Dear Angels,
2009 was quite the year—there were huge challenges and big changes, and through it all we came out stronger than we were before. All year long in 2009, thanks to each of you who pitched in and found a way to help, Soldiers’ Angels rose to the occasion to meet the needs of our troops and their families in wartime.
The economy hit us hard, but through the darkest financial months we kept our hearts strong. Everyone had to pinch their pennies, and we did, too. Pulling together with gifts of time, money, items and effort, we had the most effective year of supporting the troops we’ve ever had.
In the middle of the downturn, we acknowledged the challenges and stepped out with faith in our volunteers and donors, and you did it! We started a warehouse run by veterans! The paid staff of veterans has such pride and excitement, and troops from the area are thrilled to volunteer. Being able to have a warehouse of our own, including silk-screening services, means lower overhead, too. It’s one of the best things we’ve ever done for our mission. They sent out 80,000 care packages in just their first month!
As the situation in Iraq continued to improve this year, the opposite happened in Afghanistan. We had hoped to be able to relax and celebrate the success of Iraq, but found we had to double down to push our support out to heroes in the hard and dangerous conditions of Afghanistan, and to those returning home on stretchers with families who needed our help.
Throughout these challenges, Angels have been relentless in support for the deployed, wounded, veterans and families. We’re about to register the 300,000th person to volunteer! This year we gave over 1,000 toys to kids of deployed heroes, brought joy and support to countless deployed families, purchased a therapeutic robot for Bethesda Naval Medical Center, and handed out hundreds of laptops, Wii systems (for therapy) and GPS devices for the wounded, and… Angels did more than I could possibly list here!
All the hard work and careful planning were recognized this year… The Department of Defense honored Soldiers’ Angels with the prestigious “Spirit of Hope” award in October, only the 2nd time the DoD has presented it since 2002. We competed on Twitter for $25,000 in social media consulting and won, the wonderful Matt Burden became a Trustee, and we met the high standards required to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC).
The need for Angels with strong and loving hearts continues, and the demands on all of us grow. In the middle of it all, I believe the challenges of this last year have strengthened Soldiers’ Angels in our mission for heroes and their families. Thank you for the power you’ve put into making that happen!
My deepest thanks to all of you for all you have done and continue do, especially during this very adventurous year.
Happiest of Holidays to all,
Wingtip to Wingtip,
Patti Patton-Bader
Soldiers’ Angels Founder and CEO
Comments on this entry are closed.