Project We Remember

Project We Remember

The “Mission” of MFF is to help those who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms. It is our primary purpose to raise funds for individuals and non-profit organizations that provide support to our military men and women when they and their families are in need beyond that which is provided by their respective service branch. We believe that we can provide a significant positive effect on the daily lives and the morale of our service personnel by demonstrating that we care both in words and in actions.

• Project CHANGE (NEW!)
• Project Family
• Project Education
• Project Home

This is the couple that had their home burn and I was called by the VA Benefits Coordinator to see if we could help. They were ready to become another number in the already too large number of homeless Veterans in Arizona. I just didn't know how we were going to be able to help because of a shortage of funds. Just as things were looking very bleak the $100.00 check from the Mohave County VVA 975 arrived by mail and I was able to secure their first few nights of hotel and then through other wonderful folks like the members of Chapter 975 we have been able to keep them in a shelter and you can see by what I have written in the newsletter hope to have their home rebuilt in the next 6 weeks.

Thanks to the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 975 we were able to help this family. Please extend my personal appreciation to each member for the support of Project "We Remember".

Military Families Foundation, Inc.

NEWSLETTER

March 10, 2008

Dear Friends and Supporters,

In preparing our 2007 taxes for the CPA firm, I realized that what you, through your generous donations and support, have allowed Project “We Remember” to accomplish in 2007 is nothing short of fantastic.  The point was made even more clearly a few days ago when I received a thank you letter from General Maxon, Director of the Arizona Department of Veterans Services with the following opening sentence: “You hit the ground running and haven’t stopped��.

We accomplished a lot in 2007 and continue to build on that success for 2008.  The success achieved by Project “We Remember” is a direct reflection of the financial support provided by you and your volunteer efforts to see that our Veterans, Reservist, and Active Duty Personnel are treated with the Respect and Dignity that they deserve.  

It is long past due for me to share with you what your support has meant in the lives of a few families.  With a limited full time staff of one (1), a dedicated Advisory Board of eight (8), the support of American Express, the staff at the Carl T. Hayden VA Hospital (Phoenix), the VA Hospitals in Tucson and Prescott, the Arizona Department of Veterans Service, the Vietnam Veterans of America (Arizona), the American Legion (Arizona), the Veterans of Foreign Wars (Phoenix), and last but not least you, our individual supporters and volunteers we have positively effected the lives of the following:

• A Veteran who was diagnosed as terminally ill wanted his only family from North Carolina to visit him at the Carl T. Hayden VA hospital, they were financially unable to come to Phoenix and through a call from the VA hospital I was told of the situation and we were able to assist his only brother and two sister in coming to Phoenix for 6 days and 7 nights.  We provided them with living accommodations at the Marriott Courtyard Camelback and they were able to visit and say goodbye in a loving, respectful, and dignified manner.  The family has asked that I thank each of you for the help you provided and I echo that Thank You

• The wife of an Arizona National Guardsman who had been deployed to Afghanistan for over 19 months need her transmission repaired and with their household income dropping due to her husband’s deployment, she did not have the money to complete the repair.  We were able to step in through some of our supporters and have the transmission replaced at “no charge”.

• Another wife of an Arizona National Guardsman who had been deployed to Afghanistan for over 19 months door on her refrigerator was broke and would not close.  She had been using “duct” tape to keep it close.  We were informed of this and through another group of supporters who work at one company, when they heard of the problem, every employee came together in 1 day and donated enough money to buy her a brand new refrigerator.

• The VA called and told me of a homeless Veteran who was having surgery to remove a kidney and his estranged daughter of 5 years had rode a bus in from South Carolina to be with her Dad during the surgery and recovery but did not have enough money for a hotel and requested our assistance.  Through your donations and support we were able to put her into a hotel just 3 miles for the VA for 5 days so she could be with her Dad and hopefully reconcile their differences.  I am happy to say that as of my last contact with them, the father was out of the hospital and heading for South Carolina to live close to his daughter

• Another call from the VA about a homeless Veteran who has just had a surgical procedure to repair a hernia and had to be dismissed from the hospital.  However, he needed a clean environment to stay in during the final phases of healing and attention to his wound dressing.  Thanks to you we were able to put him into a hotel for 3 nights until he was surgical wounds were completely healed.

• A 35 year old Desert Storm Veteran was referred to us by the Vets Center in Mesa.  His employer has withheld $3,000 from his paycheck for damages to a customers loading dock door.  He lived with his fiancée and her two daughters 11 and 9 years old in an apartment complex.  Our Veteran explained why he needed some additional time to pay his rent and the apartment complex refused to allow him time to make the November rent pay when the money being held was released.  His was evicted by a Justice of the Peace during a hearing on November 15 with the effective date of  the day before Thanksgiving.  The Veteran contacted Project “We Remember” on the 16^th of November, I spoke with the Apartment management on the 17^th of November and tried to pay his back rent as well as guaranteeing his next three months rent, they said NO.  We then found a hotel for them to stay in, help him find a new job and put them into one of our rented condos, again Thanks to You.

