I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
At a time when far too many people believe that putting a $1.98 sticker on the back of their car shows that they “support the troops”, many others no doubt wonder what they can do to actually help those men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, particularly during the holidays. The website Blogging for Michigan (BFM) has started the Troop Care project to do just that.
As of Oct. 18, according to the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, there were 817 soldiers and airmen from Michigan serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. BFM Troop Care will focus on sending care packages to those units from our home state through their use of AnySoldier.com. At AnySoldier.com, you can search by state, and there are troops stationed with various units who have agreed to act as distributors to those units.
In particular, when you send a care package or a letter to the contact person, they’ll make sure it gets to those in their unit who don’t get a lot of mail or packages from anyone back home. In fact, the folks at AnySoldier.com say that letters are the single most requested item. If you put your email address in the letter, you can strike up a pen-pal friendship. For those serving overseas, especially those who don’t get a lot of contact or support from their family and friends, this can be a real morale booster.
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How can you help? Several ways. You can go to AnySoldier.com yourself, do a search for folks in Michigan, and send a package or letter to one or more of them. Or you can donate to the BFM Troop Care project and they’ll use your donations to put together care packages for those soldiers on your behalf. If you decide to do it on your own, please read the FAQ; it contains a lot of important information on how and what to send, what not to send, how to package it, and so forth. If you choose to provide financial support for Troop Care to do this, they promise that 100 percent of the money donated will go to the troops. At the link above you can donate through Paypal or you can arrange to send a check. They are on a big push for the holidays and need your support by Nov. 30.
There are other ways you can support our troops as well. In addition to those actually serving overseas, there is also a great need for support and help for their families back home. Particularly for those serving in the National Guard or the reserves, being sent overseas can mean serious financial hardship for their families. To help those families left behind, you can donate to the Michigan National Guard Family Fund. Like Troop Care, they promise that 100 percent of the funds donated will go to the families of Michigan National Guard members serving in combat. Here’s their contact information:
Michigan National Guard Family Fund Inc.
3411 N. Martin Luther King Blvd.
Lansing, MI 48906.
517-481-8357
Even if you can’t afford to help out financially, you can do a great deal of good just by sending a letter to someone serving overseas. For someone separated from family and friends, serving in a war zone and facing daily peril, a kind word from a stranger can make a heck of a difference. Please do what you can, especially during the holidays. Let’s show our fellow citizens that supporting the troops is about more than bumper stickers. It’s about reaching out to them as human beings and helping to support their families while they’re serving their country.
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