Hello Colorado Angels!

Hello Angels,
My name is Kathy Dean , I am the
Regional Captain for CO,MT, ID & WY.

Thank You Leslie for offering your
hard work to keep us Angels informed.
See the Community Team Leader Page for a list of the current team leaders. If you find an error, please send the corrections to Leslie Applegate
A Community Team Leader is allowed to hold and oversee
donation drives. A CTL can order and receive supplies to
help get a donation drive up and running.
If you would like to collect donations for our projects or
special requests, please check with your area CTL. As an
Angel you are not allowed to collect donations on your own
without permission. These are IRS and SA (Soldiers’
Angels) rules so we don’t loose our non profit status.
All donations must be accounted for and reported to your CTL.
We are all here to help you in any way we can to support
our military and their families.
If you are a new Angel your mentor can help you with many
of your questions.
Your commitment as an Angel is to support your soldier. I
know that many of you have joined teams and get involved
with our special projects. If you haven’t already done so
you should sign up on the forum
http://soldiersangelsforum.com/ to keep track of all the
new projects and how other Angels are supporting our
troops.
Angel Hugs,
Kathy Dean

Dress Like Your Hero…

A letter from one of our own Angels….

My mother’s heart nearly burst with pride this morning…
Today is Dress like your Hero day in my son John’s elementary school
– so John put on Zac’s Army uniform and had to write a paragraph on why he dressed like that and what it meant to be a hero.
Here is what John wrote:

“Today I am wearing this uniform because there are a lot of soldiers in far away places that leave their kids and make sacrifices so that I get to do what I want. My friends Steve, Zach, and Jeremy are my heros because they all believe in being strong and honest and brave. Being a hero means you do what needs doing and don’t fuss even when it is hard. I want to be just like them — I want to be a superhero too.”

So…just a note of thanks to all of you — whether you are or
were a solider, a soldier’s angel, or a soldier’s wife –
Thanks for being worthy to be a hero to a little boy.
John’s Mom, CJ

Your Rock, John!!!!

Rat Tales – October Newsletter for Colorado

RAT TALES
OCTOBER, 2009

by Kathleen Goldstein aka "Rat"
Colorado State Coordinator

Hello, Colorado Angels!!

Here we are already into the Fall and Halloween will be here before we know it!  I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Summer with your families!
As the Holiday Season rapidly approaches, I’m hoping you will find room in your hearts (as well as your wallets ) to adopt another military man or woman from the SA website.  We are all trying to make ends meet in this sad economic time…but, our troops need support now more than ever.  Some of the troops now serving in Afghanistan are asking me for the most basic things.  A pair of socks, underwear, some of them just a letter….volunteering isn’t the easiest of jobs, and my heart goes out to  those of you who give so much of yourselves on a daily basis and go above and beyond 24-7!!  Now, it’s time for the rest of us to pick up the slack and do our best to keep up the giving spirit!  I just looked on the website and there are 1706 Heros waiting to be adopted!!!  My goodness, how can that be????  I’m hoping we ALL step up…not just those who ALWAYS step up…but those of us who maybe haven’t taken that step, THE TIME IS NOW! Won’t you please BE a Hero’s hero?!

Some of you already are aware, but for those of you who don’t…..

This letter is to advise you all of a tremendous need for support by our medical  teams tending to the wounded coming in mostly from Afghanistan…God forbid our media should cover this instead of the other crap of the day…my guys are telling me of unbelievable numbers of wounded being medivac’d to our military hospitals in Germany…if you haven’t read the latest founders notes, please do so immediately.  If you can be of any assistance at all to these military hospitals caring for our wounded, PLEASE, please help.

They will be grateful for anything you are able to provide.

Soldiers’ Angels is requesting donations of:

- Bar Soap, Shower Gel & Shampoo (any size)
- Toothbrushes (individually wrapped)
- Toothpaste (any size)
- Dental floss
- Gold Bond or similar Foot Powder and Body Powder
- Body lotion (any size)
- Lip balm
- Nail Clippers (large & small)
- Disposable razors (at least double-blade, individually wrapped)
- Shaving cream (aerosol cans, travel size preferred)
- FlipFlops to wear while showering (men’s large sizes)
- Men’s Boxerbriefs (M, L, XL) 2nd choice boxers. Please do not send “tightie whities”.
- Undershirts and plain T-shirts (M, L, XL)
- Sweatpants and Zippered Hoodie Sweatjackets (M, L, XL)
- Lounge/sleep pants/pj bottoms (M, L, XL)
- Shorts, baggy basketball-type (M, L, XL)
- Socks
- Calling cards (click for details)
- Blankets of Hope (click for details)
- Travel pillows
- Ipods & iTunes gift cards (click for details)
- Please do not send clothing sizes Small, 2X, or 3X.
- Please do not send books or magazines.

