Walmart Gives $1.1 Million to Support Military Families and Honor Fallen Heroes This Holiday Season

/PRNewswire/ -- Walmart gives an early Christmas to more than 10,000 military children and families who will receive free toys, books, Walmart gift cards and gift packages. Through a $1.1 million donation from Walmart, the initiative will benefit families in all branches of the military. The company will also lay 16,000 wreaths at national cemeteries across the United States to honor fallen veterans.

Representatives from Operation Homefront and Wreaths Across America joined Walmart in Fort Bragg, N.C. today to launch the program, part of "Walmart Gives Back," a holiday giving initiative focused on hunger relief and support for military families.

"Walmart has a history of supporting our troops. This holiday season, we recognize the sacrifices of our deployed servicemen and women - and their families back at home," said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation. "We know that many military families have a tough time during the holidays. They miss their loved ones who are away, and we hope that our efforts will make their holiday easier and better."

More than 300 associates from Walmart and Sam's Club locations nationwide will help organize toys and assist participants at each event.

Supporting Military Families

Spouses of deployed military personnel will shop for free today at Operation Homefront toy shops near Fort Hood and Fort Bliss in Texas; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; Fort Stewart, Ga.; and Camp Pendleton, Calif. - markets that top the Pentagon's list of cities with the highest troop deployment. With toys and books donated from Walmart, the shops will serve more than 3,000 military moms and dads with 10,000 military children, combined.

"This has been an especially difficult year for our military families and their children. They're not only dealing with deployments but also the economic recession," said Operation Homefront chief executive officer, Jim Knotts. "Through the generosity of Walmart, these donated toys and books will allow the military families to provide a happy holiday for their children while using their limited resources on the vital basic needs."

In addition, Walmart gift cards will be given to more than 1,500 military families in 30 cities and 1,000 gift packages will be given to the caregivers of wounded military - all made possible through Walmart's donation to Operation Homefront.

Honoring our Nation's Veterans

Walmart's military support this holiday season will also help Wreaths Across America purchase, transport and lay 16,000 wreaths at national cemeteries and memorial sites across the United States, including "a mile of memories'' wreath display at Battery Park to honor 9/11 victims and veterans from the New York area, Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon, Fayetteville National Cemetery in Fayetteville, Ark. and the site of the Flight 93 crash in Shanksville, Penn.

"Our mission is to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and teach our children the value of freedom," said Karen Worcester, executive director of Wreaths Across America. "This is the second year that Walmart has generously donated wreaths, trucks, and resources - and we are proud to work with Walmart to show our gratitude to those who served and sacrificed."

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MyChristmasCatalog.com to Donate Calling Cards to Active Duty Troops

(BUSINESS WIRE)--While most of us look forward to spending the holidays at home with our families, our active duty U.S. troops stationed far from home don’t have that joy. So MyChristmasCatalog.com is trying to make it a little easier for them. The nation’s largest online Christmas gift-giving store powered by the newest Microsoft Silverlight 3 technology devoted a large interactive section of the site to honor our soldiers at Christmas, and is taking ten percent of its Christmas sale proceeds to purchase one of the most requested gifts by our soldiers – pre-paid calling cards – so they can phone home and stay connected with their families.

"Having calling cards allows us to stay in contact with our family and friends back home. This helps us to have peace of mind that they are okay," said Capt. Emma Phillips, U.S. Army Reserves Company Commander for the 724th Military Battalion in Fort Lauderdale. Her office will receive and help administer distribution of the pre-paid calling card donations.

“Our military men and women are willing to sacrifice everything all year round to keep our nation safe and strong,” said Jerrold Burden, creator of MyChristmasCatalog.com and Chairman of Fort Lauderdale-based Catalog Enterprises, Inc. “We wanted to do what we could to show them thanks.”

Burden, an Army veteran, designed part of the site to allow the public and online shoppers to view heartfelt Christmas videos, poems and photo albums of our troops overseas, send soldiers free e-cards directly from the site, get the latest news from Iraq and make donations to purchase more calling cards for troops. Visitors can also find links to organizations that assist veterans, honor the Fallen, and help children of fallen soldiers.

“We want to make America aware by embracing our troops this holiday season and sharing the memories, tears, heartache and heroism,” said Burden.

Catalog Enterprises was selected by Microsoft early this year as the fourth company in the nation to become a Microsoft Partner utilizing the new Silverlight 3 software to develop award-winning websites. The newly launched MyChristmasCatalog.com is among the first sites to show off this revolutionary technology in ways to delight visitors.

