Heroes Waiting
for Adoption
Operation Price of Freedom
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Dear Angel (and visitors!),
On the morning of June 21, 2005, Captain Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss was crossing a bridge in Iraq with his men.
Without warning, a hidden I.E.D. was detonated by an unseen enemy.
Chuck caught the full force of the blast. He awoke four days later back in the U.S. at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in pain, with truly horrific wounds...
A portion of his left hand was missing up to the wrist ... Most of the skin on his left forearm was gone ... his eyes were damaged, and both eardrums were blown out ... shrapnel had ripped into his face, groin and thighs.
Chuck survived. And like most of our severely wounded military heroes, he has not a trace of self-pity ... despite having just undergone his 35th surgery!
How can we ever repay our brave young men and women for their heroic service and sacrifice that preserve our freedom?
The fact is, we can't.
But we can -- and we must -- do our utmost to show them our heartfelt gratitude, in a way that will be most meaningful to them.
If you've already given to Soldiers' Angels, the organization I founded five years ago to provide aid and comfort to our young men and women in uniform ... to make sure not one of them goes unloved, then I know you agree.
You have helped us send hundreds of thousands of letters and care packages to our deployed heroes. you have helped us provide phone cards, cooling scarves and KEVLAR blankets. you have helped us provide the wounded with First Response Packs and much more.
Thanks to you and other patriots, we are touching the lives of thousands of our young heroes deployed in the front lines of the War Against Terror. And with your help we will continue this vital mission -- showing our soldiers the love and support of the American people -- until every last American soldier comes home.
But in fulfilling this crucial mission, we have discovered another huge, unmet need for our heroes ... an urgent need resulting from the fact that they are serving in a different kind of war ... and that many are coming home with harsh new kinds of wounds, facing different challenges that we saw in previous wars.
The are paying a tremendous price for our freedom ... yours and mine and all we love.
If you could meet with some of these incredible heroes and learn about some of their pressing needs, you would easily see why I felt we just had to do more for them right away.
So we are launching a major new effort called Operation Price of Freedom.
I know you want to learn about this crucial undertaking by Soldiers' Angels, and what you can do to help make a real difference for these deserving men and women.
Please take just a few minutes to watch the video at the top of this page. You'll see and hear amazing stories of heroism and sacrifice by those who are paying the price of freedom for all of us.
As you will see in your video, you have an historic opportunity to join with a select group of patriotic Americans who are committed to showing -- not just with words, but with actions -- our young men and women in uniform how deeply we value all they do for us.
You can help me show them the full thanks of a grateful nation!
It sickens me to remember how our soldiers were treated when they returned from Vietnam. I was only ten years old when my dad came home from that war. My family went to the airport, so excited to welcome him home.
But before we could even give him a hug, a stranger got to him first, and spit on him.
Other returning vets were called "baby killers" and "war criminals." That was the "thanks" they got for risking their lives in the mud and gore of Vietnam to defend our freedom.
Years later, when my own sons Brandon and later Brett went to Iraq, I vowed they would never experience such hatred ... that they would feel loved and appreciated by those they were defending back home ... that they would see that their service and sacrifices were truly valued by the great majority of Americans.
You and I and other patriotic Americans must make sure that never again do we fail to thank and honor this generation of brave young warriors -- especially those who have suffered the most horrendous wounds. And we must do everything we can to make them whole, healthy and happy as they return to civilian life.
That's what Soldiers' Angels and Operation Price of Freedom is all about.
Before I tell you more about this campaign, let me share with you some disturbing facts about the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan you may not know ...
To begin with, military medicine has made amazing breakthroughs. I am proud to say that America has, by far, the most advanced system of battlefield recovery and treatment of wounded soldiers the world has ever seen. And we are saving battlefield casualties -- soldiers with devastating wounds -- that would have been fatalities just ten years ago!
That's the good news.
But there's a downside. You see, those severely wounded heroes represent a never-before-seen challenge for long-term treatment and recovery. Often, they need more than even our extensive military medical system can provide.
One thing that's different about this war is that there are very few bullet wounds. But wounds from dreaded I.E.D. attacks -- those "improvised explosive devices" you hear about on the news so often -- are shockingly common. The wounds can include severe burns, lost limbs, spinal cord injury, loss of vision and hearing, brain injury...
... all of which can be present in just one soldier's body!
Doctors call this condition "polytrauma." And it's the complicated, very long-term treatment required by these polytrauma cases that are putting a huge strain on our military care facilities these days ... not to mention what it is doing to our wounded soldiers and their families.
