News Enterprise Front Page "Share A Minute"!

We appeared on the front page of the local newspaper today, here in Hardin County. The News Enterprise and Josh Coffman did a great job at being extremely accurate in his report.

We have asked for permission and recieved it to republish the article here.

I am also beginning with this post to provide a sample of some of the visitor feedback off of our Guestbook at USA Cares. It will follow the end of all my postings.

Have a great American Day!

Roger

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USA Cares asks supporters to share a minute
July 11, 2008
By JOSHUA COFFMAN
jcoffman@thenewsenterprise.com
RADCLIFF — With the number of troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries numbered in the hundreds of thousands — coupled with the ongoing national mortgage crisis — USA Cares expects its workload to multiply in the coming years.
Currently helping service members with $3 million a year, organizers say need could grow to more than $12 million annually in coming years.

The nonprofit group, which aids veterans of the post-Sept. 11 conflicts with mortgage assistance and other quality-of-life help, has kicked off a massive national fundraising campaign.
USA Cares estimates it spends $25 for every minute soldiers serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Its Share a Minute with a Soldier program seeks to raise $25 for every minute a soldier on a one-year tour would spend in combat — 525,000 minutes in all, or $13.1 million — more than four times its current operating amount.

The fundraiser kicked off on July 4 and runs through Veterans’ Day, Nov. 11. Several celebrities are helping get the word out, including the organization’s national spokesman, comedian and radio show host Dennis Miller.

Since Miller appeared on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” earlier this year, the number of calls for help into USA Cares has increased by 30 percent, to about 130 weekly. The day after the TV spot was the single-highest day for donations to the group.
USA Cares also is getting support from former Mr. Universe and American Gladiator Mike “Titan” O’Hearn, author and consultant David Scott, and Bryan Anderson, a multiple amputee who earned a Purple Heart in Iraq.

Organizers also are reaching out to corporate sponsors and are hoping to land other celebrities to lend time. Actor Tom Hanks, spokesman for Major League Baseball, another partner of USA Cares, recently appeared on Miller’s radio show, discussing soldier care.
Roger Stradley, the group’s co-founder, said high-profile people are eager to help because they see how the end result assists soldiers.

“They get it,” he said. “It makes sense.”

He pointed to a heated election season in which presidential candidates have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in mere months, saying that soldier-aid groups can do the same.
Although the goal is lofty compared to its past endeavors, USA Cares seeks to raise less over the next five months than Barack Obama or John McCain raised in June alone.

“Americans are passionate about certain things,” Stradley said. “They’re passionate about who their president is going to be, but they’re also passionate about their troops.”
As the number of home foreclosures increase, affecting many military families, the number of soldiers returning from combat with mental health concerns continues to stay high.
The RAND Corp. reported earlier this year that more than 300,000 service members suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury, and many of those do not seek treatment.

Stradley said, in the case of reservists and National Guard members, many “say what they need to say” in order to avoid red flags on post-deployment surveys and return to their homes and jobs, rather than seek medical care.

USA Cares is focusing on what it calls the “caring casualties of war,” spouses and family members of those returning. While soldiers who suffer may hide their symptoms from the military and their civilian employers, those at home deal with the outlash and frustration of the sufferer’s stress and nightmares.

“PTSD is clearly becoming the Agent Orange of the Iraqi and Afghan wars,” Stradley said, noting the strain on a service member’s home life. “It leaks out where you’re most comfortable.”
USA Cares is partnering with other groups focused on providing health care to help cover bills for soldier families as those who need it seek care.

“They’re desperate for relief,” Stradley said. And, as costs increase for USA Cares’ expanded mission, it asks the public to help. To donate, go to usa cares.org and click the Share a Minute icon.

“What we’ve been doing with $2 or $3 million won’t work anymore,” Stradley said.

Joshua Coffman can be reached at (270) 505-1740.

Guestbook Entry

My family and I would like to sincerely thank Michelle Anderson and the staff at USA Cares with assisting us with repairing our vehicle. You are truly an angel in disguise. May God always bless you and our troops! -Suesan L.F.-