How we got here
When we began in March 2003 we just held Rallies for America at the local park. As Christmas grew near we had collected about 35 emails and sent out a suggestion that we send Christmas Cards filled with a pack of Cocoa to one unit in Iraq. I had a Col with 700 men and so we set a huge goal to get a card for each one. We did it and More! 1,167 Cards and a pack of cocoa! We got Thank You notes back from the troops that were just so heart touching that we decided to do Valentines..and then Easter . . . and so began Cards and Cocoa for the Troops. Easter 2004 found us sending candy and beef jerky and all sorts of things, so I stopped counting cards and started tracking Pounds! The end of 2008 has us having shipped over 8 TONS!
A lot of life happened for our family in the last five years. Late 2004-05 I had breast cancer, 5 surgeries, chemo (and Jerry and I helped my daughter deliver a bouncing baby boy!) and radiation. A little time to rest in 2006 before finding that Jerry needed hernia surgery and late in the year my daughter also had breast cancer and spent 2007 with 3 surgeries, chemo and radiation. Oct 2007 found me back at the doctors with breast cancer again.May 2008 and a 12 hour surgery and Dec with another surgery . . . and ALL THROUGH THIS TIME WE NEVER MISSED MAKING A SHIPMENT TO THE TROOPS EVERY MONTH! I even timed surgeries around packing days! Because getting a letter from one of our troops was the best medicine I could ever get. The support from our now 200 volunteers and the troops carried our family through.
Leaving our Troop Family in Calif was the hardest part about moving to Arizona, but our new adventure with WARRIORS HEART is a step we wanted to take to DO MORE!
Proud of our Military!
Cindy Stanley
A lot of life happened for our family in the last five years. Late 2004-05 I had breast cancer, 5 surgeries, chemo (and Jerry and I helped my daughter deliver a bouncing baby boy!) and radiation. A little time to rest in 2006 before finding that Jerry needed hernia surgery and late in the year my daughter also had breast cancer and spent 2007 with 3 surgeries, chemo and radiation. Oct 2007 found me back at the doctors with breast cancer again.May 2008 and a 12 hour surgery and Dec with another surgery . . . and ALL THROUGH THIS TIME WE NEVER MISSED MAKING A SHIPMENT TO THE TROOPS EVERY MONTH! I even timed surgeries around packing days! Because getting a letter from one of our troops was the best medicine I could ever get. The support from our now 200 volunteers and the troops carried our family through.
Leaving our Troop Family in Calif was the hardest part about moving to Arizona, but our new adventure with WARRIORS HEART is a step we wanted to take to DO MORE!
Proud of our Military!
Cindy Stanley
This attached picture is a local "boy" named Eric who we supported through two tours in Iraq and he came home safe. He also surprised us by showing up one year while we were packing for Christmas and spent many hours for 3 days of his leave helping us pack things we were sending to his unit.
This picture is after returning from 2nd tour, he and buddies drove up from San Diego to surprise us at a Rally at the Park. His haircut was shorter then mine by 1/8 of an inch since he had shaved that morning.!
This picture is after returning from 2nd tour, he and buddies drove up from San Diego to surprise us at a Rally at the Park. His haircut was shorter then mine by 1/8 of an inch since he had shaved that morning.!