Many I.E.D. victims have received massive burns from the explosion. Our amazing military treatment centers, such as the Burn Unit at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, can now save soldiers with burns covering up to 93% of their bodies. That's a real medical miracle. But is also means a terribly long recovery for the wounded!
And physical injuries aren't the only problem for our wounded warriors.
Many suffer invisible wounds that can be just as debilitating, such as "traumatic brain injury."
My military medical experts tell me that traumatic brain injury, or "TBI," will be the signature wound of the current conflict. Even troops wearing body armor that helped them survive are suffering brain damage as a result of I.E.D. blasts.
You will see one of these horrendous I.E.D. attacks in the video above ... a blast so large it was heard seven miles away! (Thank God not a single U.S. soldier died in that attack.)
TBI is the sort of wound that soldiers in previous wars rarely lived long enough to suffer from. Explosions often cause brain damage similar to "shaken-baby syndrome." What's worse, TBI is often hard to recognize -- even for doctors. Months after being injured, many soldiers may seem fully recovered. But then their brain functions begin to decline.
At least 20,000 U.S. troops who were not "wounded" during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan later developed symptoms of TBI. Other studies predict up to half of all returning veterans may be affected with TBI! Truly, this is a different kind of war.
Treatment of TBI is long and complicated, with no guarantee of complete recovery.
Other soldiers returning from today's battlefields suffer from "post traumatic stress disorder," or PTSD. Symptoms include frequent nightmares, flashbacks, depression, insomnia, guilt and much more.
Military medicine has worked miracles to save the lives of many young soldiers.
But now, after more than five years of war, we have many young soldiers with sever, complex wounds. They face huge obstacles, including recoveries that will take months, years or, in some cases, a lifetime. And despite the tremendous job they do, our military and Veterans Administration simply cannot provide everything needed for a complete recovery.
Most importantly, they can't replace the healing love and support of family.
More than anything else, I believe these severely wounded heroes need the care and attention of a loving family to fully recover. Parents, siblings, spouses, children -- even girlfriends and boyfriends -- can make the crucial difference in a successful recovery process.
When a loved one is wounded, the hardships of military life are multiplied. For the most severly wounded it usually means going to one of the major military care centers like Brooke Army Medical Center, or Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, or the Naval Medical Center in San Diego -- often for many weeks or even months.
The U.S. military pays for some of the transportation and housing costs for families to come and be with their wounded loved one. But I've learned that much more help is still needed.
For example, many family members need to travel back and forth to take care of critical needs back home. The military simply isn't set up to pay for these additional trips.
So we do. Soldiers' Angels.
Some family members actually have to give up jobs and careers to care for a loved one. According to Military Officer Magazine, the families of some of our most severely wounded are being turned into "charity cases." Some are even forced into bankruptcy or onto welfare!
I cannot and will not stand by and do nothing while these heroes' lives are falling apart!
That's why I launched Operation Price of Freedom. Soldiers' Angels must be equipped to help -- temporarily at least -- with rent and mortgage payments, utility bills and other critical issues pressing in on our wounded soldiers' families.
The fact is our wounded warriors' families have many needs. Some material, some financial, and some emotional.
Our military does what it can. My own family has generations in the service which, I would never doubt, is fully committed to our troops. But it also must follow a strict set of rules and regulations. And that sometimes means things can't be done as quickly as they need to be.
That's why I make sure Soldiers' Angels operates differently. For example ...
... one of our Angels discovered a father sleeping on the floor of his severly wounded son's hospital room. He wanted to stay nearby, but couldn't afford lodging ...
... the mother of a severely burned young soldiers had just lost her job because she had left to be at her son's bedside. She was in real need of financial assistance.
I am happy to report we were able to meet both of these needs -- and countless others -- right on the spot!
And that's just a tiny sampling of what we do.
Or ... I should say, that is what we do when our funding allows. But today many more wounded heroes and their families need our help than we can help. That's why one of the key parts of Operation Price of Freedom is a large increase in funding for families of wounded soldiers.
At every major military medical facility we have special "Angels" that really get to know these heroes, and learn about their most pressing needs.
Soldiers are proud -- often too proud to ask for helop. We have to remind them what they get from Soldiers' Angels -- which is made possible by grateful Americans like you -- isn't a handout. It's merely a down payment on a debt Americans can never fully repay ... a chance for the rest of us to say "thank you."
In many cases we are able to provide an airline ticket or rent a car or find emergency housing or even buy groceries or diapers when the need arises. We do it on the spot.
Our Soldiers' Angels often act as patient advocates guiding young sodliers through the challenging maze of military medical care. We often help them find benefits and special treaments they didn't even know they were entitled to.
