Day Retreat visit to send off soldiers

For several months now Day Retreat members have been corresponding with soldiers in Iraq. We have sent many letters and cards to them and have held several functions to raise monies to send care packages.

On September 14, we had an opportunity to visit a soldier that was returning to Iraq for her second tour of duty. Stephanie Fiske and Maudelle Kelley went to the airport to see her off. Her name is Fawn Smith and she was only one of at least 100 soldiers leaving that day to return to Iraq to fight for our country. Ms. Smith is very proud of that as were many folks at the airport as the stream of soldier passed by us to receive their orders. Stephie asked Ms. Smith many questions about her life there in Iraq and it is a rough one. A life that many of us have not chosen, but so many brave men and women have. Thank you to all those soldiers fighting for our country and for the citizens of Iraq!

To this date we have sent over eight "care packages" and many letters and cards to the soldiers over there. Chris Quinn and I sent them off from the post office here only to find out that the post office in Iraq was destroyed by fire. We were assured, however, that the soldiers would receive their packages. We intend to send care packages at Christmas time as well so if you have not had the chance to donate any items or monies to assist us, it is not too late.

We have adopted eight soldiers and of this date one has come home for good and two will be home on leave. They plan to come to visit us at Day Retreat. We are very excited to be able to meet them. They have returned letters to us letting us know and asking us to to pass on to you that any support they are given by their fellow Americans is well received and very much needed. Some feel that they are forgotten and we need to do our part. Please help us in our efforts to show our support. These are our hometown heroes, and we cannot let them down. If you have family that is on tour in Iraq or another foreign country, please let us know so that we can show our support to them.

Our next fundraiser/fun event will be Halloween Night in front of King's 5 & 10 store on the square, if you wish to donate any items. Anything from lip balm to toothpaste, or monies can be located allowing for the purchase of these type of supplies.

Thank you to all those who have helped us in our efforts to show our support: Bob and Madeline Scoda, the Humane Society Thrift Store, George Keep, Liz Franklin, Carol Quinn, Steve Fiske, Annette McTaggert, Blairhouse Dental, Backyard Enclosure, Blairsville Pets and all the families who came to our Ice Cream Social (if I have forgotten anyone, please forgive me.) Remember you still have time to show your support.

Day Retreat is a pre-vocational center for adults with developmental disabilities. We have many functions that any adult or adolescent can enjoy. For more information, please call Kym Szczepanski at 706-379- 2318.