Monday is Memorial Day, a day to thank our veterans. It is also a day to thank those who are serving us now.
I would like to do that by talking about a group that I have mentioned before, Spirit of America. There are lots of groups supporting our troops. There are, for example, the USO, Fisher House and Soldier’s Angels. There are all great groups, and I have supported all of them. But Spirit of America is different than those groups, and it is, I think, my favorite.
Here is what Sprit of America says about its mission:
“Spirit of America's mission is to help Americans serving abroad assist local people in need. We meet needs identified by American military and civilian personnel for items that will help local people.
Our objectives are to:
- Increase the reach, scale and impact of the informal humanitarian activities that take place on the front lines in troubled regions.
- Contribute charitable goods that can have a positive, practical and timely impact in the local communities where American personnel are involved.”
Here’s a story about how Spirit of America recently worked with the Marines in Helmand Province in Afghanistan:
“The Marines had contracted to have the local irrigation canals cleaned of thick brush. But the Afghan men doing the work lacked tools to effectively do the job and there hands and feet were often getting injured. So the Marines consulted with the local elders and, on a Thursday, told Matt [Valkovic of Spirit of America] about the need. On the following Tuesday, only four days later, Spirit of America delivered 700 pairs of waterproof boots and 700 shovels to the Marines combat outpost for the Afghan workers.
That is lightning speed anywhere but especially on the front lines in remote Afghanistan. I'm not sure if we could do that here in Los Angeles. Matt pulled this off because he was there on the ground with the Marines and able to coordinate purchase and delivery with an Afghan vendor. And, because of our donors support we had the funds to do it. Total cost: $7,000.
The Marines then gave a pair of boots and a shovel to each of the 700 workers. The story could end there and all of us, including the Marines, would hope that goodwill was built with the Afghans and that better relations would result. But there is more.
The boots and shoves improved security in the area, provided the Marines with valuable information or ‘intel’ and jumpstarted a new civic spirit among Afghans in the area.
When the Marines distributed the boots and shovels they were able to interact personally with each and every one of the 700 Afghan men who received them. The Marines logged the names and sub-village location of each man who received the gear. Up to that point the Marines had been dealing with only a few supervisors who hired all the workers.
The boots and shovels allowed the Marines, in a friendly encounter, to talk to and learn about the men who lived in the area. This is very practical and important information. If you know who belongs in your area, you also know who doesn't. It's much easier to identify those in town to fight you or do harm to the local people. A key to the success of our troops is to separate the insurgents from the population.
The boots and shovels improved security in another way, too. The canals that were being cleared had been overgrown with thick brush and weeds. It was easy for the enemy to hide in the overgrowth. Clearing the growth more quickly itself created a safer area for the Marines and the Afghans.
The Marines had contracted for the main, or public, canals to be cleared in the area. But the canals had other branches that went into private farmland. Those canals were overgrown, too. An interesting thing happened when the main canals were cleared and the Afghan men finally had good tools. On their own they proceeded to clear the private canals, too.”*
I think you can see why I am so excited about supporting Spirit of America. But let me mention about one more thing about Spirit of America.
What makes Spirit of America so special is the opportunity it gives those of us back home to really help our soldiers and to help them when they want to help the people they are fighting for. Other groups aiding our soldiers do things like bringing in shows, sending gift packages, providing housing for families of wounded soldiers so they can stay near their soldier while he or she recovers from wounds, etc. These are all very important, and the groups doing them should be supported.
But Spirit of America goes one step further. Through Spirit of America you feel like are you actually making a difference on the ground in Afghanistan. You are helping our men and women win the battle they are fighting in a very direct way.
It’s exciting. And it’s so typically American. If something needs to be done, Americans do it. We don’t wait for government. We just do it. And through Spirit of America we have extended this typical American way of helping people to the battlefields on which our men and women are fighting for us.
You can support Spirit of America here.
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* This is from an e-mail I received from Spirit of America. More information on this project, along with some photos, can be found here.
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