News Release- For Urgent Release

Contact: Greg Warnock
www.owva.org
greg@owva.org

December 9, 2009

Salem, Ore- Many of the news organizations in Oregon have been reporting the dilemma, regarding the 105 (not 95) Oregon national Guard Troops who are stranded in Wisconsin, for the holidays, and want to come home for Christmas.

Late last week, Brigadier General Mike Caldwell called Greg Warnock, from the Oregon War Veterans Association and asked for his assistance to bring "a bunch of Soldiers from the Guard home for Christmas." Warnock agreed to go to the public for assistance, since they are a charitable organization and focus on meeting the needs of Veterans, military families and members of the military.

The service-members were mobilized to Wisconsin for training, and eventual service in Afghanistan, but the deployment was delayed until after Christmas. They were supposed to be deployed by now, but there was a problem receiving them at their forward base, so they are stuck in the States for Christmas. They want to come home to their families, since they have the opportunity before their dangerous deployment- diffusing IED's in Afghanistan.

Warnock has been reporting the status of the fundraising on air with several radio stations and TV news programs. KATU, Channel 2 will be hosting a telethon for this effort on Thursday, December 10th all day, beginning at 6:00 AM. "To date, we have raised $11,000 of the $40,000 needed," he said.

OWVA plans to raise $30,000.00 on air during the telethon to finish paying for airline tickets for the stranded troops and reimburse the families who spent their house payments and plans for Christmas on unexpected costs associated with bringing their Soldiers home.

"We are very excited to have the opportunity to help the troops in this way, and have enjoyed sharing this project with the general public," reported Warnock to a local radio station earlier today. He continued by saying, "Oregonians are very generous, no matter how they feel about the war, and always find a way to help, even if it with a $5.00 donation. What better way to say 'thank you' than by bringing families together for the holidays?"

OWVA needs cash contributions for this problem. All of their efforts to use Frequent Flyer Miles or charter a private jet, or every other conceivable option have been exhausted. While frequent flyer mile (FFM) donations seemed like a great way to fix this, the charitable donation facility for them was not in place early enough to utilize them. OWVA will set up a charitable FFM program in the future- for later transportation problems.

The fastest way for people to make a tax deductible donation available to OWVA is by making a deposit directly to their bank account: USBANK, Oregon War Veterans Association/ORNG, ending in #5051. Deposits can be made at ANY USBank branch.

(Email OWVA with your name, address, and amount donated, for a tax deduction receipt, if you make a direct deposit.)

Deductible contributions can also be made online at http://www.owva.org/donate , or by sending a check to:

OWVA
PO Box 8043
Salem, OR 97303

Please be generous- and quickly!

**If OWVA raises all $40,000 needed for this project, all additional funds will be used to send 35 disabled (lost limbs) Oregon National Guard Members to the Paralympics in Vancouver, WA early next year. Funds over the $20,000 needed for this project will go to the OWVA/ORNG emergency fund.