You should see the appreciation and thanks we get from the wounded and their families! As one soldier told us:
"I'm not alone here in this hospital. Soldiers' Angels is looking out for me -- I can get through this, because I'm not alone."
You will get to "meet" some of these grateful heroes we have helped when you watch the video. Like Sgt. Steve Bosson who lost his leg to a hand grenade in Iraq. And TBI victim Joe Santiago, who says Soldiers' Angels has been "like a second family to him." You will be greatly inspired, as I always am, by the optimism and patriotism of these brave young Americans in the face of enormous adversity and hardship.
And then there is our "VALOUR-IT" program, and its first recipient -- Chuck Ziegenfuss. He's the one I told you about at the start of this letter.
As I mentioned, Chuck was unconscious for four days after surviving the I.E.D. blast. One of our Angels at Walter Reed had been holding Chuck's hand for much of that time. When he finally awoke, she asked what he needed.
His answer: A laptop computer to stay in touch with his buddies back in Iraq.
Soldiers' Angels immediately met that request. But Chuck's hands were too damaged to use the keyboard. So we also purchased a hands-free voice-recognition software program that would enable him to "type" and communicate with the outside world just by speaking.
Chuck's laptop was the first of over 2,100 computers with voice-activated software presented by Soldiers' Angels to severely wounded soldiers. It's one of our programs I am most proud of.
We call it "VALOUR-IT" for Voice-Activated Laptops for OUR Injured Troops.
And I am so proud that Chuck Ziegenfuss is now running the "VALOUR-IT" program for Soldiers' Angels! You will hear Chuck tell his incredible story when you watch the video. You'll hear how "VALOUR-IT" has been a Godsend for wounded soldiers who need to stay in touch with their families and their buddies.
But we must do more, immediately!
As I write you today, other deserving heroes like Chuck are waiting for our help. We don't have enough funds now to help them all -- but we must not let even one of them down!
Of course, we are doing what we can with our current programs aimed at deployed soldiers -- and we are making a real difference in their lives.
But Operation Price of Freedom is about going the extra mile for these heroes, as they do for us ... about meeting their urgent needs now, which are not being met ... about thanking them and honoring them with our actions, now just our words, in return for all they do for us.
It's going to take plenty of commitment and extra effort. Soldiers' Angels currently spends $3.1 million a year on vital programs for deployed soldiers and their families. We will not pull back on those core programs, which are on track to be funded from current sources and commitments.
But to fully fund our new campaign, we must raise $9,750,000 above and beyond our current budget.
I know that's a large amount, and a very ambitious goal.
But I think you will agree it is only a tiny fraction of the huge debt we owe these brave Americans for all they sacrificed for the rest of us.
And the funds we raise -- with your help -- will make such a difference for them!
Operation Price of Freedom includes $1.9 million for the "VALOUR-IT" program, to get more voice-activated laptops to heroes who have lost the use of their hands.
Operation Price of Freedom requires another $4.9 million to address the fact that wounded soldiers need their loved ones nearby as they recover. We'll help get family members to the wounded, assist with housing and groceries if necessary and provide relief to those facing financial hardship by being far from home and jobs for extended recovery periods.
Operation Price of Freedom also calls for $1.75 million to pay for adjustments to homes and vehicles to accommodate newly disabled soldiers.
And Operation Price of Freedom will raise an extra $725,000 for increased services to our deployed men and women serving far from home, and another $425,000 for First Response Packs that provide replacement clothing and other basic needs to wounded soldiers airlifted from battle.
You can review the breakdown of these and several more needs in the Prospectus. Yes, it's alot of money. But with friends like you, I am completely confident we will raise every dime of our budget goal ... and even more.
After all, I have watched Soldiers' Angels grow from the project of one mom in her living room (me!) to 180,000 volunteers across the nation!
That's because no people on earth are more generous than Americans when they learn of a worthy cause ... that we truly appreciate the price of freedom, and will not let our troops down.
Thanks to you and your fellow "Angels," we have been able to touch the lives of hundreds of thousands of our deployed heroes -- by doing things like mailing more than 250,000 care packages and letters to US soldiers deployed in the War on Terror.
We are sending out a never ending stream of love and encouragement with letters, e-mails, and parcels from home, gift packs, phone cards, Kevlar blankets, special deserts, clothing, birthday cakes, Christmas cards and other tokens of our gratitude.
And thanks to good friends like you, we can also do unexpected projects when needed ...
