Update!
I know it’s been a little while, but I have an update for you.
Due to unforeseen circumstances some of our team members are dealing with, we will, unfortunately, not be making a delivery to Walter Reed this year. Our team members are a vital part of our mission and we just don’t feel right doing it without them. However, that doesn’t mean we will be sitting out completely this year. Stay tuned for more info on how you can help our wounded warriors and their families.
Thank you for your continued support.
Kait
Gearing Up: The Marshall Plan 4.0
Wow! It’s been a while! It’s been a crazy summer and I can’t believe it’s starting to come to an end. But… you know what that means! It’s time to start planning The Marshall Plan drive and delivery round 4!
We are gearing up and starting to make our plans. We will let you know when the date is set in stone, and of course, we’ll fill you in on all the details of how you can help!
We hope you’ve had a fantastic summer! We’ll talk soon!
Kait
Heartwarming Homecoming
This is super cute! I just had to share it with you! It puts a smile on your face and will probably make you cry happy tears. Enjoy!
Kait
Root Beer Floats, a New Home, and the beginning of The Marshall Plan 2013
Wow, it’s been a while! It’s been a crazy busy last two months for me, but now that things have calmed down, it’s time to get back into updating regularly.
We are gearing up for The Marshall Plan 2013! We have a meeting coming up next week to get our plan situated for 2013. I will post more info on how you can help out ASAP! Stay tuned for that!
Tomorrow, August 6, is National Root Beer Float Day! Yum! From 2pm to close, A&W will be giving out FREE small root beer floats! In addition, they will be accepting donations for Wounded Warrior Project! So, go out and get a free root beer float tomorrow and if you can, give a small donation to support our wounded warriors! Here’s a link for more info: A&W National Root Beet Float Day
Yesterday was the US Coast Guard’s birthday! Happy 223rd Birthday!
I’m also happy to say that the wounded warrior who inspired The Marshall Plan, he and his family will be moving into their home built by Homes for Our Troops in just a little under 2 weeks! What great news! We are so happy and excited for them!
Talk soon!
Kait
Local Story and Great Organizations
Here’s a great local story about a wounded warrior who just received a key to a new home. Very cool. You should definitely check it out.
Wounded soldier presented with key to new home
The story also features 2 military supporting charities (along with Fairway Independent Mortgage) who helped in providing this wounded warrior, Army Specialist Tyler Scheill, with his new home.
Military Warriors Support Foundation has multiple programs that help our countries heroes, like housing, jobs, and education.
The Boot Campaign provides easy ways for Americans to get involved, show appreciation for our troops, bring about awareness and raise funds for military programs.
Pretty cool if you ask me! They are great organizations. Check them out and maybe one of them will interest you enough to get involved!
Don’t Worry…
I haven’t forgotten about you! It’s just been crazy busy here lately!
Over the holidays, we received 2 very cool and very nice donations! First was a donation from a 9 year old who decided that for his teachers’ holiday gifts, instead of buying them something, he was going to donate money to The Marshall Plan. What a cool idea! He gave his teachers a note explaining to them about The Marshall Plan and that he donated to it as their gift. So cool. What an awesome kid!
The other donation we received over the holidays was from a woman and her husband who donate money every Christmas to a different charity for each of their grandchildren. They like to pick something that is relevant to their life someway. One of their grandchildren attends Marshall University and they thought donating to The Marshall Plan was fitting because of the name. What another cool idea!
We are so grateful that we were thought of during the holiday season and we are very grateful to receive to generous donations! Thank you!
I’ll update again soon!
Kait
Post-Press Release
Here is our Post-Press Release for this year’s Marshall Plan!
The Marshall Plan: A Sweet Success – Again!
When Kaitlin Reinbold’s Marine boyfriend was stationed in Afghanistan in 2011, she sent care packages to remind him of home. Tastykakes were the most popular items with the Marines, particularly one named Marshall, who’d never had them before. In June 2011, Marshall was severely injured by an I.E.D. He was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, where he continues his rehab today.
