Deploy Peace

Holidays are approaching

2009-10-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! The Holidays are approaching and it's time for card sending. I was asked to add this contact to my Christmas card list and I think it is very important I pass it along. Not only is it a Great idea..but a chance to make a hero smile. Please add this medical center to your Holiday card list.

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

2009-10-13T14:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you a letter I received. Recently, we had the opportunity to honor the memory of Tyler Trahan. Tyler died protecting our country and for that we are forever grateful. Our hearts and prayer go out to the Tyler's family and friends. We honor you for your sacrifice. Please know that Tyler is remembered by us and a thankful nation.

Dear Karen.

We just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your generous donation towards the Tyler Trahan Poker Tournament that we had on August 21, 2009. It is with insurmountable gratitude that we write this letter. Tyler was the type of person to support any cause that he believed in, and we truly do feel blessed for the many people, like yourself who believed in his cause.

The Poker Tournament was a massive success! Over 200 people played in the tournament and our raffle alone raised over $4,000! We are putting the proceeds towards the Tyler Trahan Memorial Fund, and we also sent the remaining nine men from Tyler’s Unit who are still in Iraq, nine care packages of carefully selected items that would bring smiles to their faces and would remind them of Tyler. We are going to be setting up scholarships with local schools at the end of the school year, and a $500 donation was also made in the name of Tyler Trahan to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

Without your charitable donation and your support, we would not have been able to do any of these things. Thank you for honoring Tyler’s memory, and for holding him in your heart.

With gratitude and Love,

Jean-Pierre, Maureen, and Moly Trahan

NEW QUOTE AND SAYING

2009-09-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

Deploy Peace has added a new quote by Ronald Reagan.."A people free to choose will always choose peace". We have also added 2 sayings.."SUPPORT OUR TROOPS" AND "MY HERO WEARS CAMO". Check them out on the website..they are very cool!

Deploy Peace joins forces with Delta Whiskey

2009-06-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

Recently I was e-mailed by a Military wife who has a wonderful, helpful, and insightful blog. Her name is Delta Whiskey. I love that name! Interesting how she got it. Delta's husband is in the Air Force..Thank You Mr. Whiskey...and she not only loves her husband but she is pretty fond of the military as well. Delta loved the idea of our dog tags and asked if she could use them as a give a way on her blog. She wanted to have a contest. Here is part of what she wrote:

Now about the giveaway: Karen and I want to know what makes you proud of the military or proud to be an American living the dream the military affords you. We want you to leave a comment with 200 words or less (some of my tweeps were complaining that at least 200 words was way too much) explaining why you support our troops. As a Marine daughter and sister as well as being a proud Air Force wife, I cannot contain my pride for our troops. I can tell you that being part of the military community has driven home the idea that each of us desire peace. None of us want to fight a war or pack our husband’s mobility bag for another deployment. We do, however, understand the reality of war and the selfless dedication our troops have when it comes to defending our freedom.

I encourage all of you to go to her website, check it out, and if you'd like..take part in the contest. WWW.deltawhiskey.us
Even though these tags are give a ways, donations for them will still be made to the Fisher House Foundation.
HAVE FUN AND GOOD LUCK!

Fisher House Foundation

2009-06-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the overwhelming response from the Ladies Home Journal article, Deploy Peace has made another Donation today to the Fisher House. Since the article came out we have made 6 donations to the the Fisher House Foundation. I would like to list a few lines from the different Thank You letters I have received from the Fisher House:

Please accept our heartfelt gratitude for your generous donation

The many military and veterans' families, who will benefit from your thoughtfulness,join me in expressing our collective appreciation for you generosity

Your donation to the Fisher House Foundation, Inc. is able to continue having a positive impact on the quality of life of "our greatest national treasure...our military men and women and their loved ones"

I wanted to share parts of these letters because they belong to you...all who have bought tags to support our military..you have been generous and encouraging.

