Announcements 5/6/20

THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who supported our first ever Giving Tuesday Shop and Drive event yesterday!

We are thrilled to have had 25 vehicles come by and drop off 459 pounds of items for deployed troops and $1,300 in donations to purchase needed items for our Comfort and Care Package program! An additional $500 in donations were received online. This will be a tremendous help to us as many of our scheduled collection drives have been cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic. Some troops are being given extensions on their deployment return date and running low on basic hygiene supplies, snacks, and other items. Thank you for making a difference and helping us continue to get items to those who serve our country.

Scott came up with the idea of the Shop and Drive Event to find a new way to organize a collection drive during the pandemic. He and Joshua set up the tent, put up signage, and weighed items as they came and braved the cold and rainy weather all day.

JOIN US FOR A VIRTUAL COFFEE

We want to hear from you! We are in the process of planning a virtual coffee / online meeting so we can connect with our volunteers. Watch you inbox for more information coming soon!

REOPENING THE WAREHOUSE AND OFFICE

The current stay-at-home order has been extended through May 30th. We are optimistically planning to reopen the office and warehouse on June 1st. We will be providing more details in coming weeks, but we anticipate that we will have to follow some guidelines from government and health authorities, including:

Advance sign-up for volunteers to indicate if they will be coming in so we can maintain proper social distancing
Maintain a capacity on the number of people who can be in the facility at one time
Use of PPE while on site
Updated cleaning procedures
On site and remote working rotation plans for OSOT-America staff

We sure do miss our volunteers and can't wait to see you!

LET'S GO OVER THE EDGE FOR THE PROGRAMS OF OSOT-AMERICA!

On Friday, September 11th we will have our Over The Edge VIP rappelling in the afternoon/early evening and on September 12th we will have our fundraising rappellers from 8 AM- 5 PM at Hotel Arista in Naperville.

Stay tuned for a special announcement about some additions to this year's event, including an amazing musical guest that will be performing at our event and the participation of Illinois International Pageants!

The Over The Edge fundraising platform

is ready to go!

CLICK HERE to Register or Donate

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR G.I. YOGA CHANNEL!

A big thank you to Kate who runs our G.I. Yoga program--she has set up a YouTube channel and is teaching her classes virtually! Subscribe to the G.I. Yoga channel by CLICKING HERE . The more subscribers we have the more people we can share the restorative and stress relieving benefits of yoga! We are at 70 subscribers--help us get to 100!

SHOP ONLINE FOR COMFORT AND CARE PACKAGE ITEMS

--ITEMS WILL BE DELIVERED TO US AT NO COST TO YOU--

A BIG Thank You to NAHU Vanguard Council for sponsoring the You Give Goods program for our Comfort and Care Packages!

Help our troops, shop today!

All goods ordered online will be shipped directly to us once the drive ends on June 13th. You will be emailed a tax receipt at the time of purchase.

Your contributions will help our Comfort and Care Package Program so we can continue to send our deployed service members items they need. Especially now as deployments are being extended to avoid troop movement and reduce COVID-19 exposure.

CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING!

VOLUNTEER FROM HOME!

Due to the Governor of Illinois' Stay At Home order through May 30th our staff will be working remotely. Many people continue to reach out to us asking how they can help from home so we wanted to share some thoughts on what we need.

While we are currently using social distancing practices, our staff is packing some boxes for deployed troops as the the requests continue to come in at a rapid pace.

Here are a few ideas of how you can help:

Christmas Stockings and Ornaments Needed We need volunteer help to make ornaments and stockings (we have patterns available) for our Christmas Stocking Program that starts this fall. We do have a pattern available that we can mail out to you for the stockings--email us at info@osotamerica.org with the address you would like us to mail it to.
Make fabric masks CLICK HERE for more information. Note: the fabric masks DO NOT protect against COVID-19 but instead are intended for general health or for medical staff to use underneath their disposable masks due to the shortage of supplies.
Make paracord bracelets for our troops, CLICK HERE for a video tutorial.
Like to knit? Knit hats and scarves for our troops to give them a comfort from home that we can add to the Comfort and Care Packages. We are currently working with a very knowledgeable member who is helping put together details for us. More information will be available soon on our website under Comfort and Care Package Program and then Products Needed.
Kids can write letters, draw pictures and make cards for our Comfort and Care Packages. This is an item that troops are always appreciative of because they feel supported by the patriotic community. CLICK HERE for more information.

Call us at 630-971-1150 or email us at info@osotamerica.org with any questions or ideas of other ways you can contribute!

MAKE A FINANCIAL DONATION

Please consider donating financially to help support our programs.

CLICK HERE to make a financial donation.

LETTER OF THE WEEK

To whom it may concern,

Thank you for all the love and support you send us from home. It really helps being out here knowing that there are still people back in the states who still care and think about us. God bless you, and God bless America!

Sincerely,

A deployed Sergeant

UPCOMING EVENTS

Save the Date for our Red, White and Blue Fundraiser on October 17th, 2020

More details coming soon!

SCOTT MAXSON'S CONTACT INFO

If you have a question for Scott Maxson, OSOT-America's Executive Director please email him at smaxson@osotamerica.org by CLICKING HERE or call 630-971-1150.

SUICIDE PREVENTION

We have experienced an increased level of interaction with veterans through our Veterans Assistance Program as well as our other programs regarding depression and suicidal thoughts. If you know a veteran that would be in need of help, please see the contact numbers you can share:

Military One Source

1-800-342-9647

National Suicide Prevention Hotline

1-800-273-8255

CHARITY WATCHDOG RATINGS AND AWARDS

OSOT-America is proud to have top ratings from Charity Navigator, Great Nonprofits, and a Guidestar Platinum Award...and our newest award from Chamber 630 for the Best Not-For-Profit Charity.