Please send items to:

MTD
Attn: Soldiers’ Angels
CMR 402
APO AE 09180

Important:
- Please notify us when items are shipped.
- Include a note with your name, Email address, and brief description of items sent in your packages. Without this information, we will be unable to confirm their receipt.
- Please allow 6 – 8 weeks for receipt confirmation.

Please help support our wounded and ill Heroes! Thank you.

Holiday boxes are being assembled as we speak and don’t forget that the “cooler” months are beginning in Iraq and Afghanistan in just a couple of weeks.  Already I’m hearing that the daytime temps have been staying in the 80′s and 90′s and the nights are cooling down to the 60′s and 70′s.  Before too long, the nights, especially in the mountains there, will be going down below 40!  Please remember the troops will be needing blankets (see how to make your hero a no-sew blanket—directions are on the SA website) hand and boot warmers, hot cocoa, coffee and tea!  We can also start sending chocolate again! If you need ideas for a cool-weather gift box, ideas are listed on the SA website!  Now’s the time to ask the schools to start making Holiday thank-you cards as well!  I’ve had great luck with this project and have never once been turned down with my request.  Please just make sure you ask the Principal of the school for permission and then give them a date that you will be picking up the cards designed and created by the children.  I usually give them two weeks or less.  Then, put them in a handy bulk-rate mailer and send them off to your Hero!!  He/she will make sure they all are handed out and that as many soldiers as possible receive them.  It’s a great project to get your children involved with, and that’s what the season is all about anyway, right? Giving rather than receiving?

I want to thank each and every one of you that sent me such heartfelt sympathy wishes because of the loss of my adopted soldier, Reymundo…I am most deeply grateful and want you to know how much I appreciate your thoughts and prayers.  Please continue to keep his wife and 4 children in your prayers…
I know that there are troops that read this newsletter, and I want you to know how very much you are loved and appreciated  for what you do every day for all of us.  I promise you that your service and sacrifice will never be forgotten…you have my word on that.  Never underestimate the power of one…

SPEAKING OF THE POWER OF ONE…

I’d like to introduce you all to a new Colorado Angel…His name is Butch Chavez, and he’s from Pueblo, CO.  This is what he’s been up to this month….Well done, Butch!!!

Wounded Soldier Gets Help From Veterans

Sergeant Brad Rokicki has a wife and two kids. He’s a soldier in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson. He’s been deployed to Iraq three times. On that third deployment, he suffered a traumatic brain injury when an enemy rocket exploded 30 feet from him. Now he is at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, his wife by his side.
Meanwhile, his home in Pueblo West has been put on the market. The family plans to move to Texas after Rokicki is released from the hospital, but in order to interest buyers, the backyard needed some work. The local American Legion Riders District 8 heard about the Rokicki’s plight and volunteered to clean up the yard. They say it was the least they could do.
“You just look in your own heart and say, yes it needs to be done and if these guys are over there fighting for us and fighting for our ability to have our freedom. We need to step up and do our thing here,” says Keith Frazier, a member of the American Legion.
Frazier and seven others spent nearly two hours hacking, slashing, digging, raking, and cutting out the overgrown brush that was nearly five feet tall in places. They left the home with a pick-up truck bed full of ragweed and garbage bags.
It’s assistance the Vietnam Veterans say they never received. “During Vietnam people didn’t step-up, they shunned the servicemen, and called them baby-killers and it’s not right,” recalls Walter Bedlien, a Vietnam Veteran who served in the Navy.
Butch Chavez, another Vietnam Veteran, explains they volunteer their time so that our warriors returning home today never feel the way he felt when he came home. Chavez will never forget, and by participating in the Soldiers’ Angels Network, he works hard to make sure it never happens again.
For more information about Soldiers’ Angels Network, click the link below.© 2004-2009 LSN, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

www.soldiersangels.org

How about that???  There are those of us who say we will volunteer, and then those of us who truly DO…Way to go, Butch!!

