OPERATION SHOEBOX: Supporting Our Troops

Helping Our Everyday Heroes Reach Out To Kids In War Zones

When my fiance Skye and his soldiers from the U.S. Army arrived in Afghanistan this June, they were immediately swarmed with barefooted children from the area. Children that walk long distances to school and to look for work, to try and create better lives for themselves and their families in some very hard conditions. These children remind the soldiers of their very own kids back home and it touched them, knowing these local children are lacking basic items like a pair of shoes.

Skye asked me to get our families and friends back home involved in a special project. We are collecting gently used kids shoes in all sizes to send to our soldiers overseas to give out to the children they encounter in the streets. Some of these kids have never owned a pair of shoes and are in desperate need of footwear to protect their feet from the harsh terrain and extreme temperatures.

“If these children don’t remember anything else about us being here, they might remember that an American soldier gave them their first pair of shoes or socks,” Skye said. “Giving the children items they need helps them get over the fear of people (Soldiers) in uniform . It shows them that people in uniform are not bad and are actually there to help."

Show our soldiers how much we appreciate their service, by donating shoes to hand out to children to allow them to walk to school and to better their opportunities for the future.

Please email me at Tanisita16@aol.com for more information about getting involved or where to drop off shoe donations. Feel free to get your neighborhood or your kids' classrooms involved, I have so many wonderful friends that work in the schools or the medical profession who are offering to help me spread the word! Back to school is a perfect time of year to get this going because so many kids are trading their summer play shoes for their new school shoes. The Goodwill and Value Village are also great places to pick up shoes for around $4 a pair. I am looking for any ideas for fundraising to raise money to help with shipping costs as well.

Family Vacation

Our annual family vacation to Spectacle Lake was much needed and much deserved this summer! We've been coming here with our friends Nancy Warwick, Marsha Saar & the Schwisow family for 14 summers now, but this summer was extra memorable because we weren't sure if my mom was going to be able to go. She got the go ahead from all her doctors and spent 2 amazing weeks lounging around in the sun, floating on the lake and beating all of us at cribbage! The weather was in the 90's to low 100's everyday and we had a couple lightning and thunder storms at night.

The newlyweds (Mac & Taryn) were able to come over for a whole 10 days. Mac rearranged his work schedule and drove his motorcycle over. I can't wait for Skye and Kayleigh to be a part of our family vacation next year. We have big plans for Kayleigh to learn how to waterskii, but I think we will ease her into it with some fun tubing next year.

Yes I'm loving being engaged! Of course it would be much more wonderful to have my handsome fiance here and not clear across the world, but God has put us on this road for a reason and I wouldn't change a thing about this journey. It was great to be on vacation for 2 weeks with both my wedding planners, we took full advantage of this :)

Our great friends Brad & Heidi Anderson drove over from Chelan to hang out for the day. Taryn has been friends with their daughter Hailey for years and we were sad she wasn't able to make it with them. Maybe next year Hailey, we would love to see you!

Yes it is the summer of LOVE! My sister Taryn was married May 29th, our good friend Angie Schwisow is marrying Philip Myer next July 4th and Skye & I are getting married next August 27th. Our mom's are all really enjoying the wedding planning process and we look forward to many years to come of family vacationing to Spectacle Lake with our growing families. We had a wonderful family vacation with all our friends and my mom came back feeling tan, very relaxed and ready to start up her treatments again.