Marshall’s story inspired Bob Price, a friend of Kaitlin’s family, to come up with the idea to show gratitude and respect to wounded warriors by delivering Tastykakes to Walter Reed. “The Marshall Plan” came together. Bob and Dave Reinbold, Kaitlin’s father, rode on bicycles from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Bethesda Maryland -200 miles -followed by the Tastykakes (thanks to Tom and Kari Mesko) and the rest of the team by car a few days later. On October 17, 2011, the team delivered approximately 1,600 boxes of Tastykakes and more than $9,000 in monetary donations, most of which was used to purchase gift cards for wounded warriors and their families. (Please see our website Sweetthanks4troops.com for commentary and photos.)
The plan succeeded far beyond our expectations, thanks to the kindness and generosity of family members, friends, and citizens of the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas. Support also came from Team Capital Bank, The Tasty Baking Company, and especially Lehigh Valley Tastykake Sales Distributors who were quick to respond with a generous donation.
Inspired by the success of last years’ Plan, we decided to repeat it this year. Once again, we were able to donate approximately 1,600 boxes of Tastykakes and $11,000 in gift cards and monetary donations on October 15, 2012. While last years’ donation was simply dropped off at the Medical Center, this time we were able to distribute some of the donations ourselves. The Tastykakes and gift cards were received with smiles and thanks, but for us, being able to personally express our gratitude to these men and women for their service was an amazing privilege. There was a feeling of pride, honor and willingness to serve on the face of every service person we met, and their courage and strength of spirit in the face of adversity was humbling.
We would again like to sincerely thank all those who donated and supported us – generous family, friends, citizens and businesses of the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas, Flowers Foods, and especially Team Capital Bank and the Lehigh Valley Tastykake Sales Distributors. We look forward a repeat of The Marshall Plan in 2013!
Thanks again for all your support!
Kait
Sweet Success… Again!
The delivery went well!
Here are a few pictures from the journey!
Here is Linda’s account of the delivery:
Our sincere thanks to everyone who donated and/or supported our 2012 Marshall Plan – another successful year! We couldn’t have done it without you!
Sgt. Zachary Johnson and Corpsman Christopher Johnson, our liasons with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, were very helpful to us in getting set up to distribute our donations on Monday, October 15. Corpsman Chris Johnson also told us some of his fascinating and hair-raising experiences as a medic in Iraq and Afghanistan and gave us insights on some of the items that deployed military members enjoy receiving in care packages – especially snack foods, protein-rich foods, energy drinks, and baby wipes. Nine-year-old Gannon, who was part of our team this year, really enjoyed hearing why tough men and women in uniform wanted baby wipes, and Corpsman Johnson enthusiastically explained this. He also taught us how to chill a can of soda or energy drink by placing it in a wet sock and hanging it where it can catch a breeze. This cools a drink down to about 70 degrees, which tastes like it’s straight from the fridge when the outside temperature is 120!
On a more serious note, being able to personally distribute some of our Tastykake and gift card donations this year was such an incredible privilege. Funny how something as simple as a box of Tastykakes could bring smiles to so many faces. Some had never had them, some had gotten them in care packages while deployed, and some related being from Philadelphia or surrounding area hometowns and having grown up with them. They were very happy with the variety we had to offer and the opportunity to try new flavors!
We were able to speak with (and shake hands with) so many wounded warriors – male and female – and with their parents and spouses as well. We heard stories that inspired and humbled us, and many that gave us chills and brought tears to our eyes. One mother told us of her daughter who’d been shot five times. Another mom’s son had stepped on an IED that was intentionally detonated when someone saw him approach it. Both moms were told their children would probably not make it – yet over a year later, they are with us and doing fairly well. A mom and dad accepted some Tastykakes for their son who was in surgery as we spoke. Other parents told us of being at Walter Reed to celebrate their son’s 25th birthday – something they didn’t think he would see when he came to the Medical Center earlier this year. One warrior with a prosthetic leg told us of the sled hockey team he’d just joined. So many – too many – were multiple amputees, some ambulating on prosthetics or with crutches, others still in wheelchairs. We saw many scars and bandages, an abundance of artificial limbs, many orthopedic devices, and a variety of mobility aids. Yet the wounded warriors we saw and spoke with always had a smile and conveyed a sense of pride and honor in being able to serve. They thanked us sincerely for the cupcakes and gift cards that seemed so insignificant compared to what we gratefully thanked them for – their service and sacrifices for our country.
