Our goal is to post two diaries per day until NN09. That’s a lot of diaries! Don’t worry---we’ve made it easy for you. We’ve got a template set up, and all you need to do is add a small introduction telling us why you are donating, sharing a story of someone you know who has served or is serving, or any other thing you want to share that might help motivate others to donate. Please contact politik if you are interested in posting a diary.
- Do you know a service member who would like to receive a care package? Email a request to: NFTT.request@gmail.com before July 31, 2009.
Please include all of the following information. Unfortunately we will not be able to process any incomplete requests:
Rank:
Last name:
First name:
APO Address Line 1:
APO Address Line 2:
APO Address Zip:
- Write letters to be included in the packages! Our own jlms qkw is collecting the letters and will print them out and bring them to Pittsburgh. Just email your letter to her jlms_qkw@yahoo.com. Look for more information from jlms qkw soon.
- Help us assemble the packages in Pittsburgh. It's fun! More information will be forthcoming for those of you who are going to be in Pittsburgh and would like to help there.
- Please consider joining the NFTT FaceBook Group. Invite your FaceBook and non-FaceBook friends.
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*The following list contains some of the things we would like to include in the packages. Please let us know if you know someone who might be helpful in securing these corporate in-kind donations. (Please DO NOT send these items yourself! We have no way to accept them. Instead, your cash donation is the very best way to help make this happen on the ground in Pittsburgh.)
- Baby wipes
- Mechanix gloves
- Language translation books or CDs (Rosetta Stone as an example)
- LED flashlights
- Gel shoe insoles
- Goop Cleaning Gel
- Powdered energy drinks
- Gel energy food packets
- DVDs and CDs
- Letters to the soldiers
- More suggestions coming soon
Books for Soldiers
Soldiers love to receive books, but due once again to the logistics of collecting and storing them prior to NN09, books will not be included in the packages that NFTT will put together this year. Other organizations are more specialized in the collection and distribution of books to Iraq and Afghanistan. If you are interested in sending books, please consider checking out the Books for Soldiers Website. It is run by DKos's very own StormBearand is a great resource for giving.
Important Note about Successful Online Donations
PLEASE DONATE HERE
When you make your online donation, the screen indicates that you are donating to Netroots Nation. This is the right screen! Rest assured all donations WILL go to NFTT. If you wish, feel free to use the comment area provided to note that your donation is intended for Netroots For The Troops. It isn’t necessary to do this however, as this is the only fundraising activity being conducted for Netroots Nation at this time. For further information about online donations, please read TexDem's diary on the subject.