Wednesday, July 15, 2009

What is OQC? -- Operation: Quiet Comfort

Someone asked me that question today, and he deserved a better answer than the 140 characters Twitter allowed me to provide. Here is, a better – at least a much longer -- answer. Bear with me…this is lengthy. I've been involved with Operation: Quiet Comfort since the fall of 2004. This organization has my heart, and there is a lot of heart within OQC. A short answer just doesn’t suffice.

Operation: Quiet Comfort (OQC) is a national benefit organization established in July 2004 with an IRS-approved 501(C)3 designation effective December 5, 2005.


OQC exists solely for the purpose of honoring and comforting America's military men and women who become sick and injured while serving in harm's way. OQC also provides support to the amazing medical professionals who care for these heroes. We do not try to define wounded or specify who should receive our gifts. We let the Chaplains, Company Commanders or Medics (whoever serves as our unit contact) determine who will most benefit from comfort from home.

We are very much aware of the conditions under which these troops are serving. Every package is shipped from our Headquarters in LaSalle, Michigan. Contact and Unit information is never shared with the public, or within the support group. We have determined that this is the best way to do our part to ensure that OPSEC is upheld. Over the course of a deployment, we get to know these contacts long-distance, and they remain always in our hearts. We do our best to protect them, and ensure that privacy is maintained for our contacts, their mission, their patients and their families.


We support 65 - 90 medical units at any given time (some comprised of single medics in small units. A lot of thought goes into the contents of every package sent by OQC. We do not send "stuff" hoping that it will be welcomed. These are -- after all -- gifts to those we hold in the highest esteem. Most importantly, every package is fairly uniform, and contains only items that have been offered to -- and approved by -- our contact at a medical unit. The unit contact and/or medical team knows what is in the box, and can hurriedly grab what is needed.


Typically, service members arrive for medical care without any of their belongings, and the clothing they were wearing is usually cut off to assess their injuries. These troops don't have someone who can "make a run" to pick up their grooming kit, clothing and some comfort items the way we do at home.


We send kits containing hygiene and grooming items so troops can freshen up; new underwear kits...because we can't stand the thought of wounded heroes in paper clothing; and CD Players with CDs because music is very good medicine. When able, we also send pajamas, shorts, and other comfortable clothing for them to wear while recuperating. We send sweats and/or adaptive clothing along with 3” x 5” travel quilts to warm troops on their flight to a higher level of care. These small quilts are also used when needed blood platelet donations and/or transfusions are made hero to hero.

We send other needed comfort items: flip flops...so that troops can get their feet out of hot boots for a bit and reduce trauma to their feet during down time; on-the-go healthy snacks so troops can have something to eat in their pocket while out on a mission; cool comfort neck ties to help in the 120° heat; coffee makers, *good* coffee and fixin’s; drink mix singles; bread machines, breadboards, electric knives, bread mixes and fixin’s; hygienic pillows and linens; pocket flags; and we take care of our females in theater, as well.


Of all the things we send, cards and letters are the “Number One” best received item, and they go in every single box. If you ever considered writing to the troops, get the paper and pen out now, and do it. Just a note card with a message about life in your town will do the trick. Leave out the politics, religion and your views on the war. They want to hear thanks and support from home. If you don’t know a personal contact to provide an address, you can find many at AnySoldier.com.


A very close favorite are our Four Freedoms Gratitude Quilts…containing hand-written messages of thanks and well-wishes on 6 inch denim squares cut from our beloved blue jeans (never any new bolt-cut denim!). These quilt blocks are signed by grateful Americans from all across the United States at events held or attended by group members.

The center artwork in these quilts is based on the Four Freedoms expressed in Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to the 77th Congress on January 6, 1941. In this speech he speaks about these Four Freedoms:


Freedom of Speech and Expression
Freedom of Worship
Freedom from Want
Freedom from Fear


Operation: Quiet Comfort was established because our Founder, Lori Pate, and her family, had been doing all they could for our wounded troops overseas, and came to the conclusion that they simply couldn't do as much as they wanted to do as a single family. So a Yahoo! Group was established to find others with the same desires. We began as a handful of strangers, and over five years have morphed into a group of 1,000 supporters who do what we can, when we can. Although she still is the most hands-on member of the group, Lori will be the first to tell anyone that “it’s not about Lori” and “this is not the Lori show”. It’s all about the troops we serve.


Operation: Quiet Comfort provides a transparency that I have never seen in any other non-profit or charitable organization…those in which I’ve been involved nor those I’ve researched, considering my involvement. Every donation is documented in 'Mail Call', and every shipment is detailed (including postage costs) so that donors can see exactly where every dollar is spent. We share xxx'd out messages from our contacts on the Yahoo! Group site, so that we can provide our supporters a peek into the lives of those we serve. We are proud to have several unit contacts as members of our group. None of the donations received through the website or by mail are spent on employees. Our volunteer forces provide all of the labor. Our Board of Directors is 100% volunteer.


There are many non-profit, charitable organizations that provide support to our troops. Most do a very good job within their chosen niche of support. Be sure to do your due diligence before supporting ANY charity…for the troops or at home. I’ve been shocked to find that some use up to 50% of donations on overhead, including ataff and advertising.


I can confidently say that Operation: Quiet Comfort is the very best at supporting our wounded on the front lines of the fight against terror, and we streamline every effort to squeeze every penny into a nickel. Much volunteer time is spent in finding the best, most economical resources for quality items. More than 95% of incoming donations go to “direct support” of the troops.


You can find more information at: www.operationquietcomfort.com -- click through to read the newsletter. There is also a link if you would like to join our Yahoo! Group and become involved in our projects.

NOTE: This is not an official communication of Operation: Quiet Comfort.


Thanks for reading.

Dixie

1 comment:

  1. What this organization does is awesome. Thanks for all you do for our warriors.

    ReplyDelete