4/26/05

There's a lot to report, so we'll get right to it. 

1. I am happy to report Colonel Larry Gallogly (our first contact) and Major Art Floru (our 2nd contact) are now home in RI with their families.  We have a new contact, Captain Laurie Ludovici, who is a Black Hawk helicopter pilot in Iraq.  We are sending goodies to 230 men and 20 women. 
    

2. We had a crazy amount of donations this month, which we put to good use!  We sent over three large packages (mailed 4/19) totaling $1,100.  Here is a detailed list of what we sent:
   Mother's Day Cards, Stationery, Wet Ones, Red Sox Tshirts and Boxers - all types and all sizes, Boston College T shirts, UConn T shirts, Magazines (Ebony, US Weekly, People, Vanity Fair, Harpers Bazaar, Maxim, Details, Rolling Stone,  Super Sized, Vibe, Motor Trend, Golf Digest, Stuff for Men, ESPN Magazine, GQ, Vogue, Cosmo, Glamour, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Muscle, Men's Health, National Geographic, Men's Journal, Runners World, Sports Illustrated), Chap Stick, Gum, Hard Candy, CoffeeMate, Mascara and Nail Polish, 2 Footballs, Whiffle Balls and Bat, Nesquik, Lipton Iced Tea Mix, Disposable Cameras, Playing Cards, World Series Bottle Opener, Women's Sport Tank Tops, Trail Mix, Crystal Light Mixers, Hand Sanitizers
    

3. A special thanks to the guys from the "489 New York Group", who donated $750 this month, and we hear more is on the way.  Apparently, this has sparked some Boston competition and there may be a Corporate Challenge underway.  Bring it on!  I'll keep you updated.
    

4. Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to spend $1,100 on three packages this month to our new group of soldiers.  AND, we still have $130 in the "pot" for next month.
    

5. For all of you interested, the RI Air Show is June 18-19th in Quonset.  Both Larry and Art will be there and it should be a great time.
    

6. Thanks everyone!

Laurie's email received 4/26):

Hello,
The packages arrived in what appears to be record time. I had help in the mail room opening them up and sorting through them. It was like Christmas. You did an excellent job. The shirts were a big hit...nice to have something other than desert tan. The footballs were also a big hit. I have to say there wasn't anything that won't go to good use. The funny thing about the nail polish...us girls were dying to give ourselves a pedicure. The colors are great and I grabbed a bottle of pink for myself. As soon as I get a day (or afternoon) off...I am painting my toenails!

As I was putting the cameras on the shelf a soldier came in and asked "can I have one" and I was very happy to have made his day and gave him one. Thanks for everything! We are going to take a picture of us to send off to you! Maybe the guys will get one of them throwing the football around. Take care!
Laurie

p.s. The Mother's Day cards are almost all gone.....very good idea...maybe you could try to get some for the other holidays....it makes the soldiers very happy!