CTL Leslie Applegate is planning a “holiday card signing” to be held on Saturday, October 17th at the Senior Center in Wellington.  She will be there from 8-5 that day and you’re welcome to stop by and sign some holiday cards for our Heros to be sent out in their holiday care packages.  She is looking for SA volunteers to help out with the event so please let her know she can count on you by sending her an email @ ctlco09@gmail.com .  Please, if you’ve been wanting to help out and just haven’t made the committment so far, now’s your chance.  We’d love to see some new faces at any one of our upcoming events!!!

OK, Angels…that’s all for now!  Remember to pay it forward by paying  them back!!  Thanks, guys…

Pizza Fund Raiser for Marine SSgt Jesse C.

The Marine Corps League and Auxiliary will be holding a fund raiser for
Marine SSgt Jesse Cottle on Sat. Sept 26th at CiCi’s Pizza in Fort
Collins. All proceeds from the day will go toward the extra expenses
that always accompany a catastrophic injury such as his.
The fund raiser will run from 11 in the morning until 9 that night.
Please come and join us for some great pizza and a great cause!!

Any questions, please email me!

SA Germany needs your help!

All summer we have been experiencing a very large number of incoming medevacs, particularly from Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, the past several weeks have been even worse. We are in urgent need of the following items. Please help if you can. Please also pray for our patients and staff during this very difficult time.

Thank you.

MOST NEEDED:
- Sweatpants and Zippered Hoodie Sweatjackets (M, L, XL – Gray, Black, Dark Blue)
- Blankets of Hope
- Lounge/sleep pants/pj bottoms (M, L, XL)

2ND MOST NEEDED:
- Undershirts and plain T-shirts (M, L, XL)
- Shorts, baggy basketball-type (M, L, XL)

3RD MOST NEEDED:
- Men’s Boxerbriefs (M, L, XL) 2nd choice boxers. Please do not send “tightie whities”
- Socks

- Please do not send clothing sizes Small, 2X, or 3X.
- Please do not send books or magazines.

Please send items to:

MTD
Attn: Soldiers’ Angels
CMR 402
APO AE 09180

Important:
- Please email me mphillips AT soldiersangels DOT org when items are shipped.
- Include a note with your name, Email address, and brief description of items sent in your packages. Without this information, we will be unable to confirm their receipt.
- Please allow 6 – 8 weeks for receipt confirmation.

RED, WHITE AND BRAVE

RED, WHITE AND BRAVE

WELCOME HOME TO OUR TROOPS

PARADE!!!!!

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29TH

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

10:AM

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO MARCH IN THE PARADE…MEET AT CORNER OF ST VRAIN AND TEJON STREETS WHICH IS THE STARTING POINT OF THE PARADE, AT 9:00 AM.  YOU WILL SEE US BECAUSE WE ARE ALL WEARING SA SHIRTS AND ANY OTHER SA GEAR YOU MIGHT HAVE. REMEMBER THAT WHEN PARTICIPATING IN A SA EVENT, CERTAIN SOLDIERS’ ANGELS DRESS CODE RULES APPLY!!! NO SHORTS, AND ALL TATTOOS MUST BE COVERED!!!   PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING A PAIR OF WHITE CREW SOCKS FOR THE WHITE SOCKS DRIVE AND A BOX WILL BE PROVIDED AT OUR BOOTH.  (WE WILL CARRY THEM ON THE FLOAT AND PUT THEM IN THE BOX AT THE END OF THE PARADE).  YOU MUST BE THERE AT THAT TIME AS WE WILL BE LIGNING UP IN PARADE ORDER SHORTLY THEREAFTER.  WE DO NOT YET KNOW OF PARADE ORDER SO MEETING AT THIS CORNER IS NECESSARY.

FOR ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, GOOGLE  RED, WHITE, AND BRAVE PARADE AND CHECK OUT PARKING INFO, EATING INFO, ETC.

