Soldiers' Secret Santa

we founded soldiers' secret santa to quickly address a need in the 101st airborne division, then in combat in iraq. in early december, news trickled back from the front lines that one particular unit recently lost a soldier to an iraqi roadside bomb and morale was suffering. this loss affected both the unit in the field and the families back at ft. campbell kentucky. given the season, something needed to be done to make sure that each family had something to celebrate, even for a small moment, in the face of this overwhelming loss. with the help of a screaming eagle command sergeant major, we were able to get the names of children whose parents, given the long deployment and rough times, would not be able to provide gifts on christmas. we then asked for donations through email from a few other like-minded people. that first year in a matter of two weeks we raised enough to help five families and eighteen children. each family received an anonymous card with a toys r us gift certificate