– Linda Reinbold
Looks like they had a great time! Wish I could’ve been there. Thank you so much for all your support and donations! We really appreciate it! We look forward to doing this again next year! I hope you enjoy Linda’s account of the delivery and the pictures courtesy of Kari and Linda.
Kait
It’s Delivery Day!
It’s Delivery Day!!
Bob and Dad arrived in Bethesda yesterday afternoon after their 3 day 200 mile bike ride!
Tom, Kari, and Gannon Mesko picked Mom up yesterday afternoon to drive down to Bethesda with the Tastykakes.
They were scheduled to drop off the Tastykakes around 10am this morning at a loading dock at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and now they are set up and passing out the boxes of Tastykakes to wounded warriors! So cool! What an awesome experience that must be! Wish I could be there with them! They just met a couple whose son was recently injured similar to Marshall’s injury.
We collected roughly the same amount of Tastykakes as last year (1600) and we exceed our monetary donations from last year! We raised $10k! Woo hoo! We bought about $8k worth of gift cards to hand out to wounded warriors as well and the rest of the monetary donations will be donated to an organization that helps out wounded warriors.
I wish I could’ve been there today to be a part of this awesome moving experience!
Here are some pictures I want to share with you!
Donated Tastykakes!
More donated Tastykakes!
The Tastykakes delivered to Walter Reed!
Getting ready to pass out Tastykakes!
Thank you all for your support! We really appreciate it! Thanks for helping us support and thank our wounded warriors!
Kait
Here We Go…!
Lots going on lately!
I unfortunately will not be able to attend the delivery this year partly because I am so far away in NC now and because of work. However, I’ve been able to help out from afar, which has been great.
Luckily, I was able to get home to PA over Columbus Day weekend, so I had some time to catch up and see what all was going on with the Marshall Plan. We had a few days where we had close to 20 envelopes in the PO Box, which was awesome! We’ve had a handful of monetary donations come in via PayPal as well. Lots of Tastykakes too! It was nice to actually be there for a few days to see what’s happening!
We have roughly the same amount of Tastykakes as last year! Yay! And I believe we will exceed the amount of monetary donations we received last year as well! Awesome!
Mom will be purchasing all the gift cards soon.
While the Tastykake drive has ended, you can still donate money by sending a check or cash to: The Marshall Plan, PO Box 285, Bethlehem, PA 18016. Or.. you can donate via Paypal – check out our donate page on how to do that.
The bike ride from Bethlehem to Bethesda started this morning. Dad and Bob hit the road! They’ll arrive in Bethesda on Sunday!
I’m pumped! What another great year of the Marshall Plan, but you can still help out to make it even better!!
Kait
Another Article!
A local Lehigh Valley newspaper, The Morning Call, published an article about the Marshall Plan in their Tuesday, October 2, newspaper! They also posted the article online on Thursday. Here’s the article: Help sweeten the days of wounded soldiers with Tastykake donations.
Lots of donations have been pouring in over the last few days! It’s great! Very excited! Hoping this year is just as successful, if not more than last year!
Thanks for your support! We look forward to being able to brighten the days of just a handful of our countries many wounded warriors!
Kait
Donations, The Express-Times, and a Love Story…
Great news! We have some donations coming in and our Tastykake drive starts on Monday, Oct. 1! Please donate!
Yesterday, I spoke with 2 local newspapers: The Express-Times and The Morning Call. The Express-Times published an article about us on their website this morning! Here’s the link: Tastykake drive for troops kicks off Monday. The Morning Call will be publishing an article about us on their website shortly and will publish it in their newspaper on Tuesday!
I’m sure many of you have seen this true American love story gone viral. I’ve seen it all over the internet lately and I love it. Here are the 22 pictures that share Taylor Morris and Danielle Kelly’s truly inspiring love story. This is what true love is. A Love Story in 22 Pictures.
