In 1949, President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military for their patriotic service in support of our country. On August 31, 1949, Armed Forces Day was created to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration came from the bringing together each the Armed Forces under one department - the Department of Defense. Each of the military services was asked to drop sponsorship of its specific service day in order to celebrate the newly announced Armed Forces Day. The Army, Navy and Air Force leagues adopted the newly formed day. The Marine Corps didn't drop support for Marine Corps Day, but they also support Armed Forces Day.
This is the day which we have the welcome opportunity to pay special tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces. To all the individuals who are in the service of their country all over the world. Armed Forces Day won't be a matter of parades and receptions for a many of them. They will be in line of duty and some of them will give their lives in that duty. This years theme is "United In Strength".
Armed Forces Day is always celebrated on the third Saturday of May. Armed Forces Week begins on the second Saturday of May and ends on the third Sunday of May, the day after Armed Forces Day. Because of their unique training schedules, National Guard and Reserve units may celebrate Armed Forces Day/Week over any period in May.
Our goal for Netroots For The Troops 2010 is $100,000.00 (cash or in-kind donations). 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. 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.
- Netroots For The Troops is introducing NFTT 2010 Personal/Team Fundraising Pages.. It will empower each of you to multiply your personal donations by creating a Personal NFTT 2010 Fundraising Page. Through this page you will be able to approach your friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers and colleagues etc to donate to NFTT via your page. We're asking you to sign up to personally raise $1000.00. If you were a small donor last year but wanted to do more, this is a way for you to increase your donation via your contacts.
- Sign up for a diary! Our goal is to post two diaries per day until NN10. 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 Khloemi if you are interested in posting a diary.
- Do you know a service member who would like to receive a care package? Email your request to: info@netrootsforthetroops.com before June 25, 2010.
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:
- Help us assemble the packages in Vegas. It's fun! More information will be forthcoming for those of you who are going to be in Vegas 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 Vegas.)
* Baby wipes
* Mechanix gloves
* 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 NN10, 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.
As of March 1, 2010, monthly donations are no longer being deducted. Please consider donating the difference here.