Social Media Powers Laptops and More for Wounded Troops

PASADENA, Calif., June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the number of American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines suffering battlefield wounds continues to grow, today's economic challenges continue to squeeze military support nonprofits.  Soldiers' Angels Project Valour-IT -- which has supplied over 6,000 severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines with adaptive laptops and other devices to aid their recovery and reintegration -- is addressing that squeeze with a fundraising technique it pioneered: online competition.  

Held July 1-14, the Valour-IT fundraising competition will draw on blogging, Facebook, Twitter and other social media to raise money and awareness for the needs of wounded troops.  Divided among four "virtual teams" named in honor of U.S. military service branches, participants will also use flyers, word-of-mouth and traditional media outlets to spread the word.  The goal is to raise at least $100,000, which will meet increased demand for Valour-IT services through October 2011.  

"Project Valour-IT changes lives," says Soldiers' Angels founder Patti Patton-Bader. "Wounded heroes report that being able to use a laptop helps them feel whole again.  Physical therapists are actually designing therapy sessions around Wii Sports!  And something as normal as a handheld GPS reduces stress and helps a hero cope.  It's just amazing what this project does!

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/social-media-powers-laptops-and-more-for-wounded-troops-124763393.html

Oxford vet finds healing in trip back to Baghdad

Every time Oxford resident Steven Patterson looks at the small scar on his arm, he remembers the worst night of his life.

The memory comes easily. Talking about it is harder, the 26-year-old retired Army scout said.

“I can recount a little bit, though,” Patterson said during a Tuesday phone interview. Patterson served in Iraq between 2006 and 2007. He is in Baghdad this week on a return trip to Iraq that he hopes will heal the wounds left by memories of his night of scout service on Memorial Day 2007:

“There was this helicopter that went down. It was our off day,” Patterson, who has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, spoke in short, simple sentences.

“We went out on a rescue mission to recover the pilots. We ended up getting hit by two 80-pound propane tanks filled with HME, home-made explosives, and we lost five guys, including my gunner … and I was charged with the job of having to remove the bodies to take them to a more secure area.”

Read more:Anniston Star - Oxford vet finds healing in trip back to Baghdad

by Cameron Steele

Oxford vet finds healing in trip back to Baghdad: "Steven Patterson lost five of his friends on a tragic day in Iraq. This week, he's back in Baghdad, looking for closure."