For example, just after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the Gulf coast, a number of Louisiana National Guard troops returning from Iraq were shocked to discover the homes they longed to get back to no longer existed. Their families had been evacuated, and many of these homesick soldiers were stranded at the airport with no place to go and no place to stay.
Soldiers' Angels stepped right in. We got them hotel rooms ... we got them on flights to where they needed to go ... and we even convinced a charter jet service to help ... until every one of those Guardsmen just back from Iraq was reunited with his or her family!
Because of your generous giving to Soldiers' Angels, I know you are someone who realizes that "freedom isn't free." And that we are paying for our freedom today with the blood and sacrifice of our precious young men and women.
I would be so pleased knowing that I can count on a friend of Soldiers' Angels like you to help us kick off Operation Price of Freedom!
My hope and prayer is that you will support this campaign as generously as you are able.
Of course, I know that whatever you send will be given not for any reward, but because you truly want to do something meaningful for those who have done so much for us. But like the military, we at Soldiers' Angels believe we have an obligation to thank and honor those whose above-and-beyond support makes this mission a success.
That is why we have prepared a number of meaningful tokens of recognitions for friends like you, who take a leadership role in launching Operation Price of Freedom.
Though not expensive for us, they are meaningful symbols of the leadership role you took at a crucial time in our nation's history ... a keepsake that you will treasure, and pass on to your descendents. You will find a complete list and description of these items in the Prospectus.
For example, one of those I am most excited about, and would truly like to send to you, is a flag and presentation case I know you and your family will always treasure ...
... a U.S. flag that has flown proudly over one of our advanced bases in Iraq!
It is our way of honoring friends who support Operation Price of Freedom with a donation of $10,000 or more.
Not everyone can afford to give that size of a gift. And some can do much, much more. I am sure you will give the most generous gift you can manage for truly deserving people.
But whatever amount you can send, I urge you to please respond right away.
The unmet needs of our wounded soldiers and their families are urgent.
As I mentioned, even the most severely wounded young soldiers we encounter are often too proud to ask for your help. Our military has trained them to be strong and self-reliant.
You will meet some of these proud young warriors in the video. I know their stories will touch you as deeply as they touch me. You will be amazed that despite their grievous wounds they remain optimistic about their future; confident in their ability and 100% committed to America and the cause of freedom they were fighting for.
Almost every one of them wants nothing more than to be able to return to their unit -- and finish the job their country sent them to do.
These young heroes may be too proud to ask you for help, so I will ask you for them!
I don't want one more wounded soldiers' family member to lose a home or have to go on welfare to be near their wounded loved one. I know you feel the same way.
Whether you give $500, $500,000 or any other amount, your gift today could make the difference in one of these urgent cases.
Please keep this in mind -- whatever donation amount you decide on today in support of Operation Price of Freedom, I and every member of our Soldiers' Angels family will be eternally grateful to you. As always, your gifts to Soldiers' Angels are 100% tax-deductible.
With the world the way it is today, I know we can't avoid putting our brave young men and women in uniform at risk.
But, with the generous help of patriots like you, we can let our troops know how much we love and support them. We can make sure they truly feel the thanks of a grateful nation. And we can ensure our wounded heroes and their families receive help to rebuild their shattered lives -- now, when they need it most ... before it's too late.
That is the very least we owe them. So please let me hear from you soon.
Thank you, may God bless you, and may God bless our wonderful troops!
Sincerely
Patti Patton-Bader
Founder
P.S. I thank God that my son Brandon is now home from Iraq, and pray that my other son, Brett, will also return safely back home. But I can't forget the thousands of other brave young Americans defending our freedom on distant battlefields, and those coming home terribly wounded from this different kind of war. Every day I get urgent calls asking for help for our wounded heroes and their families -- some of who face crippling financial and personal hardships. Unacceptable! Especially after all they've done for us.
I know you won't turn your back on them. I know you will be a leader in making Operation Price of Freedom a success, just as you have been in all Soldiers' Angels efforts. But please rush the most generous contribution you can manage now for our deserving heroes and their families, so I can tell them help is on the way. I want to raise 1/3 of our total campaign budget by March 31st, because their needs can't wait. Thank you!
On the morning of June 21, 2005, Captain Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss was crossing a bridge in Iraq with his men.
Without warning, a hidden I.E.D. was detonated by an unseen enemy.
Chuck caught the full force of the blast. He awoke four days later back in the U.S. at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in pain, with truly horrific wounds...
A portion of his left hand was missing up to the wrist ... Most of the skin on his left forearm was gone ... his eyes were damaged, and both eardrums were blown out ... shrapnel had ripped into his face, groin and thighs.