It’s true what they say, a picture really does speak 1000 words.
To add to the 22 pictures of that wonderful story, here’s an article from The Huffington Post about Taylor and Danielle, AND a video of them dancing together. It’s too great to not share. Taylor Morris, Quadruple Amputee, Dances with Girlfriend Danielle Kelly (VIDEO)
9/11, Suicide Prevention Month
Hey all!
All our donation info is up! You can send checks to: The Marshall Plan, PO Box 285, Bethlehem, PA 18016. You can donate via PayPal (see button below), or you can drop off boxes of Tastykakes from October 1, 2012 to October 10, 2012 at any of these Team Capital Bank locations:
1901 Hamilton Street
Allentown, PA 18104
2151 Emrick Boulevard
Bethlehem, PA 18020
4285 West Tilghman Street
Allentown, PA 18104
It’s crazy to think that it’s been over 11 years since 9/11/01. I remember it just like yesterday, as I’m sure most people do who were old enough to understand something major and awful was going on when it happened. I hope to someday get a chance to visit the Freedom Tower and the memorial in NYC. My mom, Linda, and my sister, Meg, were just there recently. Here’s a picture from their visit:
We will never forget. Our thoughts and prayers are and will always be with those affected by the events of that day.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Suicide is a serious issue. It shouldn’t be taken lightly. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please,seek help. Here are some ways from the Wounded Warrior Project to help yourself or a loved one: September is National Suicide Prevention Month.
Here’s a story of how true love always survives: Marine Couple Overcomes Combat Wounds
Don’t forget to donate!
Kait
Press Release 2012
What a great way to celebrate our 100th post… Here’s our new press release for The Marshall Plan 2012!
THE MARSHALL PLAN COLLECTING TASTYKAKES AND DONATIONS FOR US TROOPS
Lehigh Valley, PA, September 2012 – When Kaitlin Reinbold’s Marine boyfriend was stationed in Afghanistan in 2011, she sent care packages to remind him of home. Tastykakes were the most popular items with the Marines, particularly with one named Marshall, who had never had them before. In June 2011, Marshall was severely injured by an I.E.D. He endured surgeries, rehabilitation and physical therapy at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Marshall’s story inspired Bob Price, a friend of Kaitlin’s family, with an idea: show wounded warriors our gratitude and respect by delivering boxes of Tastykakes to Walter Reed. “The Marshall Plan” came together. Bob and Dave Reinbold, Kaitlin’s father, rode on bicycles from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Bethesda, Maryland – 200 miles – followed by the Tastykakes (thanks to Tom and Kari Mesko) and the rest of the team by car a few days later.
On October 17, 2011 the team delivered 1,600 boxes of Tastykakes and more than $9,000 in monetary donations, most of which was used to purchase gift cards for wounded warriors and their families. Excess funds were donated to the USO of Metropolitan Washington in thanks for their help with logistics. The Marshall Plan was also able to send a few care packages to troops in Afghanistan. Marshall, the marine for whom the program is named, is hoping to return to his home and family in Arkansas in December.
The Marshall Plan succeeded because of the kindness and generosity of family members, friends and citizens of the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas. Support also came from Team Capital Bank, The Tasty Baking Company and especially Lehigh Valley Tastykake Sales Distributors who were quick to respond with a generous donation.
The Marshall Plan is gearing up to repeat the drive to support our wounded troops. The delivery to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland is scheduled for October 15, 2012. Fresh Tastykakes can be dropped off at any Team Capital Bank location from Monday, October 1 through Wednesday, October 10. Monetary contributions can be mailed to: The Marshall Plan, P.O. Box 285, Bethlehem, PA 18016.
To learn more about The Marshall Plan, see photos and information about efforts to aid our military, visit http://www.SweetThanks4Troops.com
Contact: Kaitlin Reinbold
kardolfin@rcn.com
610-573-8240
Dogs and Vets
We got the go ahead from WRNMMCB for The Marshall Plan 2.0. We just need to figure out the logistics now!
