Military Officer - November 2007 - (Page 61)

“They are very grateful for the money. In many cases, they are just as grateful for the recognition.” — Tom Kilgannon Contributors have donated more than $1 million for scholarships in the past six years. Since 2002, more than 400 students have received scholarships. According to Kilgannon, scholarship recipients say without the money they would not have been able to attend school or ﬁnish the semester. “In many cases, the scholarship is a vehicle for recognizing one parent’s dream for his or her child to get a college education,” he says. For more information: The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund: www.freedom alliance.org/scholarship.htm the Persian Gulf War. The retired ﬁrst-grade teacher and grandmother estimates she’s reached out to 1,000 servicemembers and families over the years with her homebaked cookies, letters, and packages she mails almost daily. She’s traveled to see soldiers and their families, and they’ve visited her. She’s attended soldiers’ funerals and visited the wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C. “The amputees have such wonderful attitudes,” she says. “When I hear people complain, I say, ‘Go to Walter Reed.’ ’’ She does it all, because there is a need. Several years back when troops were deployed to Bosnia, she asked a military mail clerk for the names of soldiers who didn’t get mail. She expected one or two names. “She sent me 28 names,” says Harmon. Currently, “I’m mom to 120,” she says. She’s so fanatic about troops she wears “Support the Troops” T-shirts when she goes out, and if it weren’t for her bad knees and back, she’d buy a Hummer. Harmon also had a “soldier room” built onto her Lawrenceville, N.J., home to hold packing materials, toiletries, candy, cards, and toys. “It looks like the Wal-Mart delivery truck crashed through the wall,” she says. Hugs from home Karen Stark of Edmond, Okla., does so much for troops she’s often asked, “Do you have someone over there?” She replies, “Yeah, all of them are over there for me.” Stark started “The Hugs Project,” whose members have sent 60 tons of care packages to the Middle East. Every week, another 30 to 40 boxes ﬁlled with everything from pouches of tuna to boot inserts head overseas. “The Hugs Project” got its name from the hand-sewn neck coolers and warmers Stark and thousands of her volunteers make for soldiers. “They wrap around the neck and are like a hug from home,” she says. The gel-ﬁlled wraps, popular with gardeners and golfers, have been a big hit with the troops, who say they ward off heat stroke in the summer and make patrolling warmer in the winter. Stark says she gets lots of fan mail. “[It’s meaningful] to know a stranger we’ll never meet cares about us,” wrote one servicemember. For more information: The Hugs Project: www.thehugsproject.com MO NOVEMBER 2007 Mom to 120 Elaine Harmon, who volunteers for several nonproﬁt groups, has looked after the military community since MILITARY OFFICER 61 http://www.freedomalliance.org/scholarship.htm http://www.freedomalliance.org/scholarship.htm http://www.thehugsproject.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - November 2007

Military Officer - November 2007 Contents From the Editor President’s Page Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Chapters in Action Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Cover Story: Commanding the Corps With Love, From Home Financial Guidebook Financial Tuneups Banking on Your Time Pages of History MOAA Scholarship Recipients Faces of MOAA MOAA Scholarship Donors Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps MOAA Member Services Encore

Military Officer - November 2007

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