December Monthly Newsletter 2017

Christmas Cheer for Deployed Troops!

With Thousands of American Troops Deployed we need YOU to Bring the Holiday Cheer to THEM!
 

“How can I help?” You already have just by asking!  Help comes with many face; donating supplies and Christmas cards for our troops like our friends at Guideposts who donate informative, spiritual and practical planning guides for our troops as well as hundreds of Christmas cards, hand signed to be included with our special Christmas care packages; or our friend and best-selling author Reid Lance Rosenthal who generously donated thousands of his books to include in care packages. Our troops love it when they receive special treats, thanks to the good people at Paradies we are able to tuck in so really nice extras for our soldiers to munch on and keep our troops smiling.  Coffee is one of most requested items, our packages wouldn’t be the same without all the premium coffee donated to our troops from San Francisco Bay Gourmet Coffee, it really helps our troops to rise and grind!
 
Volunteerism is alive and well at Move America Forward! We are blessed to have so many individuals and groups that step forward to help us pack boxes like all the great folks who come in to pack boxes for us like the fantastic volunteers from Wounded Warrior Project, Chase or the selfless Scouts like Roseville Pack 37 and volunteers from our local LDS Church many others who recently spent a marathon day assembling packages for shipment out to our brave men and women selflessly serving far from home.

At Move America Forward help often comes in the form of sending out care packages to our soldiers and thanks to the many stalwart supporters in our Monthly Smiles Program as well as our regular care package donors  and special supporters like the Schwartz Foundation. Bud L., Henry R. and Larry and Janet M. and Thomas and Susan C., Sidney B. and super supporter Lucia U.  who always step up big with extra Christmas support.

Some of our sponsors send packages through our radio drives or through our annual Troopathon only once or several times a year our troops see packages year-round. What it all adds up to is putting packages into the hands of our waiting troops and in some cases their special K9 partners!
 
When you really want to spread the love and bring a smile to a group of our deployed troops we have plenty of options available!  We offer several packages that are meant to be shared by two, four or more soldiers

Our Soldiers are counting on us! Nothing makes them miss their loved ones more than the memories of spending Christmas with family, and knowing that they won\’t be home to watch their kids sing or play trumpet or violin in a school Christmas concert or even open their presents on Christmas morning. Our troops gladly sacrifice so much for all Americans, please take a moment to thank them with a care package from home and most importantly, have a much needed note of thanks that only you can include.

THANK our troops and PRAY FOR THEM as we gather with our loved ones here at home remember those who sacrifice so much to keep us safe. . Sponsor a Care Package from Move America Forward to send a little bit of Christmas cheer to our troops fighting over in the Middle East! These packages are filled with the same great list of goodies and personal care products, plus some special Christmas treats like candy canes, Holiday Coffee, Hot Cocoa and red fleece Christmas Stockings.

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Just click on our Christmas Shop (Hot Link to Christmas Shop) to see what’s special for the holidays, and check out our gifts for individual soldiers as well as those designed to be shared.

Thanks Larry Marino & Listeners at KRLA 870AM  and Sister Station KCBQ for Supporting our Troops!

We partnered up with KRLA 870 AM The Answer and San Diego affiliated KCBQ to send packages to our troops in honor of Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and the Christmas Season the listeners of KRLA and KCBQ have really pitched in to help make sure our deployed service members were remembered, honored and given a long distance hug from home.  

Larry is a passionate supporter of our troops and we enjoy our annual tradition of supporting our troops through this special radio support program.

Thank You Reid Lance Rosenthal! Best Sellers for our Troops!

Please take a moment to read a special message from best-selling author Reid Lance Rosenthal on why he is honored to donate his amazing books to our troops!

“As in 2016, it is my honor and pleasure to donate 5,000 copies of the first book of Threads West; An American Saga, to the men and women who defend Americans and America. Threads West is a multiple # 1 National, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble Best Selling series enjoying an almost even split of male and female readers across all age groups, and the winner of twenty six National Awards. This brings to 15,000 the number of Threads West books sent to troops through the great auspices of Move America Forward!

This is the epic saga of many life threads of brave men and independent women of uncommon cultures, differing origins and competing ambitions woven on the loom of history, entwined into the American Spirit and propelled by fate and freedom to form the tapestry that becomes the whole cloth of a great nation; a meld of the mosaic that is uniquely America. You will recognize the characters who live in these pages. They are the ancestors of your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, and your family who forged freedom and defended America for future generations. They are you. They are us. This is not only their story. It is our story. It is the story you brave troops defend and continue.

