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MarineParents.com™ Newsletter
In This Issue
Great Gear for Marines and Families
Learning Center: Homecoming
Newsletter Signup
Unit Information Pages
Pack Day Goal Lowered
Jar Challenge
Pack Day Registration Open
Meals Help Marines, Families
"Lima Kids" Benefit
We'll Promote Your Event
Operation Tyler Concert
Learning Center:
Operational Security

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Operational Security... Now?

 

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Recently we heard from a Marine parent who had a person come to her door looking for donations supposedly to help MarineParents.com™. The parent made a donation, but after checking with our office, the scammed parent had to cancel the donation and change her account numbers.

 

Don't fall victim to door-to-door solicitations purporting to be from MarineParents.com™. Protect yourself, and be secure in the knowledge that when you donate your time, money or goods to MarineParents.com™, it's going to help our Marines.

EGA Shop  

Gear for Marines and Family Members at the EGA Shop:
All proceeds benefit MarineParents.com™ outreach programs. 
Micro-Fiber T-Shirt
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Marine Mom Heart Necklace



Shower Curtain



Blue Star Flag iPhone Case


We Support
the Following
Farley-Kluger Petition

 
PTSD Research





 

 Healthy Kids Fun Run
 

Wounded Warrior Half Marathon, 5k and Marine Mile
 
Learning Center:
About Deployment

 


Communications From your Marine, with the USMC, and with other families

 

Bills, taxes, legal issues, injuries, notification from the Marine Corps

 

 

Learning Center:
About Homecoming
 
 
 
 
 
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July 11, 2012
Greetings!

If this is the first edition of the Marine Parents newsletter you have received, WELCOME! If you are a returning reader we are glad you have joined us and are thankful for your support.

In This Issue

Because our fundraising goal has been slower than expected, we've had to revise our pack day shipping goals downward. We're still looking for volunteers to help us box up 900 packages on Saturday, July 28. And if you're in town early, there's a benefit concert Friday, July 27, for paralyzed Marine Cpl Tyler Huffman in Centertown, Missouri.

But care packages aren't all we do: We also serve meals to wounded Marines and their families, and we support other organizations that help Marines, such as the St. Louis police department SWAT unit's 100 Innings for "Lima Kids."

Read these stories and more in this edition of the MarineParents.com™ newsletter.

God bless and Semper Fi!
Web Signature

 

 

 

Tracy Della Vecchia

Founder and Executive Director
MarineParents.com™, Inc.

Unit Information at Your Fingertips
Marine Parents helps you make connection 

On the main MarineParent.com website, there's a link that helps you get information about your Marine's specific unit.

 

Under the "Duty Stations/Units" header, click on "Unit Information Pages (UIP)." The pages include unit history and location, USMC contact information and websites for each unit, as well as MarineParents.com™ message board links and chat room schedules for that unit.

Click here to got to the UIP page ... 

 

This is a free service.

 

Once you've gone there, go to our Marine Family Network website and sign up. When you do, you can connect and share with others who have Marines in your Marine's unit. Simply go to the "Groups" link and select "USMC Units" from the drop-down menu. From there, you can select aviation, expeditionary, division, logistics or reserve units, and within each link you can find information about your Marine's unit.

Click here to go to the MFN page ... 

 

To post questions and comment, sign up for a specific unit page. The sites are led by one of our volunteer moderators, who will ensure that Operations Security (OPSEC) measures are followed to keep our - and your - Marines safe.

 

So get clicking, and we'll see you on the inside!

 

Pack Day Goal Revised Downward

Care package shipping drive lags behind

Unfortunately, here at MarineParents.com™ we've come to the realization that we must scale back our July 28 pack day goal.  

 

We have only raised about $4,500 of the $20,000 we would need to send 1,800 care packages to Marines serving in Afghanistan combat zones. With a little more than two weeks left until pack day, we don't have enough time to hit our fundraising goal.

 

 

We've had to make the painful decision to cut shipment of our care packages in half, to about 900 instead of the 1,800 we had hoped to send.

 

Even with our reduced goal, however, we still need your generous donations to help us get these boxes to our Marines. To that end, our Dollar Campaign is ongoing.

 

One dollar. Something so little can do so much.

 

Search through the couch cushions. Raid your piggy bank. Dig into the bottom of your purse. Round up one dollar, ship it our way and help us send care packages to Marines who are doing so much to protect our freedom.

 

Thank you!

Set Out a Jar and Become a Star
Help us raise money for our July pack day 

Mason jar. Mayonnaise jar. Pickle jar (or pickled egg jar, one of those you might see in a tavern or the local VFW hall).

 

It doesn't matter what kind of jar, really. To help support MarineParents.com's™ Care Package Project™ dollar campaign for our pack day on July 28, set out a jar at work and encourage your colleagues to drop in donations. Don't be shy. Hit up the boss, your coworkers, the guy who comes to repair the copy machine.

 

Send us your donations weekly, and we'll announce who raised the most money in an upcoming Marine Parents newsletter story.

 

Remember, all the donations go toward sending care packages to our Marines serving in Afghanistan combat zones. Help us raise the shipping funds by setting out a jar at work. (You might want to rinse it out first, though.)

 

Thank you!

