Soccer Dad

Civilian support - military monday

The current war in the Middle East got me thinking about a different aspect of the military - civilian support from the home front.

In recent years an organization was founded to provide pizza for Israeli soldiers, appropriately named Pizza IDF. And there's a campaign that successfully raised enough money for a whole company.

I also see Pizza IDF has expanded operations to include BurgerIDF too.

Have you ever heard of a charitable organization that was so successful - it accomplished its goal and dissolved? That's the case of the Save our Soldiers fund. Back in 2002 Aaron Singer heard that the high fatality rate suffered by soldiers during Operation Defensive Shield were due to wounds to the torso. He learned that 30% of the soldiers killed could have been saved had they been wearing lightweight bullet-proof vests, so he set out to collect enough money to provide vests (about $1000 each) for the soldiers. A few years ago he reached his goal and dissolved the fund.

In general there's the LIBI Fund for supporting the health and welfare of Israeli soldiers.

The LIBI Fund, no doubt, sounds a lot like the USO, probably the most famous civilian organization supporting American soldiers. It's famous for the tours of entertainers that it arranges for American soldiers.

Soldiers' Angels is dedicated to ensuring that all soldiers get some support from home.

Operation Hero Miles provides a way for individuals with frequent flier miles to donate them to families of military personnel who were wounded. (It was originally to provide miles to help troops get home, but now the United States is covering those expenses.)

In a similar vein Military Exchange Prepaid Calling Cards provides means for deployed soldiers to call home.

Fisher House provides support to military families. And while actor Denzel Washington is a supporter of Fisher House, contrary to the popular e-mail he never paid for a whole new Fisher House, though he has contributed generously to their efforts.

There are, of course, many other organizations dedicated to making the lives of soldiers easier. This isn't meant to be a comprehensive list. But it is possible to support soldiers even without picking up a weapon.

Technorati tag: Military Monday.