To continue the theme from the last blog post… I stumbled across a couple of books about man’s best friend and the military. They both look good! I need to add them to my book list.
Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him by Fmr Capt. Luis Carlos Montalvan with Bret Witter
Soldier Dogs: The Untold Story of America’s Canine Heroes by Maria Goodavage
In other news… The Veterans Skills to Jobs Act made advances last week. The House passed it on July 10th. Here’s an article from The Washington Post going into more detail: Veterans job qualifications bill advances
Good stuff. We’ll keep you posted.
Kait
Joining the 21st Century
We’ve finally decided to join the 21st century! Being in the brainstorming stages of The Marshall Plan 2012, we finally created a Facebook page! Took us long enough, right?!
Well, here it is…
Don't forget to "Like" us!
Don’t forget we are also on Twitter and Pinterest too! Make sure to follow us! Tweet us! Repin us! Stay connected!
Follow us and tweet us!
Follow us and repin us!
We look forward to staying connected with you!
Kait
Let’s Get Down to Business
Hey all,
Hope you had a happy holiday! I haven’t forgotten about you guys! Things have been a bit busy around here lately. The boyfriend and I drove over 500 miles home to spend his 72 with our families for Easter. It was great to be home and see everyone but it was a very busy and short-lived trip. We were on the go pretty much non-stop visiting family. I also recently started a part-time job. It’s nice to get out of the house and have a little bit of money coming in since I’ve been pretty much home bound and income-less for 2 months. While I was at home, talk of starting to plan this year’s Marshall Plan came up. And… as I am writing this, I just received an email about getting started. So, we’ll probably start working out the logistics for the Marshall Plan II in the coming weeks. I’m excited!
Life is good.
And here’s the usual business…
Here’s a blog entry about gold stars. It explains what the gold star means and the history of it. Gold Stars”
Michelle Obama’s recent message to the troops and their families:
Michelle Obama’s Message to Military Families: You Do Live in a Grateful Nation
I speak about Operation Gratitude a lot. They are pretty awesome, you know. I just came across their Pinterest board today. So, if you’re on Pinterest, definitely follow them and don’t forget to keep up to date by following their blog.
Here’s a story about Marines saluting a fallen brother. It’s always touching to read stories like this. Marines salute fallen brother in Khan Neshin district
For all you PTs out there, here’s an article about how physical therapy is very important to wounded warriors recovery: Physical Therapy Important Step In Recovery Process
As always, there are tons and tons of great military related stories that go unnoticed. Keep an eye out for them. If you have any you want to share send me the link or post it in the comments!
Kait
“Our Turn to Serve”
Recently when I was out to eat at a local restaurant, I reached for the ketchup and notices on the Heinz Ketchup bottle it said “Our Turn To Serve.” So, I gave it a closer look.
This is what the ketchup bottle looks like… Maybe you’ve seen these already…
(Pictures from philanthropyink.com)
Anyway, I think this is a pretty cool thing for Heinz to do. Team up with the USO and Wounded Warrior Project to thank our vets. The back of the bottle mentions ways to help along with their website. You can send a thank you note to a vet through Heinz’s website and they are also donating 57 cents to the Wounded Warrior Project for every thank you note sent and for every ‘Like’ on their Facebook page.
Easy ways to help out. Easy ways for you to get involved. It only takes a few minutes to do. Get on it!
Thank you, Heinz Ketchup, for supporting our troops.
Kait
Newspaper Updates
The Morning Call still hasn’t published mom’s letter to the editor. It’s been over a week and a half now and we were originally told it’d be in within a week. Hopefully, they print it soon!
I just found out today that The Batesville Daily Guard published a follow up on The Marshall Plan on the 2nd. Thank you Batesville Daily Guard!
Also, from what I understand, The Bethlehem Press is still working on an article about us as well. Once I hear when it’ll be published, I’ll let you know!