 

Sign Up as a Pack Day Volunteer
We need 80 to 100 people to help July 28 

Pack day is almost here!

 

Here at MarineParents.com™, our SatuDollar Campaignrday, July 28 pack day is fast approaching, and registration is open now for you to volunteer to help us box up care packages for our Marines serving in Afghanistan combat zones. Since 2005, we've sent more than 33,000 care packages to Iraq and Afghanistan. 

 

In the past, we've had folks from all across America, and at our last pack day on April 21, people from as far away as Minnesota and Wisconsin showed up to help. Because this event is overwhelmingly popular, we have to limit volunteer registration to no more than 90 participants -- so sign up soon.

Click here to read more ...

Click here to register ...

Can't be here to help? Click here to donate ...

Click here to read about our April 21 pack day ...

 

We Serve Meals to Injured Heroes
Our program supports Marines, families 

At MarineParents.com™, sending care packages fo ur times a year to Marines serving overseas is just one part of all we do for our troops. We also support wounded Marines and their families by serving meals at military hospitals in Bethesda, Maryland and San Diego, California.

 

When Marines come back wounded or ill from active duty in combat zones, recovering is their No. 1 priority. And for family members, when your Marine has been injured or becomes ill, you can become overwhelmed. As long as your child is confined to the hospital, you're preoccupied - and everything else falls by the wayside.

 

And that's where MarineParents.com™ comes in.

Softball Event Benefits "Lima Kids"
We're proud to help kids of fallen heroes

Their fathers paid the ultimate price, and on June 9, 2012, the St. Louis Police SWAT unit played 100 innings of softball to benefit the "Lima Kids."

 

MarineParents.com™ was honored to be part of the event.

 

Ohio-based Lima Company, part of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, suffered one of the heaviest casualty rates during the Battle of Haditha in 2005 in Iraq. The reserve unit was called up in January, had a refresher course at Twentynine Palms and by March its Marines were involved in a full-scale war.

 

By the end of September, 23 from Lima Company were dead, including 10 in one roadside bombing in August. The fallen heroes were 22 Marines and one Navy Corpsman, and combined they left 15 kids behind and scores of family members.

Click here to read more ...  

 

We Can Help Promote Your Event
Marine Parents gets the word out for you 

Are you holding an event in your community to honor Marines or support Marine families? Or perhaps you're staging a memorial event to remember one of your fallen heroes who gave everything in the fight for freedom.

 

You want to build awareness, to promote your event beyond your immediate community. And that's where MarineParents.com™ can help.

 

Right now, among other events, we're promoting the Operation Tyler - Building for America's Bravest Concert in Missouri and the Jerabek Challenge in Wisconsin. We promote these events on our Marine Family Network website, which has thousands of members who log on each day "to connect and share."™

 

If you would like help promoting your event, contact us, and MarineParents.com™ will lend a hand.

Click here to find out more about Marine Family Network ...

 

Operation Tyler Concert July 27
Lt. Dan Band performing to aid Marine

In December 2010 in Afghanistan, Marine Cpl Tyler Huffman was paralyzed from the waist down by a sniper's bullet.

 

In November 2012, Tyler, wife Melissa and son Matthew are scheduled to move into their new, specially equipped home in Jefferson City, which is being built in a project called Operation Tyler.

 

In a little more than two weeks -- Friday, July 27, to be exact -- actor Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band will perform a benefit concert to aid the Operation Tyler project

 

If you're coming in for the MarineParents.com™ pack day on Saturday, July 28, going to the concert the night before is another way you can help support a Marine who sacrificed so much for his country.

Click here to see a video about the concert ... 

  

The concert will be held at 7 p.m. at Apple Creek Farms at 620 Murphys Ford Road in Centertown, Missouri, and you can buy a VIP pass ($100) that includes a reception with drinks and appetizers before the show or a general admission pass ($30). Tickets, with a surcharge, are available through MetroTix.com.

 

Last week, Signature Homes owner Scott Schaeperkoetter said Tyler's house is under roof and his crew was framing the inside walls. The goal of handing Tyler the keys to his new home before Thanksgiving is right on schedule - or maybe even a little ahead of schedule.


 
 

We hope this week's edition of our email newsletter has been useful for you and your family. If there are topics you would like us to address, or if you have other suggestions for the newsletter, please contact us.     

 

The banner photo was taken May 26, 2012. Three Marines with 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment search for possible enemy combatants during Operation Jaws in Zamindawar, Afghanistan, an area known as an insurgent stronghold. The Marines cleared the area of insurgents, searched for improvised explosive devices and destroyed enemy fighting positions during the 15-day operation. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Timothy Lenzo, 1st Marine Division. 

 

MarineParents.com™, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) public charity. MarineParents.com™, Inc., was founded in January, 2003 in response to parents' needs to find information and to have "a place to connect and share™" with one another during their Marine's career. Our free online services and connections have expanded to support and educate Marine moms and dads, spouses, families and friends. We've helped 400,000 Marine and recruit families during boot camp, training, active duty and deployments. We've shipped more than 33,000 care packages overseas to our Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, sent 60,000 prayers and letters to injured Marines and served thousands of meals to wounded heroes and their families on the East and West coasts. You've found "a place to connect and share™."