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Christian volunteers from North Texas and the Prestoncrest church of Christ in Dallas, TX.
To express our gratitude to the brave soldiers serving our country.
Did you know that the DFW airport in Dallas, TX and Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta, GA are the only two airports
in the nation receiving soldiers coming home for two weeks of R&R before they return to dangerous and stressful
combat areas?
Anywhere from 150-250 soldiers come through DFW airport daily. Not only does this give us an opportunity to express our
gratitude to them, a warm welcome helps them start their R&R on the right foot. If you don't believe this small
gesture makes a difference, watch the video on the left. Also read the
comments soldiers have made to DFW
airport Meet & Greet or to Dallas based Welcome Troops.
Greet Heroes and other organizations like
Welcome Troops provide free digital photos to soldiers
and their families, so please join us and bring your digital camera. Check out the
R&R Section for ideas on what to do with the digital images.
Military Rest & Recreation flights arrive daily at DFW airport at 8:00 a.m., International Arrivals, Terminal D. Volunteers should meet at
international arrivals Terminal B
on the dates indicated below. The meet & greet coordinator will send an e-mail out if this information
changes unexpectedly.
Annie Patterson.
The R&R flight hotline is 972-574-0392.
Free parking passes are issued by North Texas Commission
DFW Meet & Greet after each event.
GCS Distributing has produced some incredible
photo montages that give us a taste of things our soldiers experience in combat areas.
Also read the amazing story behind the
"The daughter of a soldier" photograph (pictured right) from their website.
Our very own Capt. Jason Patterson made it home safely from Iraq. George Galdiano
photographed his arrival and made this photo montage from the photographs. (Unauthorized use prohibited. © George Galdiano.)
Please meet at DFW Airport at 8:00 a.m., International Arrivals, Terminal D on these dates:
| 25 Oct 2008 | 29 Nov 2008 | 20 Dec 2008 | |
| 31 Jan 2009 | 28 Feb 2009 | 28 Mar 2009 | 25 Apr 2009 |
| 30 May 2009 | 27 Jun 2009 | 25 Jul 2009 | 24 Aug 2009 |
| 26 Sep 2009 | 31 Oct 2009 | 28 Nov 2009 | 19 Dec 2009 |
Prestoncrest members and other volunteers are now assembling around 250 care packages every month and the list keeps growing! We need your help! If you would like to help assemble care packages or donate items for care packages, please contact Becky Halloway. or Lisa Stettheimer.
A printable PDF list
of needed supplies is available.
Please Note: Purchase supplies with the idea that they should be able to fit into a backpack.
No economy or jumbo containers of items such as mouthwash, shampoo, etc!
Soldiers deployed in the Middle East and elsewhere commonly request the following items:
1st Priority Hygiene Items: Bars of soap, Deodorant, Chapstick (this brand only!), Toothpaste, Toothbrushes, Disposable razors, Shampoo, Hand Sanitizer.Members of Prestoncrest church of Christ who want to add their loved ones to the soldier care package list should contact Ann McElroy. Please include rank, branch of military, where they are stationed (i.e. Iraq, Afghanistan, etc) if this doesn't violate any security policies, and a stateside contact name, email address, and phone in case we need more information.
On 23 April 2007, Prestoncrest members donated seventeen boxes of school supplies to help
the children of the Kyrgyzstan school USAF Master Sergeant Phillip Smith and his crew adopted! THANK YOU!
This PDF document gives more details about this very special mission.
The following information is from the Hearts for Baghdad
Brochure provided by MNC-I Chaplain Dan Stallard:
The Need
There are many innocent people who need basic quality of life support here in Iraq.
A Civil Military Affairs Operation Center operates a medical/dental clinic at Radwaniya on Camp Victory, Baghdad.
This clinic reaches out to over 1200 Iraqi women, men and children each month providing basic medical and
dental services; hygiene, medical, school supplies, clothing, and shoes.
All of the supplies are provided by volunteer donors like you. The medical and dental staff are service members
who donate time and skills along with other service members who help sort and give out the supplies.
What Can You Do?
Organizations and individuals can send supplies to the Multinational Corps Chaplain’s office who take the donated
items to the clinic for distribution.
What Do We Need?
We need supplies. You can send us presorted or bulk supplies at your own expense.
Enclose kit items in heavy duty Ziploc type bags.A detailed list of needed supplies is detailed in the
Hearts for Baghdad Brochure.
Would You Like to Send Supplies?
If you would like to help "Hearts for Baghdad," please complete this
Donation Information Sheet, box up your supplies
and send them via United States Postal Service to:
MNC-I Chaplain
Attn: Hearts for Baghdad
Unit 42014
APO, AE 09342
For more information, please e-mail:
The MNC-I Chaplin.
When wounded arrive at the 10th Combat Support Hospital (CSH)
in Baghdad, Iraq (pictured right), they usually only have a hospital gown to wear because their clothing
was cut off during triage, and they are too far from home or their deployed base to get other clothes.
Marine Staff Sergeant Rayan A. Kohrig started
Operation Take Care of Our Own to remedy this.
If you would like to provide clothing to US servicemen, Iraqi soldiers, and civilians recovering at the 10th CSH, please
bring your donations to Prestoncrest church of Christ or
Contact Janice Neal.
Currently, the following items are needed: Boxers (M & L); Shorts (L & X);
Sweat pants (M. L, X); Female underwear (size 5), Female pajamas (S, M, L);
Sports Bras (34/36); Towels; washcaps; lightweight blankets (single size)
The following documents provide more information:
Memo from SStg Kohrig
Victory Times Article
Our thanks to John R. Cawthorne, Col, USAF, for bringing to our attention this opportunity to express gratitude
to our soldiers.
This document details how your group can start sending care packages to soldiers.
To get your own group involved in greeting soldiers, just show up at DFW airport when military R&R flights arrive.
More information can be found here:
DFW Airport Meet & Greet PDF Brochure
DFW airport Meet & Greet Website
Information from North Texas Commission Meet & Greet
Folks from Atlanta interested in starting their own group can check the
Georgia USO Recreation page.
This PDF document explains how to convert digital photographs
into coloring book pages. Coloring images of their loved ones who are away from home may help children feel closer
to them. It's fast, easy, and free!
Download "Photo to Sketch v 3.5 Standard" from
Thinker Software
or get it here.
Some devotional thoughts on praying for our soliders.
Although we pray it's never needed, George Galdiano prepared a document containing suggestions on how to help the bereaved. Ezri, George and Kim Galdiano's 10.5 month old daughter, died in a tragic accident on 16 November 2005.
Though we cannot publish them all, letters such as these continue to inspire, motivate, and encourage us:
|
Care Packages Becky Holloway Email Becky |
Care Packages Lisa Stettheimer Email Lisa |
Meet & Greet Annie Patterson Email Annie |
Operation TCOO Janice Neal Email Janice 972-380-8626 |
Soldier Addresses Ann McElroy Email Ann 972-238-1293 |
Photos & Web Design George Galdiano Galdiano.org Email George |
Web Design by Erin KC Designs
* A soldier and his family may freely use, copy, print, and distribute any photograph in which the soldier or one of his family members appear.
All images are property of GreetHeroes.org. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Website Last Updated 07 Feb 2009