• We received an email from a deployed National Guard soldier in Afghanistan.  His mother, who lived in New Mexico was extremely ill and his wife, who lives in Phoenix, was going to drive to New Mexico and be with her mother-in-law and help.  The only care owned by the couple was without a heater and his request was that we fix the heater in the car (we also found out that the old car’s floor board had holes in it).  We spoke with a supporter who owns a car auction company and was able to buy a newer care for her at a very reasonable price

• Project “We Remember” CHANGE (Citizens Helping Arizona National Guardsman Everyday) contacted various food growers and suppliers throughout Arizona and was able to have enough food donated for the 800 Arizona Families of the National who had family deployed to Afghanistan and we were able to distribute to each family two boxes of food before Christmas as a way of saying “Thank You”

• Project “We Remember” CHANGE also conducted an “Adopt a Soldier” campaign to help buy Christmas Presents for the children of the Guard who were deployed in Afghanistan and who may not have money to buy the gifts themselves

• A Vietnam Era Veteran had his pre-manufactured home catch on fire and several damage the structure.  The Veteran and his wife are both 100% disabled and only receive $950.00 per month from Social Security they were living on an average of $35 per week for groceries and could not afford insurance.  We are currently housing them in an extended stay hotel and with the help of  local building contractors and you we hope to keep the family in the extended stay facility until we can rebuild their home

• A young 23 year old Veteran who was a Marine Corp. Medic in Iraqi and highly decorated returned home to a stack of bills run up on credit cards by his wife and prior to his returning home she left him.  This young man, who served his country so bravely, was looking for assistance through the VA or the AZ Dept. of Veterans Services, to help with his debt and pending divorce.  I received a call from the VA explaining the situation and asking if we could help.  To date we have been able to find him a lawyer (pro bono) who will help with the divorce, we are working with him on his credit issue, their was a problem with receiving payment on his GI Montgomery Bill (he is attending Phoenix College and wants to become a doctor) and he is diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Thanks to your support we have been able to help keep him from being evicted from his apartment, found him an attorney, and provide moral support.

These are just a few of the many people your support has allowed us to help in recent months.  As you can see everything we do takes money and volunteers.  Thanks to you we have been able to help many but at the same time have had to make “heart breaking” decisions that certain request have been turned down due to lack of money.

I am asking each of you again to please reach into you pocket and help us to help those who have been willing to sacrifice so much for our Freedoms.  Please recommit yourselves to become a “Power of One”.  All it takes is for you to say I will donate $10, $20, $30 or more and then get a least two others to donate an amount equal to or greater than yours, and they each get two people to do the same and so on.  By the time we get through 10 days your $30.00 donation has grown to:

Thank you again for all you have done and please consider that just taking a few hours out of your life along with a $30.00 donation and getting two people to join you and so forth can mean $30,690.00 in just 10 days to help those who are in need.

Thanks again for your support.

Sincerely,

Vernon Bagley

Executive Director/CEO

Military Families Foundation, Inc.

www.projectweremember.org

The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes

About Us Rebuilding lives. Restoring hope. Disabled American Veterans of the War on Terror must struggle every day to overcome life-changing sacrifices such as the loss of a limb, significant burns, and the reality of being in a wheel chair. The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes was created to provide a way for individuals, corporations and others to support our troops by helping severely wounded and disabled Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans and their families rebuild their lives. They took up the banner of freedom. The mission of The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes is to help the people who have given so much on our behalf overcome these obstacles and resume a productive and fulfilling life through programs targeted to their specific needs. Now show them your appreciation. Founded in 2004 as a non-partisan 501(c) (3) organization, the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes is the leading non-governmental provider of emergency financial relief to wounded soldiers from Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom and their families. The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes partners with corporate sponsors, individual contributors, and volunteers to provide a simple and meaningful way for individuals and corporations to help these veterans and their families rebuild their lives. Download a fact sheet (PDF). You can help by means of direct tax-deductible donations, participating in events that raise money, giving your time, as well as corporate sponsorships. 95.6 percent of all money contributed goes directly to programs that help service members and their families. And because we verify our eligibility requirements with the Department of Defense, incidences of fraud are rare to non-existent. It takes all of us. When we work together, the results of our efforts are clear. The men and women who are heroes on the battlefield return home to be heroes to their families and communities.

Go Here to see for your self

Please pay a visit to Big O Tires located at Andy Devine Ave. and Hualapi Mountain Rd. for your tire needs. They are strong supporters of veterans.

Beyond The Rice Paddies

On this site you will find information about a young lady that grew to the age of 10 in Vietnam and she now tells stories about her life. Her stories are very touching to the heart, any one could learn from her book and get a feel for life in a war zone. Don't miss out you can order the book from her site. Go here to learn more.