Club Spotlight
THE WEEK OF MAY 12, 2008

CHARLESTON COUNTY REPUBLICAN WOMEN
Charleston, South Carolina

In December of 2007, Charleston County RW received an email from the wife of a serviceman serving in Iraq. Captain Taylor Adams had emailed her an urgent request. When visiting a medivac unit in Balad, Iraq, the nursing supervisor there had told him about the need for soft, twin size blankets for the wounded soldiers. All they had was the coarse, wool, Army issue blankets. These were not good for wounded warriors.

That was all we needed to know! Our club sprang into action. Our club president sent a letter to the editor about this project asking for help from the community. She did radio and television interviews. Church groups, homeowners’ associations, civic organizations, schools, and yes, even fitness groups, went to work. The various municipalities in our group also helped. They offered strategic drop off locations all around the Lowcountry. We obtained large boxes, made signs, and delivered them. People from all over the country heard about this project and sent blankets. Veterans groups were wonderful! And the blankets poured in. The one question was: How are we going to pay for these mailings? That question was quickly answered.  We received enough contributions from generous individuals to pay for the entire mailing extravaganza! All we did was to provide the volunteers! The response was phenomenal and citizens throughout our community were delighted to actually be able to do something really helpful for our troops. Thousands of soft, twin size blankets now cover the wounded bodies of our heroes.

Our project lasted through the end of March when the weather turned warm in Iraq. However, it was still cold in Afghanistan, so blankets were sent over there. This was a project that touched the heart of the Lowcountry and every member of the Charleston County Republican Women. We were very busy for three months, but there was always a smile on our faces. We knew that whatever efforts we were putting forth were very small in comparison to those of our servicemen and women. God bless our troops and God bless the USA!

Kay Long
President

 

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