THANK YOU

IS MILITARY APPRECIATION MONTH REALLY OVER

2009-06-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all you wonderful supporters, Military appreciation month continues. Your support has been tremendous. Deploy Peace was able to make 5 separate donations to the Fisher House Foundation these last 2 months. The ongoing support is heartwarming. We need to continue to help these brave men and women. Also i would like to say Thank You to those of who has e-mailed me your very special stories. I will always be grateful for what you have shared.
I will be announcing this week something very special..check back towards the end of the week. It is exciting!!!

We Are Featured In May Edition of Ladies Home Journal

2009-04-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

We are so honored to be featured in this month's Veteran Appreciation edition of Ladies Home Journal. I was was so surprised when I received a call from a friend telling me that he had in his hands a copy of the magazine. Once he told me where he got it I was racing across town to get my hands on a copy, or three, ok maybe four.

I was so very nervous. I cautiously opened the magazine thinking that there would be a little article, however, I was so so surprised to see right there on page 13 a full page feature about our company. All I could say was wow! Then I picked up all the copies except one or two and excitedly pointed out the the cashier we were in the magazine!

I just want everyone at the magazine how much I appreciate everything they are doing to help and support our troops. Everyone at Ladies Home Journal are so wonderful. The reporter was so sweet and committed to helping veterans and the photographer was such a gentleman and he put me at ease.

Since the magazine came out we have been receiving such wonderful notes of encouragement. I wanted to share some of those with you.

"I've just ordered one of your necklaces and wanted to say thank you for the wonderful work you are doing. I have been working for peace since the Viet Nam days. Keep up the nobel job you are doing." Sharri, Rochester NY

"I was just reading an issue of my mother's Ladies Home Journal and came across the "Give Peace A Chance" and was so moved. My husband deployed in September for his second tour in Iraq. I wish you all the success and if you find yourself in need of help in Pennsylvania I would love to lend a hand." Chrissy, Pittsburgh, PA

"I just want to thank you for what you and Ms. Barbara are doing with Deploy Peace. My brother is in the army and I wasn't sure about how I felt about it. Your Ladies Home Journal article really put it into words; I support my brother 100% but I want peace." A. Veenstra

"I saw your article in Ladies Home Journal and ordered a necklace. What a beautiful idea, not only do I support the cause and those whom it will benefit, I love the idea of up-cycling the metal for a higher purpose" Amy

"I read about you in a magazine at the Dr's office. I have a nephew in the Border Patrol who may be deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan in July. One tag is for me, the others are for my sisters." Tricia

Thank you all for you comments and your support for our troops. We appreciate everything everyone is doing to help our heroes come home to communities where they feel supported, understood and honored for the sacrifices they have made for all of us.

Deploy Peace is very excited about the New Year

2009-02-05T16:25:00.001-08:00

I can hardly believe the great response we got last year. I would like to thank all of you that supported Deploy Peace in it's mission to reunite military families.

This next year is showing promise as well. With Military Appreciation month coming in May, Ladies Home Journal wrote a small piece on us. I am doing a photo shoot tomorrow. Although I am very excited I'm a bit nervous. I hope to post pictures soon.

We are adding to our necklaces a new quote. Check the website soon to see it. I think you all will love it.

Deploy Peace Made CNN

2008-12-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

On Friday, December 19, 2008, Deploy Peace was featured on CNN. The interview went great and I am so thankful to CNN and their wonderful staff.

Although the interview turned out great I was nervous wreck. The week before the interview I wondered what were they going to ask me? What was I going to say? What would I wear? A friend of mine gave me some good Zen like advice. He said,"Your energy flows where your attention goes". When I said to him, "What the heck does that mean?' He compared it to a car skidding on the ice. If you are focused on the light pole ahead that is where your car is going to end up wrapped around. Well I definitely did not want to be the pole or the car in that situation.

So what I did was, I figured out what I wanted to say, and equally as importantly what I was going to wear. I took control of the thing that I could control and tried not to sweat the things that I could not.