YOU HAVE ALL ASKED IN THE PAST WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO TO SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!  YOUR’RE BEING GIVEN THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO SAY “THANK YOU” TO SO MANY OF THEM BY ATTENDING THIS PARADE!!!  THE NUMBER OF TROOPS PARTICIPATING HAS NOW INCREASED TO 8000-10,000!!!!!  THIS IS A DO NOT MISS EVENT AND I HOPE ALL COLORADO ANGELS WILL PARTICIPATE!! SOLDIERS’ ANGELS TSHIRTS AND OTHER SA GEAR WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE AT OUR BOOTH WHICH WILL BE SET UP IN THE PARK, AT THE END OF THE PARADE ROUTE AT VERMIJO STREET!!!  IF YOU ARE WANTING TO OBTAIN BEFORE PARADE, YOU WILL HAVE TO ARRIVE IN TIME TO PURCHASE ITEMS AND STILL BE ON TIME TO THE MEETING ADDRESS!!!!!  THANKS SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING OUR MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN!!!  WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE OUR FLOAT!  IT’S AWESOME!!!

SEE YOU ALL ON SATURDAY!!!

–
Kathy “Rat” Goldstein
Soldiers’ Angels
State Coordinator, Colorado

“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude”. To those whose duty it is to preserve the freedom of the people of this country, I humbly thank you…

Free Concert

Free concert by TelluRide at Fort Carson on August 22!
Location is the parking lot of bldg. 5510, Harr Ave. (School Age
Services bldg.) Time is 7 p.m.
Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy the music!
For more information call (719)526-4494!

Fort Collins Marine Injured

A Local Fort Collins High Graduate (2003),  SSgt Jesse C.  was injured in Afghanistan in mid July.  Reported in an article in the Coloradoan on August 3rd, 2009.

Edit: The Coloradoan article is no longer available – see the PGR site for info. 9/21/2009

Get well cards may be sent to the address provided on his Caringbridge site.

Thank You For Your Service Jesse!!

VFW Operation Uplink

“ VFW Operation Uplink™ was launched in 1996 to connect active-duty troops and hospitalized veterans with their loved ones. The program uses contributions from supporters to purchase phone time for the men and women who are serving — or have served — this great nation, as well as hospitalized veterans.”

Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is giving you the opportunity to get a phone card for your deployed or hospitalized servicemember. Click HERE to find out how. This is a great chance to give a free phone card out to your adopted servicemember so they can call home! What a morale booster, to be able to talk to your loved ones!! Check this site out!

Red, White and Brave

HELP !!
We need Angels who are willing to walk in the Welcome Home Red White & Brave parade in Colo Springs Aug 29th (Sat). There will be 5000+ soldiers in this very large parade, plus we plan to have a float, a booth for donations and information, plus we will be serving food to our troops.
HELP !!
We have a donated trailer to make the float, but we need a large storage unit in the North Denver/Thornton or North Lakewood area to store it as we work on it. If you can help with storage let us know.

Let us know how you can help!!

Contact ctl co 01 @ g mail . com or ctl co 12 @ g mail . com

This is your chance to step up and get involved!!!!!

Injured Marine Comes Home to Colorado

John Doody deployed to Iraq, was shot three times in the leg in March 2007. JT was doing well recovering from his wounds when he suffered a strep infection in his aorta, causing anoxic brain damage. As of April, 09, he continues to get better and we pray continuously for his full recovery.

We have been asked to help welcome this young man home to Colorado.  The following is a note from his mother Chris:

“John is coming to Colorado for his FIRST VISIT HOME since his brain injury.

We arrive on Wednesday night, July 15th ~6:30 p.m. at DIA.   I would absolutely love it if the people of Colorado could greet John at the airport and let him know that his home town has not forgotten his sacrifice.  I am also holding a reception on Saturday, July 18th at the hotel in Brighton that we are staying at.  The tentative time is from ~2:00 p.m. to ~6:00 p.m.  The hotel is the Hampden Inn on 992 Platte River Dr., in Brighton.  (Both of my sisters live in Ft. Lupton – that’s why the Brighton location).

Anyhow, could you put the word out?  I would love it if JT could have a motorcycle escort from the airport to the hotel on Wednesday evening and then for the Saturday event, have the public come out and give JT a great big show of thanks.  I’m also hoping for some donations to help with food for Saturday.  The food must be purchased from a retailer, deli or caterer (i.e. can’t be homecooked).

There have been several newspaper and TV news stories about him here in Florida but Colorado doesn’t realize that JT is one of their own – a Denver native born and raised who really misses his hometown.”
Note from Chris, John’s Mom.

You can view the rest of the story at:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johndoody