The epic saga begins in 1854 with the first of five, richly textured, complex generations of unforgettable, multicultural characters. The separate lives of these driven men and inspired women are drawn to a common destiny that beckons seductively from the wild and remote flanks of the American West. Swept into the dangerous currents of the far-distant frontier by the mysterious rivers of fate, the power of the land and the American spirit, their paths will intersect with the trails of others; an Oglala Sioux family, an elderly black couple setting their life sails for the winds of freedom, devout Mormons on the Exodus, a black-hearted renegade and his tender, young capture, Spanish blood exiled from the south and a shrewd Ute Chief and his wives, setting in motion conflicts and bonds affecting each of their lineages over one hundred and seventy years of United States history.

Forged in the crucible of history, shaped on the anvil of a dangerous land, the tragic story of the Indians begins to unfold. Armed conflicts, the rancor of slavery, the discovery of gold, the railroad, the fencing of the West, the industrial revolution, dust bowl, World War I, Depression, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and the mammoth clash of civilizations and ideologies that mark current times all create lethal surprises when the characters, their children, and their children’s children are forced to defend their lands, their loved ones, their freedom and their honor.
            
In the beginning, they have neither country nor culture in common — but the textured, complex and conflicted lives of these courageous men and women become the adventurous American spirit, and the self-reliant spine of an emerging nation as it transforms into the world’s preeminent power, that YOU the incredible, brave men and women of our armed forces defend every minute, hour, and day for the benefit of the rest of us. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah, Troops! May these pages bring YOU cheer and a smile! Stay Safe!”

Reid Lance Rosenthal

Let your Light Shine Bright!

Our friends at Guideposts have blessed us the Christmas with thousands of beautiful, hand signed Christmas cards to include in our special Christmas care packages!

Imagine the Joy these cards will bring to a lonely soldier this holiday season!

Santa PAWS!!

Military K9 teams fill specialized roles such as patrols, guarding important buildings and sniffing out roadside bombs and providing a special loving bond with their human partners.   Move America Forward recognizes and honors Military Working Dogs and the troops who train and work alongside them. Since 2010, MAF has been sending specialized K-9 Care Packages for those military dogs and the handlers who work alongside them.

K-9 Care packages include all of the normal great items included in a normal care package that our troops enjoy and need PLUS eye-protecting \”Doggles Originalz\” specifically designed for our furry troops and ultra-tough Kong training aids, high quality doggie treats and other special items theK9s and handlers love. If you would like to send out a special K8 package, we are here to help!

A Group Gift Everyone Can Agree On!

You have enough to worry about during this busy season. Let our Group Gift Program take the worries out of Christmas Troop Support. Group Gift  makes it easy for any size company or group to support our troops – all you have to do is let us know your budget and we’ll do all the work. We offer you a variety of options for packages to fit your budget. We will even include a customized message from your company, group or organization in every package.

To contact group gift, email [email protected] with your questions, and she’ll be glad to help out.

Thank You Highlights

“There is nothing worse than a smelly Ranger”

We are shipping Holiday Care Packages Now!

Local Chase Volunteers busy at work

Our MAF volunteers, staff, supporters and maybe even an elf or two are all pitching in to make sure every package ordered gets in the mail by Christmas. Santa want you to know they\’d really appreciate it if you don\’t wait until the very last minute to order. And just a reminder to all you procrastinators: packages sent to the military must go by USPS Priority Mail, so we\’re not able to offer an overnight delivery option like UPS or FEDX. But if you do miss the deadline, don\’t worry….MAF is sending Holiday Care Packages all the way until December 31st, and even if it shows up after December 25th, the troops are going to be more than willing to celebrate Christmas when it arrives. So if you haven\’t had time yet, take a moment to remember our brave men and women serving far from home.

MAF Makes Your Christmas Shopping Easy!

MAF is making it easy to send a gift to a soldier in the name of family, friends or co-workers. It’s just like making a donation to any other charity in a friend’s honor.  If you just want to send a package or two, or  to send packages in the names of each of your many clients, customers or everyone on your holiday list, we’ll be happy to do all the work for you.

All you have to do is give us your budget and your list, and we’ll do the rest. We’ll even supply you with a letter you can print out or email letting your list of friends know a gift has been sent in their name by you to a deployed service member.  It’s one gift that’s sure to produce smiles all around. Just contact [email protected] and paste Gift Giving in the subject line.

