Dear Friends and Family,
Last year, the new project afoot here in the Black Forest of Colorado was The 10,000 Angels Project. I don't know where it came from, but last Fall some angels seemed to come and sit on my head... directing me to begin this project with a goal of putting 10,000 pocket Angels in the hands of our brave American Soldiers, and especially the wounded.
Most of you probably know that I've been giving away these little metal pocket Angels for years - to folks I've met along life's journey who appear to need a little extra hope. The stories I hear back relating the journey some of these Angels have taken - as they have been passed from needy soul to needy soul - are truly heartwarming. It is my hope that through our efforts together, we can eventually put an Angel in the hand of every American Soldier who needs one. These wars... right, wrong or indifferent... we can never forget that these brave men and women in uniform fight for us, for their families and for America. They come home wounded in body, mind and spirit, needing so much more than mere medicine can provide.
Initially it was our dream to work with the various military agencies to help us put those Angels into the hands of soldiers when the deploy, when they come home, when they are in the hospital or when they go home to recuperate. Sadly, we discovered that our naive dreams didn't matter much to the military or the VA, as they seem to be overburdened and underfunded just trying to care for the medical needs of our brave Veterans - much less give them any hope. We got zero cooperation or even encouragement from them. So, we floundered around looking for other avenues to distribute our Angels to Vets. A couple of large agencies were willing to distribute our Angels within their care packages that go all over the world to our soldiers, but we were coming up very short on the funds necessary to buy the Angels in the first place.
How can you help?We are of course asking for donations to purchase Angels from a wholesale distributor in Maine. Maggie's Quill, Inc. donated the first 400, but we need help from all of you to purchase and distribute even more. Each Angel costs about $.55 cents. Maggie's Quill, Inc. stands for the postage to ship them out, and the Thank You cards they come in. We are not asking for vast sums of money from individual donors, just some spare change and old wrinkly dollars you may have lying around. $10.00 can purchase 18 Angels.
In September, a member of the Patriot Guard Riders (a national group of motorcycle enthusiasts, most of whom are Veterans) became interested in us. Through word of mouth, beginning with our new friend - JT Tardiff of Sheridan, WY - The 10,000 Angels Project is pleased to announce that by the end of October, we will have put an Angel with her little soldier Thank You card into the hands of more than 800 Veterans throughout the nation!
Bob Wheeler is also beginning to implement the project in his home state of CT. Perhaps some day we will get enough donations to be able to give them away as we had initially intended, but as long as some really great folks are willing to purchase the Angels at cost and distribute them, then we are truly blessed with the spirit of cooperation.
Rest assured that 100% of donated funds go directly toward sending more Angels to American Soldiers. We are keeping stringent records and would like to adopt an official nonprofit status next year - but even that costs over $2,000 and for that much, we could purchase 3,800 Angels. But for right now, we'll just do the best we can with what we have.
The 10,000 Angels Project will accept cash, checks, Master Card and Visa. Our Board of Oversight includes Maggie Mae Sharp & Roger Stone of Maggie's Quill, Inc., and Sally Burr of The Home Company. We have volunteers to assemble and package the little parcels and send prayers. Please make checks payable to Maggie Mae Sharp/10,000 Angels Project, but include a clear notation that your donation is for the 10,000 Angels Project.
Also, if you know of a wounded soldier who may be in need of an Angel and TY card, please send us a mailing address and dedication information.
And thank you again to all those who have previously donated to The 10,000 Angels Project....... we are so pleased to be able to report this latest success -because of YOU!!