We are in the process of sending out updates, but we want you all to know that we are very grateful for all your support! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Kait
Military Ball and Updated Press Release
Over the weekend I attended a USMC Birthday Ball with my boyfriend. It was a great time. Got to see many familiar faces and meet lots of new people. It was a nice night to honor the Marine Corps and my boyfriend’s battalion, their fallen heroes from this past deployment and previous ones. It was also great to see a few of his battalion’s wounded warriors and to see how well they are doing. Some of them even walking around on their new legs! Very cool. Very inspiring. A humbling experience. These balls are always a reminder (as if I’ll ever forget) to continue to support our troops.
We’ve updated our press release to let the media and everyone else know how successful The Marshall Plan turned out to be!
So… here’s the update!
Press Release
Contact: Kaitlin Reinbold
Email: Kardolfin@rcn.com
Phone: 610-573-8240
Website: www.sweetthanks4troops.com
The Marshall Plan: A Sweet Success
Kaitlin Reinbold had been mailing care packages to her Marine boyfriend in Afghanistan earlier this year. Apparently, Tastykakes were the most popular items among the Marines, particularly one named Marshall, who’d never had them before. In June, Marshall was severely injured by an I.E.D. He was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, where he continues his rehab today.
This inspired a family friend, Bob Price, to come up with an idea – a small gesture of thanks to wounded warriors who deserve our utmost gratitude and respect. The plan was to deliver 1,000 boxes of Tastykakes to the Medical Center. Bob and Kaitlin’s father, Dave, planned to ride there on bicycle (200 miles), followed by the Tastykakes and the rest of the Marshall Plan group by car a few days later. The delivery was made to the Medical Center on October 17. (Please see our website Sweetthanks4troops.com for commentary and photos.)
The plan succeeded far beyond expectations. Approximately 1,600 boxes of Tastykakes were collected, along with over $9,000 in monetary donations, most of which was used to purchase gift cards for wounded warriors and their families. Excess funds were donated to the USO of Metropolitan Washington in thanks for their help with logistics. The response was heartwarming. The plan was a success, thanks to kind and generous family members, friends, and citizens of the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas. Special thanks to Team Capital Bank, who supported us in several ways, The Tasty Baking Company, and especially Lehigh Valley Tastykake Sales Distributors who were so quick to respond and so generous with their donation. Thank you all!
Kait
Mom’s Update
Here’s an update from my mom, Linda. She sent this out to local newspapers as an editorial to let the community know how our project went and how grateful we all are for the support we’ve received. The Morning Call has already contacted mom about the editorial and will be publishing it in the paper soon if they haven’t already.
Anyway, here’s what mom wrote….
A sincere thank you to all who so generously donated to our project, The Marshall Plan. Here’s a brief overview of the project and its results:
Our daughter, Kaitlin, had been mailing care packages to her Marine boyfriend in Afghanistan earlier this year. Apparently, Tastykakes were the most popular items among the Marines, particularly one named Marshall, who’d never had them before. In June,… Marshall was severely injured by an I.E.D. He was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, where he continues his rehab today.
This inspired a friend of ours, Bob Price, to come up with an idea – a small gesture of thanks to wounded warriors who deserve our utmost gratitude and respect. The plan was to deliver 1,000 boxes of Tastykakes to the Medical Center. Bob and my husband, Dave, planned to ride there on bicycle (200 miles), followed by the Tastykakes and the rest of us by car a few days later. We made our delivery to the Medical Center on October 17. (Please see our website Sweetthanks4troops.com for commentary and photos.)
The plan succeeded far beyond our expectations. Approximately 1,600 boxes of Tastykakes were collected, along with over $9,000 in monetary donations, most of which was used to purchase gift cards for wounded warriors and their families. Excess funds were donated to the USO of Metropolitan Washington in thanks for their help with logistics. The response was heartwarming; the notes and cards sent with donations brought tears to our eyes. Our plan was a success, thanks to kind and generous family members, friends, and citizens of the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas. Special thanks to Team Capital Bank, who supported us in several ways, The Tasty Baking Company, and especially Lehigh Valley Tastykake Sales Distributors who were so quick to respond and so generous with their donation. Thank you all!
Notes from the Community
We received a lot of notes and letters along with donations telling us what people thought of our project…
Here are some of the notes…
“Good Folks,
What you are doing is wonderful – it is the true American spirit.
