Da Goddess

Spirit Of America - Friendly Competition Gets Even More Interesting

Once upon a time, Dean and Michele decided to host a little competition to see who could raise more money for Spirit of America. They've done a great job of spreading the word and drumming up donations. However, in the midst of their battle, a strange sound was heard from somewhere over the next hill.

[wind]
[saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw]
[clunk]
[bang]
[rewr!]
[squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak]
[rrrr rrrr rrrr]
[drilllll]
[sawwwww]
[clunk]
[crash]
[clang]
[squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak...]

The two opposing forces stopped mid-parry and mid-thrust. They stood silently as they gazed upon the horizon. A large wooden rabbit appeared.

The real warriors have arrived! Unlike Arthur's band of odd knights, this group shall be more successful from the start. Join us, won't you?

Think your donation won't make a difference? Think again! From Jim Hake, president of Spirit of America:

Last night the Wall St. Journal's Dan Henninger was on Nightly Business Report on PBS. He spoke about Spirit of America and the donor response generated in large measure by his recent column. It's a great piece. Please read it below. The impact of Dan's column was augmented mightily by the relatively unsung efforts of bloggers and by many of you forwarding messages to friends and families.

Here are the results. Overwhelming. Incredible. In the last five days we have received $764,408 from 4,088 donors. Most of these funds are earmarked for the request made by the Marines for equipment needed to establish Iraqi-owned television stations in Al Anbar Province Iraq (described here: http://www.spiritofamerica.net/req_12/request.html). Our initial goal for this request was $100,000. The Marines are as stunned as I am. I'll remove the expletives of joyful surprise and forward some of their comments to you next week. They are also developing ideas for the expansion of this initiative. More on that soon.

We are pressing ahead with fundraising. We understand we're at the very beginning of the effort needed to achieve peace and stability in Iraq. The Marines and others serving in Iraq have made clear that all the support we can muster will greatly assist their efforts to win the peace. Rest assured we do not confuse success in donor support with the real results we all seek to achieve. The real work lies ahead. But the funding makes the results possible and we now have a great foundation to build upon.

We are now focused on delivering the basic equipment requested for the first seven stations. Thanks to you we will have everything at Camp Pendleton by next Thursday (April 29). That delivery will make it 21 days from receiving the Marines request to fulfilling it. You can imagine what a response like this means to those on the front lines whose lives are at risk.

Whether you give a $1.00 or give $500, you make a difference in the war against terrorism. It's bloggers, their readers, their families, and the willingness of many Americans that make a drive like this successful. It's also the brave men and women of our military who put to use the equipment received from such generosity. The people of Iraq and Afghanistan need our help. Our donations serve to fulfill the requests of the military who seek to do more than put an end to terrorism - they're building bridges. And we can help!

Join the Milbloggers and their "fellow travelers" - make a difference.

Posted by DaGoddess at April 21, 2004 03:10 AM