To first access MyChristmasCatalog.com, with it’s brand new Microsoft technology, visitors are offered a quick and free download that opens the door to an easy, user-friendly format they’ve probably never experienced. The site helps visitors choose the most popular and unique gifts at the lowest prices for every age and gender. It has more than 18,000 products to choose from, including those from dozens of affiliate retailers like Macy’s, Target, Radio Shack, Barnes & Noble and Walmart. Once a gift is found, customers can click again to find the current lowest price among the affiliate retailers for that item before making their purchase online.

“We worked hard to make a magical, mystical wonderland of holiday shopping all in one place by creating a truly unique and entertaining site for the whole family,” said Burden. Not only can you shop on the site, but also visitors can enjoy hours of free fun. You can play online Christmas games and Christmas music, have animated Christmas stories read to you and your children, watch classic cartoons, enjoy an online holiday recipe book, send letters to Santa and check his flight track on Norad, view photos of Manhattan’s most famous retail Christmas windows, check out Sears and Spiegel holiday catalog flipbooks from the 30s and 40s, and much more.

For more information on Catalog Enterprises, Inc. and MyChristmasCatalog.com, visit our websites at www.MyChristmasCatalog.com and www.CatalogEnterprises.co.

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Showing Troops America Cares - Soldiers' Angels Send Holiday Care Packages

/PRNewswire/ -- American military personnel stationed in the war zones will soon receive Holiday care packages from nonprofit Soldiers' Angels. This holiday season, Soldiers' Angels aims to ship 140,000 Wrapped in Holiday Spirit gifts to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and is calling on all Americans to join the final push to that goal.

Each Wrapped in Holiday Spirit care package includes a handmade "Blanket of Belief," snacks, socks, holiday cards and other treats with a personal note of thanks and support. Troops in the most remote regions of Afghanistan will also receive beautiful stainless steel coffee mugs. The "Blankets of Belief" forming the heart of the care package tell America's service men and women, "We believe in you." When they receive a Blanket of Belief, service members know that somebody back home remembers them, that somebody labored over a handmade item with love and belief in them.

Founder Patti Patton-Bader describes how important it is for the troops to know America believes in them and supports them, especially during this time. "Holidays away from home are very tough on our deployed troops," she says. "Please help us show them America cares--be there for a hero this holiday season."

Soldiers' Angels is soliciting donations, as well as offering a 15% discount at www.AngelsStore.org on Wrapped in Holiday Spirit care packages that allow patriotic Americans to order a package for a specific soldier or have their gifts sent to "Any Soldier" with a personal note of gratitude and support.

Donations for the Wrapped in Holiday Spirit project can be made online at http://soldiersangels.org/holidays-for-heroes.html, or sent to Soldiers' Angels, 1792 E Washington Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91104.

Care packages at www.AngelsStore.org are offered as a convenience for those who support America's troops, giving them an easy way to send a personal message with a gift especially designed to meet the needs and interests of deployed service members. The cost includes shipping, and any payment above the base cost of the contents helps to fund the many military support projects of volunteer-led non-profit Soldiers' Angels.

SOLDIERS' ANGELS is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) non-profit providing aid and comfort to U.S. military personnel and families. Over 200,000 volunteers also provide assistance to the wounded, support for veterans, comfort for families of the fallen, and immediate response to unique difficulties. www.SoldiersAngels.org, TAX ID #20-0583415.

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Thank You Cards from Across America Sent to Troops for Thanksgiving Holiday

(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. Army Soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan over the Thanksgiving Holiday will be reading thousands of thank you cards written by Americans from across the nation. Volunteer Ambassadors with the Army’s Freedom Team Salute program campaigned on ”Make A Difference Day” on October 24 to encourage individuals in their communities to write thank you cards that would be sent to troops deployed in harm’s way.

“We shipped over five thousand cards to the troops overseas,” said Colonel David Griffith, Director of Freedom Team Salute. “Our goal was to send all of the cards to Soldiers for Thanksgiving but our office is still receiving thank you cards. It just demonstrates how people want to do whatever they can for our men and women in uniform who are away from home and making sacrifices for this nation.”

