Strikeouts For Troops
By Karlsie
It isn't something you hear a lot about - afterall, most of the big players have a charity they support or started - but this one is worth checking out.
Barry Zito started a charity called "Strikeouts for Troops." For every strikeout he throws this year, he donates $100 to Walter Reed and Bethseda Naval and other military medical centers to help provide "comforts of home" to wounded soldiers. Along with Zito, 11 pitchers and 6 position players (who are donating for hits, homeruns and RBIs) are tracking numbers and writing checks. Not surprisingly, most of the players who signed on are from the A's. Curt Schilling is the only member of the Sox with a couple of members of the tribe and a couple of Braves. The Nats and O's are also represented.
If you want to know more or want to contribute, you can check out the website:
http://www.strikeoutsfortroops.org/index.htm
I won't get all political (and people who know me will tell you just how political this "Massachusetts Liberal" can get - especially my nephews in the Army and Air Force), but I can tell you some basic facts.
Since this war started, veterans' benefits have been severely slashed by the current administration. VA's are forced to cut transportation and various therapy programs wounded soldiers desperately need. Homeless vet programs keep reporting rising numbers and the job retraining and other services are feeling the hurt too in terms of too many people and not enough money and jobs to help.
In the meantime, groups like the American Legion, could use people to sign up for their "Family Support Network" that provides assistance to families of Guard and the Reserve who have been called to active duty in your community. These are things that can be as simple as mowing someone's lawn up to specialized work (ie plumbing) to financial contributions. The Red Cross is desperate for blood and donating is relatively painless (and they give you cookies… cookies are always a good thing).
If you have one of those ugly yellow magnets on your vehicle, ask yourself what you've done to earn the right to put it there. The ball players donating based on their numbers are people who have earned the right to place that on the back of their vehicles and they've earned our support too. The next time the A's are in town, give them a big round of applause for doing something… it may just be a drop in the bucket, but it's a start.
