On Thanksgiving, Angels Thankful for Bloggers

Online Fundraiser Means Technology for Wounded Troops

PASADENA, Calif., Nov. 24, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Thanksgiving Day, military support nonprofit Soldiers' Angels gives thanks for a coalition of bloggers who raised nearly $100,000 for severely wounded veterans in November.  The funds support the organization's Project Valour-IT, which supplies voice-controlled laptops and other adaptive technology to aid the recovery and independence of wounded servicemembers.

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Since its inception in 2005, the Valour-IT online fundraiser has become an annual event.  The project began when active-duty military blogger (milblogger) Chuck Ziegenfuss was wounded but wanted to continue to blog despite severe hand injuries.  Following recognition that the technology existed to do so and that many Americans wanted to help others in Chuck's situation, Project Valour-IT was born under the auspices of Soldiers' Angels.

Using the Internet to raise funds for the new project was a natural fit.  Chuck's fellow milbloggers teamed up along military service branch lines for an online fundraising competition leading up to Veterans Day, relying on friendly rivalries between the branches to motivate their efforts.  Bloggers of all types soon joined them, including prominent pundits and broadcasters.  Over the last five years the annual fundraisers have resulted in nearly one million dollars for Valour-IT. 

"The charitable landscape of the Internet is amazing," says Soldiers' Angels Executive Director Toby Nunn.  "10 years ago we didn't have the technology to raise money through ventures like this, let alone have the technology that we're raising the money for. These adaptive technologies and the heroes that benefit from them continue to inspire those that blog and surf the Information Superhighway, making this fundraiser relevant, fitting and rewarding."

Nunn has high praise for the bloggers themselves.  "This small, dedicated group of milbloggers who get the message out—driven by their steadfast belief in helping those like them and the profound Internet fellowship that binds them—achieve amazing feats. This recurring fundraiser is a prime example."

Over the years, Project Valour-IT has provided nearly 6,000 laptops for wounded troops, as well as GPS devices for those with memory loss due to injury, and Wii game systems that are used in physical therapy sessions.

Soldiers' Angels is an award-winning 501(c)(3) with hundreds of thousands of volunteers providing aid and comfort to members of the U.S. Armed Forces, veterans and military families through a wide variety of hands-on projects and volunteerism. For more information, visit www.soldiersangels.org or call 615-676-0239.

SOURCE Soldiers' Angels