Thanks you for all your efforts,
Lorraine & Ed”
“This ‘Marshall Plan’ that sends Tastykakes to Walter Reed is a wonderful idea. Thanks to all the soldiers and their families. God bless! – Anne”
“Good luck with this effort! – Leslie & Rick”
“Bob,
Thanks for doing this! We need more people to come up with ideas on how we can help our service people.
Larry”
“Just a note to say thank you. I have a grandson in Afghanistan – career man (6 years). – Doris”
“What a great idea! Thank you for sharing this idea. We owe our soldiers so much. God bless! – Linda”
“Dear Kaitlin, David, Linda & Bob,
What a great uplifting idea for our wounded troops! Thanks for putting it together for them. May the Lord bless your effort.
Sincerely,
Mike & Mari-Cay”
“Just a little help from a WWII Vet. Lots of Luck! – Oland”
“Keep up the good work. – Fred”
“Best of luck on your adventure! Thank you, Pat & Wanda”
We received such a great response from the community. We are very grateful for their donations and support. Thank you.
Kait
Deliveries Done, Support Continues
Wow. We are still getting donations! Thank you!
Even though the delivery is over and we are still getting donations, we are making sure it all goes to support our troops and we will keep you updated on how it all goes.
Currently, we are working on a write up about how the deliveries went to send out to the press and to our big donors. I’ll post it here once it’s finished. And at the moment we have no definite plans for a future Tastykake drive, but we are open to doing something again next year.
I checked yesterday’s Bethlehem Press to see if the article they said they wanted to write made it in this week’s edition, but I couldn’t find it. Oh well. It was worth a shot.
Here is an article from the Huffington Post’s 10-part series Beyond the Battlefield about our wounded warriors: Lack Of Long-Term Care Can Lead To Tragic Ends For Wounded Veterans. We need to continue to support for our wounded veterans.
Please continue to support all of our troops.
Anyway, here’s a link to The Marshall Plan album I posted on Facebook: The Marshall Plan
Mission Accomplished!
What a weekend!
We made it to our hotel yesterday in great time. Dad and Bob beat us by about 5 minutes and as we pulled into the parking lot, our “truck driver” and his wife pulled in behind us.
Dad and Bob had a good ride. They said Sunday was the best day weather wise and the ride itself wasn’t too bad, but their directions were a little off, so they had to stop a few times to ask for directions. But, they made it to the hotel in one piece!
We checked into our rooms, relaxed a bit and got ready to go out to dinner. My cousin, who moved to MD a few months ago, met us at the hotel and we headed to dinner. We went to a great place called Fire Station 1 Restaurant & Brewing Co. Great food and great people. Catching up and getting to know people. It was a good time to sit down and relax with everyone knowing that everything was set, in place, ready to go and all we had left was to do the actual delivering of the Tastykakes and the gift cards.
Bike rider #1, truck driver, and bike rider #2.
Fire Station 1 Restaurant & Brewing Co. for dinner!
We headed back to the hotel and hung out. Tried to get a good night’s sleep so we could all be well rested for the big day… especially the bikers!
We got up and transferred all of the Tastykakes into our “truck driver’s” trailer. We heard back from the USO this morning as well. The USO was our back up plan. We needed something to do with all of the Tastykakes if Walter Reed didn’t approve our donation. The USO pulled through for us last minute and said they would be willing to accept our donation if need be and give them out to wounded warriors. However, since the donations we received exceeded our goal of 1,000 boxes of Tastykakes, we decided to easy WRNMMCB’s worries and not give them all 1,600 boxes of Tastykakes we received. The USO gave us directions and then we were off to WRNMMCB for our 1000 (aka 10am) scheduled delivery of almost 1,000 boxes of Tastykakes and about $7,500 worth of gift cards.
Our Tastykake trailer!
Wearing our "The Marshall Plan" t-shirts!
Me!
The cyclists: Dad and Bob! They're still in one piece!
Our "truck" drivers! Tom and Kari.
The moms!
Making sure people know who we are!
Our directions to Bethesda were a bit screwy… good thing we left early even though it was only about a 6 mile drive!