Chuck survived. And like most of our severely wounded military heroes, he has not a trace of self-pity ... despite having just undergone his 35th surgery!
How can we ever repay our brave young men and women for their heroic service and sacrifice that preserve our freedom?
The fact is, we can't.
But we can -- and we must -- do our utmost to show them our heartfelt gratitude, in a way that will be most meaningful to them.
If you've already given to Soldiers' Angels, the organization I founded five years ago to provide aid and comfort to our young men and women in uniform ... to make sure not one of them goes unloved, then I know you agree.
You have helped us send hundreds of thousands of letters and care packages to our deployed heroes. you have helped us provide phone cards, cooling scarves and KEVLAR blankets. you have helped us provide the wounded with First Response Packs and much more.
Thanks to you and other patriots, we are touching the lives of thousands of our young heroes deployed in the front lines of the War Against Terror. And with your help we will continue this vital mission -- showing our soldiers the love and support of the American people -- until every last American soldier comes home.
But in fulfilling this crucial mission, we have discovered another huge, unmet need for our heroes ... an urgent need resulting from the fact that they are serving in a different kind of war ... and that many are coming home with harsh new kinds of wounds, facing different challenges that we saw in previous wars.
The are paying a tremendous price for our freedom ... yours and mine and all we love.
If you could meet with some of these incredible heroes and learn about some of their pressing needs, you would easily see why I felt we just had to do more for them right away.
So we are launching a major new effort called Operation Price of Freedom.
I know you want to learn about this crucial undertaking by Soldiers' Angels, and what you can do to help make a real difference for these deserving men and women.
Please take just a few minutes to watch the video at the top of this page. You'll see and hear amazing stories of heroism and sacrifice by those who are paying the price of freedom for all of us.
As you will see in your video, you have an historic opportunity to join with a select group of patriotic Americans who are committed to showing -- not just with words, but with actions -- our young men and women in uniform how deeply we value all they do for us.
You can help me show them the full thanks of a grateful nation!
It sickens me to remember how our soldiers were treated when they returned from Vietnam. I was only ten years old when my dad came home from that war. My family went to the airport, so excited to welcome him home.
But before we could even give him a hug, a stranger got to him first, and spit on him.
Other returning vets were called "baby killers" and "war criminals." That was the "thanks" they got for risking their lives in the mud and gore of Vietnam to defend our freedom.
Years later, when my own sons Brandon and later Brett went to Iraq, I vowed they would never experience such hatred ... that they would feel loved and appreciated by those they were defending back home ... that they would see that their service and sacrifices were truly valued by the great majority of Americans.
You and I and other patriotic Americans must make sure that never again do we fail to thank and honor this generation of brave young warriors -- especially those who have suffered the most horrendous wounds. And we must do everything we can to make them whole, healthy and happy as they return to civilian life.
That's what Soldiers' Angels and Operation Price of Freedom is all about.
Before I tell you more about this campaign, let me share with you some disturbing facts about the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan you may not know ...
To begin with, military medicine has made amazing breakthroughs. I am proud to say that America has, by far, the most advanced system of battlefield recovery and treatment of wounded soldiers the world has ever seen. And we are saving battlefield casualties -- soldiers with devastating wounds -- that would have been fatalities just ten years ago!
That's the good news.
But there's a downside. You see, those severely wounded heroes represent a never-before-seen challenge for long-term treatment and recovery. Often, they need more than even our extensive military medical system can provide.
One thing that's different about this war is that there are very few bullet wounds. But wounds from dreaded I.E.D. attacks -- those "improvised explosive devices" you hear about on the news so often -- are shockingly common. The wounds can include severe burns, lost limbs, spinal cord injury, loss of vision and hearing, brain injury...
... all of which can be present in just one soldier's body!
Doctors call this condition "polytrauma." And it's the complicated, very long-term treatment required by these polytrauma cases that are putting a huge strain on our military care facilities these days ... not to mention what it is doing to our wounded soldiers and their families.
Many I.E.D. victims have received massive burns from the explosion. Our amazing military treatment centers, such as the Burn Unit at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, can now save soldiers with burns covering up to 93% of their bodies. That's a real medical miracle. But is also means a terribly long recovery for the wounded!
And physical injuries aren't the only problem for our wounded warriors.
Many suffer invisible wounds that can be just as debilitating, such as "traumatic brain injury."
My military medical experts tell me that traumatic brain injury, or "TBI," will be the signature wound of the current conflict. Even troops wearing body armor that helped them survive are suffering brain damage as a result of I.E.D. blasts.