That strategy almost paid off, except the morning of the interview I got a call from CNN saying that most interviews were being cancelled because of breaking new. I started feeling like Matt Damon on Jimmy Kimmels Show. Fortunately for Deploy Peace, the CNN people were so great they calmed me down and the interview went on with out a hitch. I was told over 5 million people were watching. I am glad I was told that afterwards. If I had known before I would never been able to breathe.

Again thank you CNN for your help. Together we are making a difference in the lives of those that have sacrificed so much for all of us. We are raising very funds to help our troop reunite with their families.

Reflecting on the Year

2008-12-10T15:08:00.001-08:00

Deploy Peace has a lot to be grateful for this year. Most importantly our families are safe and healthy and looking forward to the holidays.

Professionally, This has been a great year for Deploy Peace. We got a lot of local media attention. Please review the news clips done by KOLD-TV and KVOA-TV in Tucson. In addition, Arizona Spotlight also profiled our company.

In addition we also embarked on a new website design integrating social media. We can now be found on Facebook,Myspace and you are now reading our blog.

We are very excited for 2009, and wish everyone a safe and healthy new year.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-25T04:39:00.000-08:00

Barb and I wanted to take this time to wish everyone a "Happy Thanksgiving". We always have best wishes for you and your families.
To wind up November and to get ready for the Holiday Season, we've been cleaning metal for new tags and working on our new Website. The new Website should be ready in the next few weeks. We're really excited about it! Until then visit us here, and keep peace alive.

Visit to the Fisher House

2008-11-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of being invited to go to the Fisher House in San Diego. What a treat! They have two houses on the Naval base there. One of which has just finished construction. I had a great tour by Belle Esposito, but unfortunaly couldn't take any pictures without prior authorization. Next time I'll know to get prior authorization. The services they offer for our military and their families is wonderful. If possible check out their website at www.fisherhouse.org

Our Trip To The Bone Yard

2008-07-25T15:04:00.000-07:00

Today Barbara and I spent our morning at the National Aircraft Salvage Yard. National Aircraft Salvage purchases aircraft pieces from the military and is our supplier for our scrap metal we use to make our dog tags.

We toured the facility and saw a lot of military planes from the Korean War and the Vietnam War. We also got to purchase the C-130 wing that we will take and create our messages of peace.

This plane served our country well in the VIetnam war. It is just incredible to see the process in action. Who would of thought that these remnants of a war 40 years ago would be used to help build lodging for families of our wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. It is really interesting to know that this planes final service to our country is to help veterans 40 years later.

Deploy Peace Featured on KOLD-TV

2008-07-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

Last week was a great week.

Barbara and I were interviewed by KOLD-TV. What a great experience. Dan Marries was the reporter, and he did a great job getting us to relax. We were both so very nervous.

It is so very interesting to see the entire process on how a story comes together. Like most of us, you really do not know what goes into putting together a 2 minute feature each night. Dan and his photographer and intern arrived at my apartment around 2 in the afternoon and left around 3:45. It is amazing that to produce a 2 minute story it took nearly 2 hours, between set up, interviews with Barbara and I, and additional video of us packaging our necklaces.

We are so thankful that KOLD came out and did this. It really helps us get the word out and lets people know about this great opportunity for them to get some cool looking jewelery and raise resources for the Fisher House. Plus our designs are really a big hit and should be worn to honor and support our troops.

During the interview Dan asked was "Why are you doing this?" Well the answer is because we want to help. We wanted to do something to help the families of our soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines be closer to their loved ones in their time of need. We felt that since they were there when our country asked we could be there when they returned. Our partnership with the Fisher House makes that possible. That is why we are doing this and that is why we are honored to give a large portion of our proceeds to this great organization.

Thank you for your support and together we are making a difference. Even if you do not purchase a dog tag when you see a man or woman in uniform thank them for their service. They deserve that and much much more.