There is a great organization that serves those who serve to protect us. In spite of the name, it is in no way connected with any governmental agency & is fully funded by donations from individuals & corporations, supported by mostly volunteer staff. And I have the privilege of being one of the volunteer staff!
Here's "who" we serve... this young man had just arrived from Iraq for his 2 week leave. Hearing his story of how things are going over there is quite different from most
news stories we hear....
We prepare & serve food to those coming through the RDU airport, without charge to them. All active duty military, their dependents & guests, & retired traveling military are eligible to be our guests. Most of the food & drinks are donated by individuals & small business owners, while we have some corporations who are generous with their monetary support. We have ladies who bake cookies every week; Krispy Kreme & Daylight Donuts send ... donuts; several local clubs bring in their extra food from their barbecue or whatever; some of us make soup or other hot dishes to bring in when we come. Of course, we are always pinching pennies & looking for ways to raise support. These young fellows & gals can really put away some groceries! But what a blast to see their eyes light up when they come in & see what we have to offer them, then find out it is FREE! And then there are the fund raisers: at the annual Ray Price Harley Davidson rally this year, this was one of the riders....! No kidding, this guy had just come back from a trip to Texas on the motorcycle) with his owner!
Another fund raising event is the annual Gala, a black tie affair where one member of each branch of the service is honored. This sailor had crossed paths with my son in Iraq back in 2004 where they both were medical corpsmen.
We even had a retired military man who played the bagpipes for the Gala & a great group of soldiers who entertained with their tremendous vocal abilities. The lady with me is a retired Air Force nurse who has been my "side-kick" at the USO since it opened at RDU airport over 5 years ago.
It is such a privilege (& down right fun!) to give back just a little bit to our military, who serve so faithfully to protect our freedoms & sacrifice so much for our great country.
We even had a retired military man who played the bagpipes for the Gala & a great group of soldiers who entertained with their tremendous vocal abilities. The lady with me is a retired Air Force nurse who has been my "side-kick" at the USO since it opened at RDU airport over 5 years ago.
It is such a privilege (& down right fun!) to give back just a little bit to our military, who serve so faithfully to protect our freedoms & sacrifice so much for our great country.
7 comments:
I'll have to tell Craig about this so he'll have an outlet for his BBQ.
Thanks for letting us know about opportunities to provide food.
Good for you! My husband is a veteran and a USNA alum. His brother served in Iraq as your son is doing. His family are big supporters of the USO and we so appreciate the sacrifices your son is making for us. Thanks for taking care of our brave men and women!
It is great that you can do this kind of thing. I would love to as would my man but alas, there are not enough hours in the day.
Thanks for serving these men and women.
SS,
The Blog looks beautiful!
My husband has been the recipient of a USO meal (though not in Raliegh).Luckily, since we have been married he has not had to deploy internationally, but he did serve in the Gulf War.
Thank you for serving in this capacity. I know it makes the world of difference in the life of a soldier!
I've seen a new commercial for the USO on TV and Laura and I were talking about how we wish people knew what it was!
How can we get expired coupons to those who need them?
You look so cute in your kelt! Oh wait, that's not you. You look like a queen, actually! Beautiful as always
Post a Comment