Dog Tags for Kids
Support for our troops and their families
Serving in the military, and being deployed into harm's way is hard on every soldier. For those with families that had to be left behind, the separation can be even more traumatic, especially for the younger ones at home. So how do you thank the troops for their patriotic duty and service to our country while making it meaningful for the kids that don't understand?
An idea is born
Keeping the children and parents connected.
Military parents have always been able to write home, but what else could they send to show their kids how much they are loved and missed? A story appeared about one dad who wanted to send something home, and all that was available was some band aids and sun screen. Many might think that was silly, but to those kids, it meant the world. After all, it was from Dad!
In an effort to find something that the troops could easily use to send home, Rose Sliepka from First Place Awards in California realized that kids would love to receive something from their parents, and what better than a Dog Tag of their own to proudly wear. Small and easy to mail, a grassroots effort began to ship them to those in harm's way as a means of support and thanks. It soon grew extremely popular with the moms and dads not to mention the kids at home becoming one of the greatest gifts one could give.
The project grows.
Every dollar provides smiles!
With the help of Kids Charities of the Antelope Valley, the non-profit status enabled the group to pursue public donations and expand the program. With just a handful of volunteers, there have now been over 775,765 tags as of March, 2014 shipped overseas to be returned home to the children. The impact has been phenomenal, and the troops have expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the people back home supporting them.
Dog Tags for Kids has no paid staff, so there are absolutely no administrative fees taken out of contributions and the entire group works tirelessly as volunteers. It has been a labor of love with satisfaction beaming every time another letter comes in from the troops.
We need your help!
Share a smile with the kids.
Despite the public's generosity, economic times have taken it's toll on the incoming contributions. There are currently many requests from our troops pending for tags that need to be sent. In order to do that, our military needs your help and support.
If you are in a position to help, please visit our web site, .DogTagsForkids.com where you can learn more about this wonderful project or join our Facebook Page. You can also make a donation directly from this site below, or you can download this Donation Form and mail it with your contribution.
Have an old car, truck or boat you've been wanting to get rid of? You can always donate your vehicle to help!
You will feel good knowing you have supported our military, and put some smiles on the faces of the kids left behind.
The national media picks up the story.
Fox News ran a story about the project that aired on Fox Stations all across the country. If you missed it, you can still view the video on this segment from the morning show Fox and Friends
A Military Homecoming
This is a heartfelt reunion between a military mom and her young daughter at the airport. Watch at the end as the little girl proudly shows off the dog tag her mom sent home for her. The smile on the her face says it all.
The VFW acknowledges our efforts!
We received a commendation from the National Headquarters
I'm pleased to say that our program was officially recognized by George J. Lisicki, the Commander-in-Chief of the VFW. We're proud and thrilled to have their support as indicated in this letter that we received extolling our efforts. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to all of our Vets and members of the VFW.
Honors on a national level.
The Jefferson Awards is a prestigious organization designed to recognize and honor those individuals that provide excellence in community service through their contibutions and achievements. We're extremely proud to announce that the awards were recently presented in Washington D.C, and Rose Sliepka was indeed honored for her outstanding work with the Dog Tags for Kids program.
(Photo used with the permission of the Jefferson Awards organization).
All image and video copyrights as well as all intellectual property and trademarks are retained by their respective owners, and used with permission.
