COWAN: A merry ‘Fishmas’ at Camp Pendleton
North County Times | Dec. 22, 2011
Members of the Oceanside Senior Anglers played Santa Claus and celebrated “Fishmas” this week by presenting new rods and reels to the Armed Services YMCA at Camp Pendleton.
Anglers board member Ray Serrato said the club raised $1,000 through donations and raffles at its monthly meetings to purchase 70 new rods and reels.
This was the second year the club had donated the fishing gear. Prior to that, the club raised money each year to purchase youth bicycles.
“The freshwater fishing gear will be used by the YMCA for their annual Daddy and Me fishing event,” Serrato said.
Oceanside Senior Anglers meet at 9 a.m. on the first Tuesday every month at the Senior Center at 455 Country Club Lane in Oceanside. Guests are welcome.
The speaker at the Jan. 3 meeting will be Western Outdoor News Saltwater editor Brandon Hayward.
Operation Holiday Joy Helps Soldiers Buy Presents
News Channel 5 | Dec. 19, 2011
By Heather Graf
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky - Dozens of Fort Campbell families are getting a helping hand this Christmas, as the Armed Services YMCA plays santa for our soldiers.
Operation Holiday Joy started about five years ago. It’s a special toy store that gives military moms and dads a chance to fill their child’s wish list, without breaking the bank.
“They get a book for each child, they get a DVD or video for each child, they get a family for the family, and they also get a puzzle for each child,” said organizer Shirley West. “We get all types of gifts donated to us.”
Soldiers and their spouses are then given the chance to shop through the store, and the toys they select are provided free of charge.
“You want to get your children so much, but with finances being tight you can’t do it all the time, and by the YMCA calling and offering this, it just means so much to me that I can have more toys for her under the tree,” said Specialist Gibrain McElroy.
Kids of military families enjoy “Christmas at the Hard Rock”
KFMB-TV 8 | Dec. 18, 2011
SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Several San Diego kids with at least one parent deployed oversees will get to have holiday fun Sunday at the “Christmas at the Hard Rock” event.
For the past several years the Armed Services YMCA, along with Rod Luck, the Hard Rock Cafe and other sponsors have provided free breakfast, holiday decorations and music, gifts and Santa Claus, according to Armed Forces YMCA spokeswoman.
This year more than 150 families signed up to have a chance to participate, but only 25 families will attend the event, she said.
The goal of the Armed Forces YMCA is to make military life easier and help alleviate the stresses of deployment and the holiday season, she said.
Operation Ride Home Helps Fort Campbell Soldiers
News Channel 5 | Dec. 16, 2011
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – Being home for the holidays is something our military men and women don’t take for granted. It’s also something they rarely get to experience. This year, a hefty donation is making that possible for hundreds of Fort Campbell soldiers.
Tennessee-based whiskey maker Jack Daniels is donating $101,000 to pay for plane tickets, gas cards, and travel funds for those soldiers who may be stuck on post this holiday season, without the money or means to travel home.
“It’s a huge deal, and I don’t know if I really realized the impact of it until today,” said Shirley West, who heads up the Armed Services YMCA at Fort Campbell.
That agency is working hand-in-hand with Jack Daniels, to identify soldiers who both need and deserve this bit of help.
Service members save big at Backdoor Boutique
The Camp Lejeune Globe | Dec. 8, 2011
Photo by Pfc. Nik S. Phongsisattanak
There are many ways that people can save money while shopping.
Some of the most popular methods for saving are using an arsenal of coupons, or bidding for products online, and there are those who wait for days like Black Friday to empty their wallets.
Patrons did not mind waiting and gathered outside to gain access to the collection of donated goods at the Armed Services YMCA last Backdoor Boutique of the year, Dec. 2.
The boutique is located aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune’s Tarawa Terrace base housing area.
“If I wouldn’t buy it and put it in my house, I would not put it in the boutique,” said Barbara Robinson, program director with Armed Services YMCA. “If I wouldn’t put those clothes on my children, I wouldn’t have them hanging on the racks. We check everything to make sure nothing is broken or dirty.”
Photo quilting projects benefit Armed Services YMCA’s Operation Kid Comfort
Fort Bragg Patch | Dec. 6, 2011
By Kelly Twedell
Brother International Corporation partners with the Armed Services YMCA to support the military families with deployed servicemembers through donating seven high-tech sewing machines.
Producing over 1,000 quilts per year for the children of deployed servicemembers, the Armed Services YMCA’s Operation Kid Comfort gets a boost from Brother International Corporation.
Brother donated seven versatile sewing machines to the organization in order to maintain its program of hand-crafting unique quilts and pillows for the children of deployed military service men and women in all branches of the military, all over the world.
Jack Daniels to Help Soldiers Fly Home for the Holidays with ‘Operation Ride Home’
International Business Times | Nov. 28, 2011
The Jack Daniels Distillery launched “Operation Ride Home” this week, an effort to help soldiers and their families travel home for the holidays.
The famous Tennessee whiskey-maker joined forces with the Armed Services YMCA of Fort Campbell to identify soldiers and families in need of financial assistance for travel from the base to their homes throughout the U.S. this holiday season.
Jack Daniels has donated $101,000 in honor of the decorated 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, located along the Kentucky – Tennessee border. The 101st Airborne Division recently returned from a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan.
Distiller funds travel costs for Campbell GIs
The Army Times | Nov. 23, 2011
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee whiskey maker Jack Daniel’s is donating more than $100,000 to pay for plane tickets and travel funds for soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., to spend the December holiday season with their families all over the country.
The distiller is also asking the public to make additional contributions that could help hundreds of cash-strapped soldiers who otherwise would be stuck at the post on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line. Donations can be made to the Operation Ride Home campaign online at www.jdoperationridehome.com.
Shirley West, executive director of the Armed Services YMCA at Fort Campbell, said she will be working with unit leaders to identify the neediest soldiers who will be eligible for plane ticket vouchers up to $300 for each family member and debit cards up to $100 for each family member for gas and lodging.
Young Marines Adopted For Family Style Thanksgiving.
KPBS Radio News | Nov. 23, 2011
More than 400 cars, vans and even limos will pull up on Camp Pendleton Thanksgiving Day to whisk small groups of young Marines off base for a family-style Thanksgiving dinner.
Suzanne Taburun of the Armed Services YMCA said more than 1,100 young Marines – whose families live more than 50 miles away – signed up. They are currently training in the School of Infantry.
YMCA Donates Thanksgiving Food to Military Families
KTSM 9 – El Paso, TX | Nov. 22, 2011
By Lauren Zimmerman - Web Producer
Bell Helicopter and its parent company Textron Systems, support The Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) and have committed $40,000 to support our mission to provide programs and services that make military life easier for men and women in uniform and their families in 2012.