You will see one of these horrendous I.E.D. attacks in the video above ... a blast so large it was heard seven miles away! (Thank God not a single U.S. soldier died in that attack.)
TBI is the sort of wound that soldiers in previous wars rarely lived long enough to suffer from. Explosions often cause brain damage similar to "shaken-baby syndrome." What's worse, TBI is often hard to recognize -- even for doctors. Months after being injured, many soldiers may seem fully recovered. But then their brain functions begin to decline.
At least 20,000 U.S. troops who were not "wounded" during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan later developed symptoms of TBI. Other studies predict up to half of all returning veterans may be affected with TBI! Truly, this is a different kind of war.
Treatment of TBI is long and complicated, with no guarantee of complete recovery.
Other soldiers returning from today's battlefields suffer from "post traumatic stress disorder," or PTSD. Symptoms include frequent nightmares, flashbacks, depression, insomnia, guilt and much more.
Military medicine has worked miracles to save the lives of many young soldiers.
But now, after more than five years of war, we have many young soldiers with sever, complex wounds. They face huge obstacles, including recoveries that will take months, years or, in some cases, a lifetime. And despite the tremendous job they do, our military and Veterans Administration simply cannot provide everything needed for a complete recovery.
Most importantly, they can't replace the healing love and support of family.
More than anything else, I believe these severely wounded heroes need the care and attention of a loving family to fully recover. Parents, siblings, spouses, children -- even girlfriends and boyfriends -- can make the crucial difference in a successful recovery process.
When a loved one is wounded, the hardships of military life are multiplied. For the most severly wounded it usually means going to one of the major military care centers like Brooke Army Medical Center, or Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, or the Naval Medical Center in San Diego -- often for many weeks or even months.
The U.S. military pays for some of the transportation and housing costs for families to come and be with their wounded loved one. But I've learned that much more help is still needed.
For example, many family members need to travel back and forth to take care of critical needs back home. The military simply isn't set up to pay for these additional trips.
So we do. Soldiers' Angels.
Some family members actually have to give up jobs and careers to care for a loved one. According to Military Officer Magazine, the families of some of our most severely wounded are being turned into "charity cases." Some are even forced into bankruptcy or onto welfare!
I cannot and will not stand by and do nothing while these heroes' lives are falling apart!
That's why I launched Operation Price of Freedom. Soldiers' Angels must be equipped to help -- temporarily at least -- with rent and mortgage payments, utility bills and other critical issues pressing in on our wounded soldiers' families.
The fact is our wounded warriors' families have many needs. Some material, some financial, and some emotional.
Our military does what it can. My own family has generations in the service which, I would never doubt, is fully committed to our troops. But it also must follow a strict set of rules and regulations. And that sometimes means things can't be done as quickly as they need to be.
That's why I make sure Soldiers' Angels operates differently. For example ...
... one of our Angels discovered a father sleeping on the floor of his severly wounded son's hospital room. He wanted to stay nearby, but couldn't afford lodging ...
... the mother of a severely burned young soldiers had just lost her job because she had left to be at her son's bedside. She was in real need of financial assistance.
I am happy to report we were able to meet both of these needs -- and countless others -- right on the spot!
And that's just a tiny sampling of what we do.
Or ... I should say, that is what we do when our funding allows. But today many more wounded heroes and their families need our help than we can help. That's why one of the key parts of Operation Price of Freedom is a large increase in funding for families of wounded soldiers.
At every major military medical facility we have special "Angels" that really get to know these heroes, and learn about their most pressing needs.
Soldiers are proud -- often too proud to ask for helop. We have to remind them what they get from Soldiers' Angels -- which is made possible by grateful Americans like you -- isn't a handout. It's merely a down payment on a debt Americans can never fully repay ... a chance for the rest of us to say "thank you."
In many cases we are able to provide an airline ticket or rent a car or find emergency housing or even buy groceries or diapers when the need arises. We do it on the spot.
Our Soldiers' Angels often act as patient advocates guiding young sodliers through the challenging maze of military medical care. We often help them find benefits and special treaments they didn't even know they were entitled to.
You should see the appreciation and thanks we get from the wounded and their families! As one soldier told us:
"I'm not alone here in this hospital. Soldiers' Angels is looking out for me -- I can get through this, because I'm not alone."
You will get to "meet" some of these grateful heroes we have helped when you watch the video. Like Sgt. Steve Bosson who lost his leg to a hand grenade in Iraq. And TBI victim Joe Santiago, who says Soldiers' Angels has been "like a second family to him." You will be greatly inspired, as I always am, by the optimism and patriotism of these brave young Americans in the face of enormous adversity and hardship.