We were greeted by a nice sailor at the gate and got through security no problem, thanks to one of our WRNMMCB contacts, Brian, who put us on the base access list. Once we figured out where we were going everything went smoothly.
We pulled up to our destination where had a parking space reserved for us and we were greeted by Brian. It was nice to meet him since he was nice and did his best to help us even though we heard back from them Thursday evening! Brian came out with a small cart for us to load the Tastykakes on. We all looked at each other and were like, “Uhh… do you have anything bigger?” Haha, but we managed. We carried boxes and put some on the cart. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go in and meet any wounded warriors, but Brian brought out a gentleman with him to help us unload. He is a father of a Navy Corpsman who was seriously injured in Iraq and is now rehabbing at WRNMMCB. It was really nice to meet him and to have someone there to see what we were doing, someone we could talk to and someone to thank.
Our destination.
Our signage. Brian told me we were more than welcome to take our sign, but I told him pictures of it would be just fine, haha.
Unloading...
Unloading some more...
A wounded warrior's father, Brian, Tom, Dad, Bob and Mom unloading even more Tastykakes.
And more...
Bob chatting with a wounded warrior's father.
Once we were done at WRNMMCB we headed to Fort Myer, VA to drop off some more Tastykakes. We drove through DC and saw the National Cathedral and the damage to it from the earthquake. We also saw the Washington DC LSD Temple which reminded us of Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz (“SURRENDER DOROTHY”). Anyway, we got to Fort Myer. There security was a little more strict. We all needed to show photo ID and we had to get out of the car, open all the doors, pop the hood and the trunk, so they could inspect. We thought they were going to rip open all our boxes of Tastykakes, but they didn’t. Of course, we got through with no problems.
We found the community activity center and dropped off the rest of our Tastykakes. We wanted to meet Pauline, the Hospital Services Manager at the USO of Metropolitan DC, since she was great and very helpful for us last minute. We wanted to thank her for pulling through for us.
Security check.
Community Activity Center - Delivery location #2.
Unloading...
Unloading... they had a bigger trolley at Ft. Myer.
The empty trailer.. all that's left are the bikes.
Pauline's office building.
There was a cute chapel in Ft. Myer and right next to the chapel was an entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. There was a military funeral going on at the chapel, and we decided to walk through Arlington National Cemetery for a bit. It was a nice way to end our time in MD/DC/VA to pay our respects to some of many who’ve served our country. On our way out we saw the funeral procession head into the cemetery. It was very moving.
The Chapel.
Arlington National Cemetery.
Memorial Amphitheater.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
View of DC from Arlington.
Mom and Dad.
Air Force funeral for a Lt. Col.
We headed home after our time in Arlington… and came home to another case of Tastykakes that was delivered today from Tastykake HQ. Are you kidding me, Tastykake? Haha… It’s all good. We have a plan for it. Even though my boyfriend is no longer in Afghanistan, there are plenty of other military members deployed and I’m sure they’d enjoy Tastykakes too. So, we are going to ship the case (and any Tastykakes that were donated after the end date) to our deployed troops! We want to thank them too, even if it is in a small way.
Next on our list is to take care of any donations we’ve received after the end date and let all the media outlets who helped us tell our story and spread the word about our mission how everything went.
It was a great experience. We learned a lot. We were successful. We had a blast. I’m very happy we did this and I’m beyond thrilled that it was a success. We all are. We are so very grateful to the many men and women who have served and who are serving our country. We are happy that we could do something to show our appreciation even in a small way. It was the least we could do.
Will we do this again? It’s definitely a possibility. We’ve already been asked about it and have talked about it. We are keeping our options open for now. If we do it again it’ll probably be in about a year. What do you think? Should we do this again? Suggestions, ideas for next time around? We all enjoyed doing it and we’d love to do it again.
We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has donated and supported us and our mission! We truly appreciate it.
And we’d like to say a huge thank you to the men and women who serve and have served our country! We cannot express our gratitude to you enough. Thank you.
Kait
Sweet Thanks for Troops: The Marshall Plan 