Page 12 - ESA IC News September

Hope for Heroes Chairman
Deana Walters, Arizona
dwaltesa@att.net

Hope everyone had as much fun
as I did at IC Convention. It was
jammed packed but full of great
information. What about that tour
of Camp Hope…WOW!!! What a way to start the week.

Just a little about me. I joined ESA in Indiana 35+ years ago, but now I belong to Arizona. Hope for Hero’s has
a special place in my heart for many reasons. My Daddy was in the Army during Korean War, Uncle in the
Navy during Korean War, brother-in-law in Air Force during Viet Nam and I am married to a Navy Submariner
who served during the Viet Nam War. I have always felt we can never do enough to say thank you for what
they have given us regardless of the era of their service to our country. Camp Hope made me even more
determined to get everyone to do MORE. I am hoping to inspire more members to do more!

I feel there are lots of little things that we can do for them. Over the next few months I hope to inspire and
spark interest in many things that we can do to help.

One that comes to mind right now is the OCP..Over Seas Couponing Program. I know
some of you may do this, but this really does help them while overseas. There are
numerous bases that are still waiting to be adopted that we could be helping at very
little expense for us. Ask chapter members to have family, friends, coworkers, and
neighbors save the coupons from Red Plum, Proctor and Gamble, and Smart Source.
Have a social once a month, cut coupons and chit-chat and you can even have an adult beverage if you
desire. You now have had your social, did philanthropic work and enjoyed each other’s company. Make sure
you track hours worked, face value of the coupons which is donated goods, and track your mileage to the
gathering as it is philanthropic. When mailing them you can count that travel and track postage cost. All of
this will make a difference for our men and women overseas. The website address for OCP is www.ocpnet.org.
Click on Base List and it will indicate if they need to be adopted. The Mailing page will give you the best way
to mail. The Adoption page will explain the process. Fill out the Adoption Form and then, simply mail your
coupons to the base you have chosen.

I really encourage you to enclose a letter of introduction and a little about your chapter. Also, give them the
ESA website address to see all that we do. You may luck out like I did and have a person you will send directly
to. They in turn take the coupons to the base for distribution. If there are any questions, please do not hesitate
to contact me and I will do my best to help.

I do plan to communicate monthly with our State Presidents and the Hope for Hero’s chairmen as well as bring
many new ideas or events that we can share across the country to make a difference in the lives of our military
personnel.

Veteran’s Day (November 11 ) will be here before we know it….try to plan something for our veterans.
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Contact your local VFW and/or your American Legion. See if you can partner with them to do an event for
the veterans. If they have something going on, ask to volunteer to help. You never know unless you ask.
I look forward to serving all of ESA and our veterans as we work together to make a difference to inspire all to
help us help our vets!

Hugs to all and God Bless America!!

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