And then there is our "VALOUR-IT" program, and its first recipient -- Chuck Ziegenfuss. He's the one I told you about at the start of this letter.
As I mentioned, Chuck was unconscious for four days after surviving the I.E.D. blast. One of our Angels at Walter Reed had been holding Chuck's hand for much of that time. When he finally awoke, she asked what he needed.
His answer: A laptop computer to stay in touch with his buddies back in Iraq.
Soldiers' Angels immediately met that request. But Chuck's hands were too damaged to use the keyboard. So we also purchased a hands-free voice-recognition software program that would enable him to "type" and communicate with the outside world just by speaking.
Chuck's laptop was the first of over 2,100 computers with voice-activated software presented by Soldiers' Angels to severely wounded soldiers. It's one of our programs I am most proud of.
We call it "VALOUR-IT" for Voice-Activated Laptops for OUR Injured Troops.
And I am so proud that Chuck Ziegenfuss is now running the "VALOUR-IT" program for Soldiers' Angels! You will hear Chuck tell his incredible story when you watch the video. You'll hear how "VALOUR-IT" has been a Godsend for wounded soldiers who need to stay in touch with their families and their buddies.
But we must do more, immediately!
As I write you today, other deserving heroes like Chuck are waiting for our help. We don't have enough funds now to help them all -- but we must not let even one of them down!
Of course, we are doing what we can with our current programs aimed at deployed soldiers -- and we are making a real difference in their lives.
But Operation Price of Freedom is about going the extra mile for these heroes, as they do for us ... about meeting their urgent needs now, which are not being met ... about thanking them and honoring them with our actions, now just our words, in return for all they do for us.
It's going to take plenty of commitment and extra effort. Soldiers' Angels currently spends $3.1 million a year on vital programs for deployed soldiers and their families. We will not pull back on those core programs, which are on track to be funded from current sources and commitments.
But to fully fund our new campaign, we must raise $9,750,000 above and beyond our current budget.
I know that's a large amount, and a very ambitious goal.
But I think you will agree it is only a tiny fraction of the huge debt we owe these brave Americans for all they sacrificed for the rest of us.
And the funds we raise -- with your help -- will make such a difference for them!
Operation Price of Freedom includes $1.9 million for the "VALOUR-IT" program, to get more voice-activated laptops to heroes who have lost the use of their hands.
Operation Price of Freedom requires another $4.9 million to address the fact that wounded soldiers need their loved ones nearby as they recover. We'll help get family members to the wounded, assist with housing and groceries if necessary and provide relief to those facing financial hardship by being far from home and jobs for extended recovery periods.
Operation Price of Freedom also calls for $1.75 million to pay for adjustments to homes and vehicles to accommodate newly disabled soldiers.
And Operation Price of Freedom will raise an extra $725,000 for increased services to our deployed men and women serving far from home, and another $425,000 for First Response Packs that provide replacement clothing and other basic needs to wounded soldiers airlifted from battle.
You can review the breakdown of these and several more needs in the Prospectus. Yes, it's alot of money. But with friends like you, I am completely confident we will raise every dime of our budget goal ... and even more.
After all, I have watched Soldiers' Angels grow from the project of one mom in her living room (me!) to 180,000 volunteers across the nation!
That's because no people on earth are more generous than Americans when they learn of a worthy cause ... that we truly appreciate the price of freedom, and will not let our troops down.
Thanks to you and your fellow "Angels," we have been able to touch the lives of hundreds of thousands of our deployed heroes -- by doing things like mailing more than 250,000 care packages and letters to US soldiers deployed in the War on Terror.
We are sending out a never ending stream of love and encouragement with letters, e-mails, and parcels from home, gift packs, phone cards, Kevlar blankets, special deserts, clothing, birthday cakes, Christmas cards and other tokens of our gratitude.
And thanks to good friends like you, we can also do unexpected projects when needed ...
For example, just after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the Gulf coast, a number of Louisiana National Guard troops returning from Iraq were shocked to discover the homes they longed to get back to no longer existed. Their families had been evacuated, and many of these homesick soldiers were stranded at the airport with no place to go and no place to stay.
Soldiers' Angels stepped right in. We got them hotel rooms ... we got them on flights to where they needed to go ... and we even convinced a charter jet service to help ... until every one of those Guardsmen just back from Iraq was reunited with his or her family!
Because of your generous giving to Soldiers' Angels, I know you are someone who realizes that "freedom isn't free." And that we are paying for our freedom today with the blood and sacrifice of our precious young men and women.
