Hello ALL AS Supporters, Users, etc..

and a special hello to the HORN family for all their wonderful, fantastic, hard work that has gone into making AS the success that it is today!

Some of you may recall back in April, a fundraising luncheon was held near Quantico Marine Base.  It was a success and we raised approximately $500 for AS!  My hope was that other small groups of AS Supporters would get together for lunch -- getting to meet face-to-face and have a "live chat" while exchanging info, increasing friendships, AND RAISE SOME MUCH NEEDED CASH for Any Soldier Inc.  -- AND it's not too late to do that sort of thing again -- all around the country!
Yes, the economy has hurt us all... but we haven't built any shanty-towns as in the 1930s... so let's look at this realistically. We wouldn't have what we do without the great efforts of our MILITARY folks who put their lives on hold while they go "soldiering"!

As these posts have said, take a little break from mailing a package and mail that $10 to AS. 
OR, find a nice restaurant that supports our military, have a great meal and tack on a few dollars to donate to AS!

If each state would do this, or a few large towns, I'm sure we could raise a few thousand dollars between now and Halloween!

I also apologize for my own lack of support this summer -- *** cancer has taken a toll physically as well as financially!
Thankfully family, friends, the American Cancer Society, a Susan G. Komen grant, and the Cancer Fund Foundation have helped me hobble through the first half of this ordeal.  The next six months will also be a trial of endurance... but this too shall pass.  (Marty, maybe I'll get that motorcycle ride and golf tournament scheduled next summer! LOL)

I have had to close my flea market booth, from where I coordinated a "Troops Package Project;" but never fear the Project has moved into my basement and the troops will continue to get support -- even if it's just letters for awhile.

IN THE MEAN TIME!  Let's get our act together... get some fundraising going... every dollar counts, every $10 is better, and if we can do hundreds -- YEAH!  FUNtabulous!  LET'S GO FOLKS!

Anyone in Baltimore reading this, let's find a luncheon spot for the first week or two of October!  I'm sure there is a VFW in Rosedale (east Baltimore County) that would love to host us!  Perhaps we can send another $500 to AS!???  Anyone in?

Email me at avenewsanna@yahoo.com.   Let's go!

Take care, y'all!

Anna - Baltimore MD

I already sent my donation electronically and am rearranging finances to make a monthly donation.  I can live without the coffee every morning right?  I can brew it at home much cheaper.  If I slow down 5 MPH, I can squeeze 1 maybe 2 miles more from each gallon of gas.  I just leave a few minutes earlier when I go to work.  Coupons, sales.  Garage sales.  My Grandparents grew up during the depression and taught me to squeeze a nickel from a penny.  I can find $10 a month and still support the soldiers...I WILL find a way!!

Maybe an OT shift a month, who knows, but I will get it done.  I challenge all of you to look just one more time.  If not $10, then $5...every month.  Lets go folks.  We can do this.  I saw what we did for the medic asking for supplies.  I saw the response to the boys losing weight, I saw the response to Harrow the marine and the guys in the Korengal valley. I know $5-$10 doesn't seem like much, but if every one of us did it...imagine!

Here is another thought, ask friends and family to save newspapers or magazines.  The guys love to keep up on things happening here.  Maybe family/friends can buy one canned good with their groceries this month?  Send newspapers and mags in a box.  Donated canned goods from friends and family in another. That is 2 boxes already.  There are many untapped resources out there, let's figure out where they are and tap them.  We are all in this together folks, We CAN do this.

Maybe we could use this thread as a tip collection for helping to "wring more out of the dollar" so that we could send $5 - $10 a month to AS.  Personally, my parents lived through the big depression as well as rationing during "the" war, so I have had many unspoken lessons throughout my life.  When I was 5-9 yrs. old, my parents and we 3 children lived in 3 rooms plus a utility porch, no A/C, so we learned early on to live just a little bit like our deployed contacts except that we had no IEDs when we traveled the streets, and we had the comfort of family.  I am hoping that we can pick a few days a month and live on a little less in whatever way each individual can manage in their own situation. 

We have already received a few tips - any more suggestions that might create an extra few bucks?

Marty,

Could you post a financial statement or some kind of summary so that we can see what the operating expenses for the site are and where the money goes?

Thanks,

impeach

Since we started, and as required by law, we have always had this information on our site.

On the "About Us" page you can request our 990, get our annual report, etc, and in addition, we did a page of information:

http://anysoldier.com/NoteToSupporters.cfm

Yeah...Marty...we just know you are hiding that 150' Boat somewhere...
not to mention that 2M $ House and the maids just have to go to...

Sorry...I just couldn't resist...
Said with toungue in cheek...
It is really hard not to answer when Your and the AS.Com's
"Duty & Honor, Trust"are put in question...

Yes...I know all about the Legal rights mumbo jumbo...
I to am part of a 501(c)3

At least One (1) Million Supporters have put their Trust in
this site since its start up in 2007...with out question ???

One last comment..."Let No Good Deed Go Unpunished"

Goodness, do I have tips!!  Maybe we should start a new thread for this, but I can pass on some things I learned.  When we were young and broke I could pay the electric company OR the gas company sometimes, but not both.  Things were rather tight to say the least.  This is what we did to survive during those lean years and tips my Grandma gave me.

coupons and sales.  Match the coupons to the sales.  Stock up on items that don't spoil while on sale.  I freeze butter when on sale.  Hot dogs, cheese and a few other things freeze for a month or two as well.  I even freeze leftover pancakes.  Great in the toaster for a quick breakfast.  No need to buy frozen waffles then. 

spaghetti.  store brand value noodles or Aldi noodles are cheap, cheap, cheap.  Sppghetti sauce is good for you even without meat.  Use leftovers to spice it up.  I use leftover meat in top shelf chili.  Basically whatever is on the shelf goes in the chili. 

potatoes.  Do you know how many things you can make with potatoes??? 

reuse brown lunch sacks.  You can use for about a week or so...

