We can never repay the debt we owe the young men and women who reisk their lives for our freedom and safety -- especially those who have been wounded. But we can make sure that each and every one of these heroes sees our love and appreciation. We can also make sure that the national disgrace of how our veterans were treated after Vietnam is never repeated! The young men and women who serve us at such great personal cost rarely ask for help. We offer it to them as a small token of thanks from a grateful nation. In giving, we are not saying the government is not doing enough. Rather, we are stepping forward voluntarily to do our part to help these heroes recover and give them the best possible start to a new life.
Americans have been called on to make few, if any, sacrifices in the current War on Terror. That burden has been shouldered almost entirely by our military heroes and their families. Operation Price of Freedom is an opportunity for America's citizens to do our part in this war for our heroes serving on the frontlines -- and their families -- especially those who are in urgent need of our help right now!
Soldiers' Angels has an established, full time presence at all major U.S. military care centers, including Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Walter Reed Army Medical Center Washington, DC, the National Naval Medical Center -- Bethesda, Maryland, the Naval Medical Center -- San Diego, CA, and the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, where all the wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan are ferried and treated before being sent to hospitals around the United States. Soldiers' Angels volunteers are also active in many other military and VA hospitals and treatment centers throughout the country.
... for deployed soldiers, the wounded and their families?
Because Soldiers' Angels is the largest volunteer-run military support organization in the country, none of the funds raised for Operation Price of Freedom will go to salaries or administrative costs. Furthermore, we will not allow the cost of fundraising for this campaign to exceed 10%. That leaves at least 90% of income to go directly to those who most urgently need -- and deserve -- our help.
It is our goal to ensure that our limited resources are used for those most in need. Priority assistance is give to soldiers with the most severe wounds, special hardships, and those whose families do not have the financial resources to stay near their loved ones throughout the lengthy recovery process. Soldiers' Angels also works closely with military medical personnel such as Family Assistance Centers and the new Warrior Transition Brigades. These patient advocates tell us what the recovering soldiers and their families in their care need most -- especially those items that may be beyond the scope of what the military is set up to provide.
Our government is doing all it can to treat our wounded. But the kind of special assistance programs included in Operation Price of Freedom are beyond the scope of what our government and military provides. In many cases, only a volunteer-based group like Soldiers' Anels can provide the kind of case-by-case, on-the-spot, individualized assistance families urgently need in order to be near their wounded loved ones over long periods of recovery. That is the very least we citizens should do for these deserving heroes and their families.
To increase its current programs aimed at all deployed soldiers and -- most importantly -- to quickly respond to the unmet needs of our severely wounded heroes, Soldiers' Angels has launched a $9,750,000 campaign, Operation Price of Freedom. After years of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are only just beginning to understand the special needs of heroes wounded in these conflicts. This is a different kind of war, with new weapons like improvised explosive devices (I.E.D.s) that cause multiple, complex injuries. Highly advanced medical treatment in the field is saving lives that would have been lost in past wars. But as a result, our warriors are coming home with much more severe, complex wounds requiring extremely long recovery periods. Amputations, burns, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and other severe injuries are requiring an unprecendented level of treatment. The wounded and their families often need months -- and even years -- to adjust and start their lives over.
Operation Price of Freedom recognizes the huge price many of America's young warriors have paid for our freedom -- and seeks to repay a portion of this debt through special assistance on a case-by-case basis. Help includes financial assistance with travel for family members, housing, and day-to-day expenses not covered by existing military programs. It also includes special help for those who suffer loss of jobs and income while staying with their loved one during long recovery periods. Operation Price of Freedom includes an expansion of the VALOUR-IT program and new funds to allow wounded veterans to pay for needed modifications to homes and vehicles not covered by government.
Soldiers' Angels supports our deployed military personnel stationed wherever we raise our nation's flag. Soldiers' Angels volunteers continue to send hundreds of thousands of letters and care packages to our deployed heroes. They provide phone cards, cooling scarves for soldiers serving in desert conditions, and level III KEVLAR blankets to give our warriors added protection where needed. They provide the wounded with First Response Backpacks, and comfort those who are in our military hospitals here at home. They provide financial assistance and other aid to military families in need. And Soldiers' Angels commemorates the loss of our soldiers with a "living tree" planted in their honor.
Through its VALOUR-IT program, Soldiers' Angels distributes laptop computers with voice-activated software to severely wounded soldiers who have lost the use of their hands. These laptops provide wounded soldiers with a vital lifeline to friends and family. More than 2,000 VALOUR-IT laptops have been distributed so far.
Patti and Soldiers' Angels have received numerous awards and thousands of letters of appreciation from our deployed soldiers and their families. Special recognition has come from the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, the Surgeon General of the Army, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
Most recently Microsoft Corporation and the USO selected Soldiers' Angels from over 250 of the nation's military support organizations to receive their coveted "Above and Beyond Award" for tirless efforts to "brighten the lives of US Troops throughout the world."
A self-described "army brat," Patti is a housewife and mother living in Pasadena, California. Her great uncle is the famous
General George S. Patton. Her father is decorated Vietnam veteran Lt. Colonel David W. Patton (whom she saw get spit on by protesters when he returned home from that conflict). Her eldest son Brandon recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, where her son Brett is currently deployed. Patti's motivation to support our troops keeps her working every day.
Soldiers' Angels was founded by Patti Patton-Bader in the summer of 2003. Her son Brandon, serving in the Army in Iraq, wrote to his mom expressing concern about some of the soldiers who were not receiving any mail or support from home. Being a caring mother, Patti asked a few friends and family members if they would "adopt" a soldier or two. Within a few short months, Soldiers' Angels grew from one mom writing a few extra letters to a huge Internet-based, volunteer organization with thousands of volunteer "Angels" across the country.
With over 180,000 volunteers in all fifty states, Soldiers' Angels is the nation's largest all-volunteer military support organization. Its mission is to provide aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, and their families. Soldiers' Angels was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in June 2003