I would be so pleased knowing that I can count on a friend of Soldiers' Angels like you to help us kick off Operation Price of Freedom!
- Your gift of $500 today can pay for a "VALOUR-IT" voice activated laptop for a wounded soldier who has lost the use of his hands.
- Your $1,000 gift can fly a worried mother and father to the bedside of their wounded son. Or perhaps pay the round trip back home to keep a family member from losing their job.
- Your $5,000 gift could keep a wounded solder's family from losing their home. Or help pay for a special adaptation that would allow wheelchair access. Or pay for 10 new "VALOUR-IT" laptops.
- Your $10,000 gift could help pay for housing and basic expenses for six months for an entire family to be near their hospital-bound wounded soldier.
- Your gift of $25,000 will provide a revolutionary new wheelchair -- the "iBOT" -- for a severely handicapped hero, which enables them to reach high shelves and countertops, go over curbs and even go up or down steps and stairs ... simple, everyday actions most of us just take for granted!
- Of course, gifts of $100,000, $500,000 and even more will be a tremendous blessing to many, many wounded heroes and their families, enabling us to respond immediately to their most pressing needs -- whatever those may be.
My hope and prayer is that you will support this campaign as generously as you are able.
Of course, I know that whatever you send will be given not for any reward, but because you truly want to do something meaningful for those who have done so much for us. But like the military, we at Soldiers' Angels believe we have an obligation to thank and honor those whose above-and-beyond support makes this mission a success.
That is why we have prepared a number of meaningful tokens of recognitions for friends like you, who take a leadership role in launching Operation Price of Freedom.
Though not expensive for us, they are meaningful symbols of the leadership role you took at a crucial time in our nation's history ... a keepsake that you will treasure, and pass on to your descendents. You will find a complete list and description of these items in the Prospectus.
For example, one of those I am most excited about, and would truly like to send to you, is a flag and presentation case I know you and your family will always treasure ...
... a U.S. flag that has flown proudly over one of our advanced bases in Iraq!
It is our way of honoring friends who support Operation Price of Freedom with a donation of $10,000 or more.
Not everyone can afford to give that size of a gift. And some can do much, much more. I am sure you will give the most generous gift you can manage for truly deserving people.
But whatever amount you can send, I urge you to please respond right away.
The unmet needs of our wounded soldiers and their families are urgent.
As I mentioned, even the most severely wounded young soldiers we encounter are often too proud to ask for your help. Our military has trained them to be strong and self-reliant.
You will meet some of these proud young warriors in the video. I know their stories will touch you as deeply as they touch me. You will be amazed that despite their grievous wounds they remain optimistic about their future; confident in their ability and 100% committed to America and the cause of freedom they were fighting for.
Almost every one of them wants nothing more than to be able to return to their unit -- and finish the job their country sent them to do.
These young heroes may be too proud to ask you for help, so I will ask you for them!
I don't want one more wounded soldiers' family member to lose a home or have to go on welfare to be near their wounded loved one. I know you feel the same way.
Whether you give $500, $500,000 or any other amount, your gift today could make the difference in one of these urgent cases.
Please keep this in mind -- whatever donation amount you decide on today in support of Operation Price of Freedom, I and every member of our Soldiers' Angels family will be eternally grateful to you. As always, your gifts to Soldiers' Angels are 100% tax-deductible.
With the world the way it is today, I know we can't avoid putting our brave young men and women in uniform at risk.
But, with the generous help of patriots like you, we can let our troops know how much we love and support them. We can make sure they truly feel the thanks of a grateful nation. And we can ensure our wounded heroes and their families receive help to rebuild their shattered lives -- now, when they need it most ... before it's too late.
That is the very least we owe them. So please let me hear from you soon.
Thank you, may God bless you, and may God bless our wonderful troops!
Sincerely
Patti Patton-Bader
Founder
P.S. I thank God that my son Brandon is now home from Iraq, and pray that my other son, Brett, will also return safely back home. But I can't forget the thousands of other brave young Americans defending our freedom on distant battlefields, and those coming home terribly wounded from this different kind of war. Every day I get urgent calls asking for help for our wounded heroes and their families -- some of who face crippling financial and personal hardships. Unacceptable! Especially after all they've done for us.
I know you won't turn your back on them. I know you will be a leader in making Operation Price of Freedom a success, just as you have been in all Soldiers' Angels efforts. But please rush the most generous contribution you can manage now for our deserving heroes and their families, so I can tell them help is on the way. I want to raise 1/3 of our total campaign budget by March 31st, because their needs can't wait. Thank you!
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