Soldiers' Angels was established in June 2003 by Patti Patton-Bader, mother of Spc. Brandon Varn, who has recently returned from a year's deployment to Iraq. One of their many projects is "Armor Up:"

Armor is necessary protection for our deployed heroes. Although the Army is now aggressively sending Armored Humvees into the combat theatre, we still have many unarmored vehicles which do not provide adequate protection from sniper fire and IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices)...To help protect our heroes on the dangerous roads of Iraq, Soldiers Angels is working with Kejo (an online distributor of Police,Security and Military Equipment) to help provide additional protection to for our Humvees on the front lines. Please help us buy more of these Kevlar blankets. You can donate funds to help purchase a blanket to Soldiers Angels or adopt a unit in need and send the blanket directly to that unit. Attaching Kevlar blankets to the doors and floors of un-armored humvees provides significant additional protection from IEDs as well as an additional degree of protection from direct fire. Many humvees currently patrolling in Iraq are equipped with only vinyl doors and windows and aluminum flooring.


http://michellemalkin.com

Couple `adopts` soldiers
By Doug Couch
In search of a way to support American troops, a Douglasville couple discovered `Soldiers’ Angels` on the Internet and is now spreading the word about how people can help the military one-on-one.
`My husband and I actually started out donating to the USO when they were collecting in Douglas County,` said Dianne Moore.

`That only lasted a couple of months... so when they quit, we still wanted to do something to help, and we did some research online and came across Soldiers’ Angels.

They ended up being such a terrific bunch of people that we really latched on to it.`

Moore and her husband Steve Moore have since `adopted` two soldiers, Air Force Ssgt. Darlene Cox fron South Carolina and Army National Guard Spc. Joseph McQuillan from Washington State. Both are serving in Iraq.

Soldiers’ Angels primary program is `Adopt a Soldier` which matches up military personnel with individuals and organizations wanting to support the troops with packages and letters.
`People can register with Soldiers’ Angels and they will be assigned a particular soldier,` Moore said. `They send correspondence, care packages and ask if there is anything in particular that they need.`

According to Moore, the organization can suggest what items to send and how to save on shipping costs.

High on the list of needed items are travel-size personal-care products, nonperishable snacks, books, magazines and small games.

For more information on adopting or submitting a soldier through Soldiers Angels, visit their Web site at www.soldiersangelsnetwork.org


Douglas County Sentinel Online