March 2021 Newsletter
Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot Sauce -- Thanks Taco Bell!
Big thanks to our supporters from Pacific Bells, Inc. Taco Bell from whom we received a huge donation of 30 cases of hot and mild zesty Border Sauce to include with our troop care packages.
Scott Raab, our Outreach Director, knows firsthand how much our troops enjoy spicing up their meals with hot sauce. According to Scott it is the number one condiment choice of our troops.
With that in mind, Scott made it his personal mission to procure some Taco Bell Border Sauce to include with our care packages. After all, how can you make a great care package even better? Spice it up with Taco Bell Border Sauce, naturally!
Scott reached out to Pacific Bells, COO Scott Shepherd and he just loved the idea. Mr. Shepherd put us in touch with Pacific Bells Vice President of Operations Mark Tanis who arranged for Troopathon to pick up 30 cases of delicious hot sauce, liquid gold for our troops, from their Rancho Cordova location. We were greeted with lots of enthusiastic smiles and thousands of packets of hot sauce to treat our troops.
According to Scott, \"The Taco Bell hot sauce packets are a huge success for the care packages! We really loved being able to include them in our care packages. We are SO incredibly thankful – the hot sauce is a premium item downrange and everyone loves Taco Bell!\"
So you can just image that these special care packages including the Taco Bell Border Sauce are going to be big hit when they land downrange.
To make this even better, Pacific Bells, Inc., has committed to continue supporting our care package program through generous donations of Taco Bell Border Sauce packets going forward. So not only will we have the best care packages out their, they will often include the extra kick of some beloved Taco Bell hot and mild Border Sauce! Our troops can Live Mas! thanks to Taco Bell!
Covid got you stuck at home? Come volunteer at Troopathon!
Like many other organizations, 2020 was challenging in many ways, not the least of which was getting volunteers into our Sacramento headquarters to safely help us pack and ship the thousands of troop care packages that go through our system every year. From shut downs to social distancing, we worked our way through it all.
Over the past few weeks, we have been fortunate to see our amazing volunteers from Sacramento and surrounding areas come in and pack boxes for hours on end. We are so grateful for their dedication.
If you are in the Sacramento area
why not consider joining us for a day or two of volunteer work? You can volunteer individually or with a group of friends, family or co-workers, even a few hours would be helpful! You will really enjoy knowing your hard work will help bring big smiles to our troops.
Our volunteers come from all walks of life, we have military families, veterans, church groups, Boy and Girl Scouts, youth groups, companies like Home Depot or Motel 6, you name it! We have welcomed volunteers from organizations such as Wounded Warrior Project, VFW, or Team RWB where the members may have served in the military , or they have family members who have made the sacrifice.
Everyone young and old, veteran or civilian, whatever walk of life they come from, when they come to Troopathon, they fill each box with items, but also LOVE and compassion for the soldiers on the receiving end. That's the Troopathon difference!
Call us at (916)441-6197 or send an email to [email protected] to schedule your volunteer opportunity!
(Please note: Unfortunately we are only able to offer volunteer opportunities in the area of Sacramento, California at this time)
Hippity, hoppity Easter\'s on its Way!
Easter at Troopathon means PEEPS are back! Thanks to a generous donation from Jelly Belly's this year, festive Easter pastel Jelly Belly's will be joining their squishy friends to bring special Easter greetings to our troops!
Our troops may be thousands of miles from home this Easter, but that doesn\'t mean we can\'t help them celebrate and bring a little cheer from home. Of course, no Easter package would be complete without a special message of support from you. Just think of all the smiles you can bring by just sending a special Easter package that already includes awesome treats like Girl Scout cookies, premium coffee from San Francisco Bay Coffee Company, Taco Bell Border Sauce, premium jerky, personal care items and more. We stuff out boxes right to the top to ensure our troops really benefit from a huge long distance hug from home.
Historically, Jelly Belly has played big part of our care package program, for a while there they became hard to come by, but we are so happy to see them back and the timing is perfect as Easter is one of our busiest times for package requests!
We Remember Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh\'s passing is a personal loss for us, he has been a long-time friend and mentor to Troopathon chairman Melanie Morgan as well as a huge supporter of our troops and our Troopathon and he will be greatly missed. Please read the special message from Melanie below.
A special message from our Chairman, Melanie Morgan.
I woke up that morning with an uneasy feeling. One of my Facebook friends posted an urgent note to pray for Rush Limbaugh. I replied that I pray for my friend of over 40 years each and every single day. As I always do, I turned on the radio at 9:00 for the beginning of his multi-award winning radio show and to my shock, I heard (for the first time) the voice of his wife Kathryn.
I knew instantly what she was going to say. When she relayed the word that Rush had passed in the middle of the night, I burst out crying.
But I passionately want to share some of the things I know about Rush, and his amazing journey to the center of the Radio world, where he will remain a giant in my life and the lives of millions of Americans.
Since 2001 Limbaugh has been fighting and overcoming several health issues. From an inner-ear disease that required him to wear a hearing aid to a battle with highly addictive painkillers, Rush never let these struggles stop him from reaching his beloved audience, who love and await his positive, patriotic message.
On Rush Limbaugh\'s 20th anniversary as a radio talk show host, debuting on the EIB (Excellence in Broadcasting) radio network, WorldNetDaily asked me to write a column honoring Rush. So it might seem fairly odd that I began this piece talking about the personal and professional setbacks El Rushbo has experienced in the past few years. But there is a purpose, a higher purpose. Hang with me for a minute.
I have known Rush Limbaugh since I was a teenager beginning in the radio business in my hometown of Kansas City, Mo., where he and I worked at KUDL radio. But when he moved to Sacramento to begin his talk show at KFBK, I asked my boss at KGO in San Francisco to give him a listen. I thought he was really so different from anything that I had ever heard on the radio.
Over the years I watched my longtime friend Rush build his brand into a media powerhouse the likes of which the world had never seen, and likely will never see again. He almost single-handedly forged the talk radio industry as we know it today and built it up into a billion dollar business. Many of the colleagues I now call friends got their start in the radio business with inspiration from Rush.
Over the years, Rush has donated more than a million dollars to my charity organization Troopathon, making him the largest donor in our history. When I pitched him on the idea of doing a Internet show to raise money for care packages for our troops, he wrote me back “I want IN.”
He appeared on our show raising money to send care packages to the troops for 13 years, always with a smile of appreciation for our work, and nothing but praise for the brave men and women who defend our freedom.
When Rush started getting sicker, I wrote him more frequently about our shared memories. He wrote back that his memory was now ‘gray’ and he was having a hard time focusing. But he promised me he would write back a lengthier note soon.
Sadly, that letter never arrived. His legacy will be defined now. Those who knew Rush and loved him must write his history, lest his haters be allowed to define him. I am determined that should NOT happen.
I will never, ever forget the basic kindness and generosity of Rushton Hudson Limbaugh and all that he has done for America, and given humbly and without expectation.
God be with you, my friend.
You are already missed.
Melanie Morgan
Former talk show host, KSFO Radio, San Francisco, CA
PHOTO OF THE MONTH
SPECIAL NEEDS, SPECIAL DEEDS
Volunteer Michael may have special needs, but with the guidance of Life Coach Mark and the INALLIANCE community training and employment program, he volunteers to do good deeds and community service, where Michael builds valuable life skills, gains confidence, and learns the empowerment and satisfaction that comes from helping others and overcoming the challenges life sets before him. We are so thankful to have him as part of the Troopathon team!
