Friday, December 14, 2012

OPERATION HOLIDAY HEROES!


Thank you military families!
This Christmas, we set out to make the holidays brighter for 19 military families at Fisher House.  It's like the famous Ronald McDonald House, but Fisher House Hawaii takes care of our US military families.  They will house the families of  sick, injured or wounded soldiers and veterans and they are ALWAYS full! Right now there is a 35 family waiting list, to get in!   At Fisher House, they believe that "families are good medicine" and we learned that same lesson when our mom went through cancer treatment.  

The BEST pumpkin cookie recipe EVER
is on page 93 of Special Delivery
So this Christmas, my family and friends and I set out to raise money for Christmas presents for the families staying there, most of whom are far away from their homes!  We spend our weekends having bake sales, collecting supplies and selling a cookbook called, "Special Delivery" that we made.

A few months ago, I saw for the first time a scene that I know plays out regularly with our military families.  I was sitting with my classmate, Riley, at Trinity Lutheran School.  A soldier quietly entered the classroom and tapped my unsuspecting friend on the back.  As Riley turned around, she screamed with excitement because it was her dad, home from a year of deployment in Afghanistan. Tears rolled down her face, and soon I was in a puddle of tears as well.  It must be really hard being apart for so long, and especially not knowing if your mom or dad is safe.  I am so lucky to have friends like Riley, who’s families are willing to sacrifice in so many ways to keep our country safe.

Carly, Jack, Emma, Morgan & Me
That moment in class made me want to do something special to recognize the special sacrifices our military families make.  That's when we found out about the Fisher House at Tripler Hospital, and that's when we came up with: “Operation Holiday Heroes.”   So, I had a meeting of Dream of a Better World and we decided to mobilized our own small army of friends and neighbors to collect nearly 100 Christmas bags and gifts.  We also plan to surprise Theresa Johnson, Manager of Fisher House Hawaii, with a check for all the donations we’ve collected. 

If you'd like to also help make these military families in need, you can make a tax-deductible donation or buy "Special Delivery - Supporting Our Troops EDITION" cookbooks at our web-site: www.DreamOfaBetterWorld.org

Daniel Ward of Hawaiian Chariots stopped by!
Fisher House Hawaii is one of 58 locations worldwide supporting America’s military in their time of need.  Annually, the Fisher House program serves more than 17,000 families, and have made available over four million days of lodging to family members since the program originated in 1990.   Fisher Houses are funded by public donations and operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of the Army, Navy and Air Force.  No family pays to stay at any Fisher House.  

You can also donate to Tripler Fisher House by mailing donations to: Tripler Fisher Houses, 317 Krukowski Rd., Honolulu, HI 96819.