The Freedom Team Salute Ambassadors participating in “Make A Difference Day” set-up outside grocery stores, shopping centers, VFW and American Legion Posts, and Community Centers with one mission in mind – get members of their local communities to take a few minutes to sign or write Thanksgiving thank you cards for Soldiers deployed. Many people were so excited to be able to thank Soldiers that they brought bundles of cards signed by friends and family members.

School teachers participated and used the opportunity to have their students get involved by creating hundreds of handmade thank you cards that were signed by children of all ages. Bass Pro Shops, headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, notified all of their store locations to welcome any Freedom Team Salute Volunteer Ambassador requesting permission to reach out to their customers.

The expressions in the thank you cards were heartfelt and filled with patriotism. One individual wrote “Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving. I hope and pray that you have a quiet and uneventful day. We will be thinking of you and your buddies and the peace we are enjoying here at home because of you. We do appreciate all you are doing for us! God Bless You!” Another person simply said -- “Thank you for putting yourself second and your country first.”

“It will be awesome to get a box of cards to distribute to our Soldiers,” said Command Sergeant Major Brian Lambert with the 16th Military Police Brigade at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, when notified that a box of cards was being mailed to his unit. “Our younger Soldiers are just beginning to understand the power of a card or letter in the mail. I know they will enjoy receiving them.”

Each card was accompanied with a U.S. Army decal with Freedom Team Salute information printed on the back encouraging the Soldiers to go to www.freedomteamsalute.com to thank individuals who have supported them and made a difference in their lives.

U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute was established in 2005 by the Secretary of the Army and Army Chief of Staff to give the public the opportunity to thank all U.S. Army Veterans for their service by recognizing them with Commendations. The program also gives all Active Duty, Army Reserve, and National Guard Soldiers the opportunity to recognize their Parents, Spouses, Supporters, and Employers. Over 2.2 million individuals have been honored with Freedom Team Salute Commendations.

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FedEx Delivers Holiday Cheer to U.S. Armed Services Members and Their Families

(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the fifth consecutive year, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation are teaming up for Trees for Troops, a program created to deliver support and cheer to members of the military and their families during the holiday season. Throughout this holiday season, Trees for Troops will deliver approximately 16,000 real Christmas trees to more than 50 military facilities in the United States and overseas.

“FedEx and its team members are pleased to support Trees for Troops, delivering holiday cheer to military men, women and families,” said Douglas G. Duncan, president and CEO, FedEx Freight. “Now in its fifth year, this program provides us the opportunity to say thanks to those who serve our country in the Armed Forces.”

This year’s Trees for Troops campaign will kick off Nov. 10 in Columbus, Ohio, with the pickup of approximately 200 trees to be delivered to service members stationed in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan via the FedEx Express hub in Indianapolis.

A second international shipment of nearly 100 trees will also depart from Indianapolis on Nov. 24 for service members stationed in Bahrain, aboard vessels of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, and other locations.

“The FedEx team considers it a privilege to help coordinate Trees for Troops,” said Stan Bradford, freight flow analyst for FedEx Freight who assists with planning the tree pickup and distribution logistics for the program. “As an Army veteran, I am glad that FedEx is taking this step to support these very deserving men, women and families.”

Since 2005, the first year for the Trees for Troops program, the effort has quadrupled in size and donations. Some program milestones include:

* In the program’s first year, 4,300 trees were delivered to troops and military families at five bases in the U.S. and overseas
* More than 50,000 real Christmas trees have been distributed to families in every branch of the military at 40-plus bases in 17 countries.
* More than 750 tree growers in 29 states have donated trees
* FedEx Freight trucks have traveled an estimated 150,000 over-the-road miles to pick up and deliver the trees

Throughout November, National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) members around the country will donate trees, and FedEx will provide transportation and logistical services to the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, the NCTA's philanthropic branch. Both FedEx Express air operations and FedEx Freight’s trucking networks will play a role in the Trees for Troops program, delivering donated trees to military bases throughout the U.S.

The public will also have the opportunity to participate in Trees for Troops by purchasing trees and attaching a personal message at 40 retail locations nationally. These trees will be included in the Trees for Troops delivery schedule, which begins Nov. 30 and concludes Dec. 11. For a list of participating Trees for Troops retail locations, please visit www.treesfortroops.org.

Trees for Troops is a part of FedEx Special Delivery, a nationwide program that supports local organizations by donating transportation services and manpower to help them fulfill their missions. For more information about FedEx Special Delivery and FedEx during the peak holiday season, please visit http://news.fedex.com.

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