Dear American Hero

Hi everyone!  Sorry it has been a while since my first few posts..but I am back!! :-)  This past week I had the wonderful opportunity to take a small weekend trip out to Texas to visit my best friend who, due to life and its many obstacles, I hadn't seen it about a year and a half.  We have been best friends since high school, which wow has the time flew by...10 years this year to be exact and both of our lives have taken us is all different directions.  Her's with the military as her husband is in the service and mine still back here at home.  Through all the miles and years that go by we still make it a point to visit at least once a year and stay close. 

My trip started out leaving Chicago on a cold winter morning and arriving in Dallas, Texas where I had awaited my connection flight to Killeen/Fort Hood, Texas.  I had approximately 3 hours or so to occupy my time so after using about 30 minutes to eat lunch I decided to walk around.  Now I am not sure if any of you have ever flown through the Dallas Forth Worth airport but this airport is not only HUGE but it also services a great deal of military members who fly in and out of it daily.  As I was walking around the airport and noticing all the service men and women in uniform it reminded me of these cards I had aquirred and I thought, what a perfect opportunity God has provided me to thank these wonderful men and women who are serving America.

These cards that I am referring to are called "Dear American Hero" thank you cards.  They are small cards about the size of a business card so they are easy to carry..especially when you are someone like me who carries about 10-15 at a time. These cards are thank you cards that you can use to give to a service member to extend your thanks and gratitude for their service and sacrifices.  While I was at the airport I was able to hand out 5 personally and about a stack of 15 I gave to the airport USO to hand out.  It is both such a wonderful and emotional experience to "Go Beyond The Yellow Ribbon" as is the card's motto.  I remember my first experience when I handed out my very first card.  I was at my commuter train station and I saw a Vietnam veteran sitting a few seats over also waiting for the train.  He was so touched that I had given him this small token of my thanks.  It just about brought tears to my eyes to know that I had made this man's day just a little bit more brighter because I was so thankful for what he had given to America.

I urge you to check the Dear American Hero website here --> Dear American Hero today and order your very own cards to say THANK  YOU.  They are free to order and you can order as many as you would like!!  We have a million ways to say thank you, so please join me in saying it!!  God bless!


Here is what the cards look like:
                                                                         

Be The Change You Wish To See In The World

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" - Mahatma Gandhi

"So I was sitting here on my couch, with my broken leg, like I have been doing everyday for the past month or so and thought to myself, why am I JUST sitting here? I mean I am just sitting here surfing the web, textng messaging my friends, listening to music and watching tv....when there is SO much more I could be doing..not for myself but for others. So then I asked myself...well Erica..what is it that YOU could do? Well my homepage for the internet is set to MSN.com and half way down on the page a video/webcast caught my eye. It was called "Military Idols". It was this story that was about a volunteer group (aaSP) that who raised over $40,000 in video games to send to troops overseas.
I have just always wanted to do something, even if it is just brightening one person's day and that story just really inspired me. Those of you who know me, know the type of person I am..I just want to give..I would give all I had if it meant someone else in need could have happiness." -Written on Friday May 2nd 2008

Friday May 2nd 2008 was the day I began my involvement with the support of America's heroes. My involvement started small with joining the programs Adopt a US Soldier and Adopt a Platoon . Both of these organiaztions are volunteer based with the mission of serving depolyed American service men and women ensuring that they are not forgotten by a grateful nation.

Quickly after being involved with both AAUSS and Adopt a Platoon I realized that not only did I want to do more to support those service men and women but I needed to do more. That is when I decided to broaden my scope of involvement. Currently my involved includes but is not limited to the following organizations:

Adopt A US Soldier
Adopt a Platoon
Wounded Warrior Project
Soldier's Angels - More specifically Soldier's Angels Germany and Blankets of Belief
Molly's Adopt A Sailor -Special Hugs
Operation Write Home
Green Beans Coffee -Cup of Joe for a Joe

Welcome To Crafting for a Cause with Erica!

Hello and welcome to Crafting For A Cause with Erica. As several of you may know I am very active in the support of America's military members. 95% of my crafting projects are donated to non profit organizations that support America's service men and women.  My crafting projects range from but are not limited to sewing, paper crafts..with a focus on hand made greeting cards, baking, and anything else that sparks my interest.  The purpose of Crafting for a Cause with Erica blog is to share my crafting experiences with the hope of inspiring others whether to get involved with supporting America's heroes or just making something crafty. I am very excited to share with you my crafting adventures.