All of us here at Video Professor have “adopted” a young soldier from Ft. Hood, Texas who is currently deployed in southern Iraq. He contacted us last fall to help him out getting a laptop computer with a webcam. As a PFC, his salary doesn’t allow for such things. His wife and young daughter will not see him again for about 15 months. With the laptop and webcam he’ll be able to send video messages back home so when he returns safely, his daughter will still know her daddy.
Here’s an excerpt from a recent e-mail he sent us.
“Yeah so I am in-country Im staying at FOP Falcon in southern Baghdad its not a great area at all and the cease fire between sunis and shiites was just thrown out the window and the one who stopped it called on "a million men to rise up and kill americans" so this deployment might be interusting LOL we have been taking mortar and RPG attacks on the FOP just about everyday and when we flew in on the choppers they tried shooting mine down but since they just spray and pray they are not really accurate at all.”
Wow.
Imagine having all this as part of your typical work day. He volunteered for this mission. But this young trooper, along with tens of thousands of others is taking the fight to the enemy so we can work, play and enjoy life safely here at home.
I am so very, very proud of him and all those who service. We have an employee club here at Video Professor called Seasons. We’ll be collecting items he’s requested for him and his unit. It’s simply the stuff we all take for granted. Razors, wet wipes and of course, cookies!
Our team is already at work gathering boxes and boxes of goodies and we’ll be shipping them off to his unit shortly.
I know this war has both its supporters and detractors. But we can all agree that the incredible sacrifices made by these men and women who wear the uniform are again done so voluntarily. Regardless of your support of the war, I encourage you not to forget them one single day.
There are numerous ways to support these troops including the USO, the Fisher House and many others. But be careful when supporting any charity. There are some out there who claim to help out and simply spend the money on salaries and fancy offices. A good way to check is to go to www.charitynavigator.com to find out which are the most efficient in making sure what you donate, goes to where it is supposed to.
Also on the subject of giving, we got a wonderful thank you note from Mag Strittmatter who is the Executive Director of the Jefferson County Action Center. She thanked Video Professor’s employee club, Seasons, for donating Easter Baskets and also personal items for the growing number of people the Center serves.
We also got a kind note from Jean Owens of the Five Acres project in Altadena, CA. They work with abused kids through treatment and education including computer literacy. Five Acres is one of several non-profits that include computer literacy in their programs that we provide lessons to each year.
These thank you notes are always appreciated, but I often feel it’s we who should be saying thanks. Thanks for the opportunity to give and make a difference, but especially thanks for the good feeling one has when doing so.
-John
John W. Scherer
CEO and Founder, Video Professor, Inc.
Contact me at ceo@videoprofessor.com