AMAZON SMILES MAXIMIZES YOUR SUPPORT

Make your money work twice as hard by supporting the troops at no extra cost to you while doing your holiday shopping with Amazon Smiles!

Move America Forward is now partnering with Amazon.com and participating in their Amazon Smile Non-Profit Program, where Amazon donates a portion of whatever you order to MAF so we can send even more support packages to our troops!

How does Amazon Smile Work?

It\’s simple: All you have to do is use the link below to select Move America Forward as the charity you would like to support and a small portion of what you buy on Amazon.com is donated. No extra cost to you, just extra support for our brave defenders for buying the things you normally would. It\’s a WIN-WIN!

CLICK HERE TO SET UP AMAZON SMILE

Millions of Americans already use Amazon to purchase clothes, books and movies to tech gadgets, or almost anything you can think of. Chances are, if you\’ve ever bought anything on-line, you have probably used Amazon.com at least once or twice.

Now with Amazon Smile, you can support Move America Forward at no cost to you, by doing all your holiday shopping with Amazon Smiles. Your gifts will cost nothing extra, but a portion of the sales will be donated by AMAZON to the troops via MAF!

Prices are the same, shipping is the same, and nothing changes except Amazon donates .05% of your purchase TO THE TROOPS on your behalf!

Click HERE to shop for great Gifts and be sure to set MAF as your Amazon Smiles Charity!


Gift of Monthly Smiles!

MAF even makes it easy to give year round .You can give someone a Membership in the Monthly Smiles Club and we’ll send a soldier a package in their name every month all year long. So long after the Christmas decorations are put away, your holiday gift will still be reminding your recipient of you – and reminding a soldier far from home that someone still cares about them.

We can work with your budget to send packages and to include a personal support message. We’ll even prepare a special letter for the person you’re giving the gift to. Then every month both you and the person who received your gift will get a notification from us letting you both know that a package went out. No need to pay up front; we’ll simply charge your credit card each month when your package ships.

What a great gift for a special client, friend or family member or group or employees  If you’d like to find out more, just email Lisa, she runs the program and is happy to help!  [email protected] about giving a membership in the Monthly Smiles Club.

Interested in Setting up your OWN Monthly Smiles?

Use the Smiley Face with Christmas Stocking  Do a screen capture of the button to click and insert in after 1st paragraph

Set up to schedule a monthly troop support package now and we will remember to send a package out through our Monthly Smiles Club for you each month. Our Monthly Smiles Club provides an easy way to keep those smiles coming all year long! We have made it even simpler to sign up.  When you place your package order there is now a button you can click to make your Monthly Smiles Donation automatic.  What could be simpler?

That\’s all there is to it. Then you\’ll know each month you\’ve put a smile on a soldier\’s face. Our Director of Troop Support, Lisa Baron personally oversees our Monthly Smiles program and she will make sure that your monthly package contains a personal message from you to the troops with every package we ship out on your behalf.

We can also set up programs that send packages out for all the different holidays through the year. We have members who send out packages for Easter, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and others who send out packages every other month or even quarterly. We\’re here to help with whatever you or your company, group or organization wants to do to support the troops. There\’s no obligation, and you can stop sending packages at any time. Plus Monthly Smiles donations are always 100% tax deductible!

If you have a question or would like additional information, contact Lisa Baron, our Monthly Smiles Director at [email protected] or just order a package today and check the box that says “I want to make my gift recurring” select your frequency and you are good to go!  

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Merry Christmas, My Friend

\’Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one-bedroom house made of plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney, with presents to give
and to see just who in this home did live.

As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand.
On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.

With medals and badges, awards of all kind,
a sobering thought soon came to my mind.
For this house was different, unlike any I’d seen.
This was the home of a U.S. Marine.

I’d heard stories about them, I had to see more,
so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.

He seemed so gentle, his face so serene,
Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.
Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read?
Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan.
I soon understood, this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night,
owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.

Soon around the Nation, the children would play,
And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.

They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,
because of Marines like this one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye.
I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.

He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice,
“Santa, don’t cry, this life is my choice
I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more.
My life is my God, my country, my Corps.”

With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,
I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.

I watched him for hours, so silent and still.
I noticed he shivered from the cold night’s chill.
So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.
Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold,
with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.
And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.

I didn’t want to leave him so quiet in the night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure,
said “Carry on, Santa, it’s Christmas Day, all secure.”
One look at my watch and I knew he was right,

Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight
Written by Corporal James M. Schmidt

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