The charitable contribution focus of the club I belong to, Inland Mopars Car Club, are kids and Vets.
This past weekend was the time they both came together.
Saturday morning club members gathered at Riverside National Cemetery to participate in the annual "Wreaths Across America" event. If you haven't done this then you need to check it out at your closest National Cemetery (Department of Veterans Affairs Cemetery Listing - National Cemetery Administration). We purchase wreaths for all of our club member family members that are interred at Riverside National Cemetery, then go and distribute them to all of the individual grave sites.
For the past several years we have been working in conjunction with a local hot rod shop with toy drives to gather toys for the soldiers kids at Fort Irwin, California. If you're not familiar with Fort Irwin, it is the National Training Center for all of our troops for some intensive training before they're deployed to the Middle East (excellent read: In the Box: A Tour Through the Simulated Battlefields of the U.S.... - Venue).
If you don't read the above, Fort Irwin is located in the Mojave Desert, approximately 35 miles outside of Barstow, CA.
Saturday night was the annual Holiday Party, the culmination of 2017 toy drive efforts. As in past years there were approximately 300 people at the party. All toys that had been gathered during the year were loaded into an enclosed car hauler trailer.
Sunday morning, five of us (3 from Inland Mopars and 2 from the hot rod shop) drove out to Fort Irwin to deliver the toys. The toys will be kept in storage since most of the families living on post are off-base for the Holidays. The toys will be distributed during an event on January 6th.
As anyone who has served in the military know, you don't make much as an enlisted soldier below the rank of E-5 so it's extremely tough to try to raise a family and provide the extras like toys for your kids. Last year the estimated $20,000 worth of toys were distributed to about 1500 kids on post - that averages out to about $13 per child. Not much for a Christmas but so much better than nothing at all.
Our efforts have grown over the years. In 2015, we had 4 bicycles donated in addition to all of the individual toys. 14 bicycles in 2016. This year there were 28 bicycles in the trailer and the trailer was filled from front to back!
But what about next year and beyond?
The couple that own the hot rod shop have retired and are relocating to Texas and will be organizing toy drives for the kids at Fort Hood.
Inland Mopars Car Club will be taking over the efforts for Fort Irwin kids and hope to be able to partially fill the massive boots being left to us. We're only about 30 member families strong so wish us luck!
It's all for the kids of the warriors that protect our American way of life and permit us to enjoy our hobby.
This past weekend was the time they both came together.
Saturday morning club members gathered at Riverside National Cemetery to participate in the annual "Wreaths Across America" event. If you haven't done this then you need to check it out at your closest National Cemetery (Department of Veterans Affairs Cemetery Listing - National Cemetery Administration). We purchase wreaths for all of our club member family members that are interred at Riverside National Cemetery, then go and distribute them to all of the individual grave sites.
For the past several years we have been working in conjunction with a local hot rod shop with toy drives to gather toys for the soldiers kids at Fort Irwin, California. If you're not familiar with Fort Irwin, it is the National Training Center for all of our troops for some intensive training before they're deployed to the Middle East (excellent read: In the Box: A Tour Through the Simulated Battlefields of the U.S.... - Venue).
If you don't read the above, Fort Irwin is located in the Mojave Desert, approximately 35 miles outside of Barstow, CA.
Saturday night was the annual Holiday Party, the culmination of 2017 toy drive efforts. As in past years there were approximately 300 people at the party. All toys that had been gathered during the year were loaded into an enclosed car hauler trailer.
Sunday morning, five of us (3 from Inland Mopars and 2 from the hot rod shop) drove out to Fort Irwin to deliver the toys. The toys will be kept in storage since most of the families living on post are off-base for the Holidays. The toys will be distributed during an event on January 6th.
As anyone who has served in the military know, you don't make much as an enlisted soldier below the rank of E-5 so it's extremely tough to try to raise a family and provide the extras like toys for your kids. Last year the estimated $20,000 worth of toys were distributed to about 1500 kids on post - that averages out to about $13 per child. Not much for a Christmas but so much better than nothing at all.
Our efforts have grown over the years. In 2015, we had 4 bicycles donated in addition to all of the individual toys. 14 bicycles in 2016. This year there were 28 bicycles in the trailer and the trailer was filled from front to back!
But what about next year and beyond?
The couple that own the hot rod shop have retired and are relocating to Texas and will be organizing toy drives for the kids at Fort Hood.
Inland Mopars Car Club will be taking over the efforts for Fort Irwin kids and hope to be able to partially fill the massive boots being left to us. We're only about 30 member families strong so wish us luck!
It's all for the kids of the warriors that protect our American way of life and permit us to enjoy our hobby.
- cool stuff