We turn doen the thermostat in winter and use these fleece snuggie things I made with sleeves and wear slippers.  We have quilts and down covers on the beds with flannel sheets and flannel jammies (I made some of the flannel jammies for the kids too).  In the summer we have to use the A/C due to my little ones allergies, but we turn it up to about 76 or 78 just to keep control of the humidity to keep his asthma under control.

I have more but will leave it at these for now.

I don't have a boat.  Like, why do you think I joined the ARMY?  duh!  :)

OK, I actually DO have a 6 foot (long) Harley.  Actually rode it in the rain (thunder storm)...twice...enough water for me.

The house I have actually is (was?) worth less than the 1963 3-bedroom ranch we had in Maryland.  OK, Maryland vs Indiana, no contest, but even in Maryland a 2400sq' house (no garage) isn't going for 2 mil.  FAR better deals in Indiana.  Less traffic too.

Do we live well?  Better than many and that is mostly my wife's doing.  She was a hotshot in the mortgage banking world, one of the very few yelling about the stupid practices going on which helped bring down the economy.  She quit that to devote all her time to TreatAnySoldier.com...and, oh yeah, her +2-year devistating battle with cancer.

Remember, this site is providing a service.  You use it to get the addresses we work.  It isn't the same as sending money to some place that says they support the troops and you have no clue what happens to that money.  Your donations enable you to send support to troops YOU pick, even with the ability to search specific needs and troop units.  No other place on earth works like this.

Like we say, right dead center of the home page,

"PLEASE read the entire web site before you send anything.
We want you to be informed and comfortable with this effort."

I do not know about you but I am going to try and send 10-20 (depending on the exchange) a month...What is that to me? One less trip to timhortans (Canadian eh) I will not get into it too much but I get less then 900 a month all together...I give my dad rent, Connor has school fee monthly I buy all my own food and stuff for my son and myself...If I can afford it most others can...Even if everyperson that gets a address from this site gives ONE BUCK look how much money we would raise? I will be heart broken if this site closes down. How many warriors decide to keep going because of a simple letter or care package? How much moral is raised....Lets help out the site!

Oh Marty, 

I cannot speak for others but I do not believe that you are living high off the hog (ok maybe you are ON the HOG, the Harley one that is) from AS money.  I know that it is a labor of love for you and your family.  When folks ask about the money, it is not necessarily because they think something is wrong, but rather they are trying to understand the workings of the organization.  I for one have absolutely no idea how expensive it is to keep things up and running (like that astronomical cost of the servers....ouch).  People like me, who know nothing about web sites and such, are often amazed at the costs involved, never mind all the other expenses that you have. 

I have tried to contribute monetarily since I started using AS and consider it a bargain!!  And I will continue to do my very best to raise funds to keep AS going.   I love picking my own contacts and knowing exactly what each one needs, and this site is invaluable to me.  I have made many friends, both warriors and supporters.  And they and this site have truly become a part of my family.  Even more importantly it has been an ever present reminder of the enormous sacrifices that our brave servicemen and women make every day on behalf of ME and our country.  Thank you for starting and keeping this site up and running, especially during these tough economic times.  If we all work together to keep it going, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish!

   Kathy

 PS  No question that Sue is also an angel and I wish her well in her personal health struggle!  

AMTracer, Thanks for the reminder and for bringing this need to our attention.  I've  made a donation and will set up a monthly reminder to donate.  Thanks for the kick in the pants.

Marty, Sorry for forgetting to donate and making your family take the brunt of the load.  Will not forget you again.  Thank you for all you do to keep this site going. 

Anna

Amtracer:

It is really hard not to answer when Your and the AS.Com's "Duty & Honor, Trust"are put in question...

Yes...I know all about the Legal rights mumbo jumbo...
I to am part of a 501(c)3

I didn't see anyone calling Marty or AnySoldier's "duty, honor and trust" into question.

I did see a prudent question about financial issues, and in this day and age, that's a positive thing, not a negative. I appreciate that the info is readily available from AnySoldier, because most of us do not work for a non-profit.

I am a waitress. I save all of the change I get as tips in a jar. Once a month I cash it in and that is what I use to support the troops. It is amazing how quickly change adds up. I get more change that most because of my job. But if everybody would save their change instead of spending it...next thing you know you will have enough to make a donation. And since it is small amounts at a time you really never miss it.

At the end of the day when I count my tips I don't even count the change. It just goes in my jar. I have mentioned to a few customers about this and now at least one of them will throw me the change in his pocket and say "for the troops".

Small steps and changes can make a big difference.

Hi Shelli,

I was recently on the Support Our Troops (SOS) site from UK that is kind of like their equivalent to us and they were doing something called Jam Jars.  You get a jam jar and start throwing your change in it for the troops.  But then you also give out jars to other people (like 6 or 10 others) and ask them to do the same.  When the jars are filled, they are asked to return them to SOS.  So if each person fills their own jar and gives out a few other jars, it gets magnified and adds up.  Don't know how it is going but it sounded like a cool idea to raise funds.    Anyway, thanks for your support of this site!  

Kathy