By Jessica Blythe Ammons, Progress Intern
July 1, 2009 — One local business owner made a donation and dares others to do the same with a corporate challenge.
Jerry Eason of Eason Collision Specialists donated $250 to Blue Star Mothers to help ship boxes of snack cakes to soldiers serving overseas. He said it is a great way for businesses to get involved in caring for deserving service men and women.
“We hope other businesses will also give to Blue Star Mothers by our challenge.”
Eason is a longtime supporter of the organization. In the past, he has helped make Christmas better for soldiers with December donations. He said the continued support of the troops is the objective. He added that making it a competition makes it fun for businesses to get on board.
“We are coming up on the holiday to celebrate freedom. I can’t imagine not wanting to support our troops at this time of year,” said Eason.
Claremore Chapter 20 President Wanda Inman appreciates the assistance. She has five pallets of Spirit of America cakes to mail and Eason’s donation is helping launch the first boxes. Each box costs $22.50 to ship.
“We are very thankful for all the support; it’s important for businesses to be involved because it demonstrates to our soldiers as a community … we appreciate them for what they are doing,” Inman said.
Blue Star Mothers operate solely on fundraising. They sell T-shirts, pins, and bumper decals to raise money to send care packages. It is achieved by donations from the local community — residents, churches, and businesses in Rogers County.
“Some may not agree with the war or some of our government’s decisions, but we all should agree that our sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, nieces, nephews, etc. are and will always be important to us,” said Inman.
Her concern is that some soldiers have still not received even one letter or freedom box. She added that Rogers County Blue Star Mothers want to send enough for the whole unit, so local soldiers can have a sense of pride in their hometown.
They are always seeking names and address of soldiers from Rogers County who are deployed.
Donations can be sent to P.O. Box 14 Claremore, OK 74018.
For more information, call 361-8496 or 343-2675 or visit www.rogerscountybluestarmothers.com.
