Bakersfield.com

PROJECT D.E.F.T.
DON'T EVER FORGET THEM

Don't Ever Forget Them is what my heart tells me every day.

Project D.E.F.T. is something that was started two years ago.  At that time, my daughter and I mailed approximately 200 Christmas cards to a Veteran's Hospital here in California.  Last year, thanks to the efforts of many wonderful people, we were able to send almost 6500 cards to Veterans in 34 different locations around the western US.  This means that almost 6500 Veterans in VA hospitals and other care facilities knew that they were not forgotten.

Project D.E.F.T. is committed to remembering the ones that have served our country in the past, whether it be WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, or served in times of peace - these brave men and women sacrificed for us and now we need to let them know that they are not forgotten.  So many of the men and women that bravely served receive not a single card during the holidays.  This project is dedicated to changing that.

We would like to ask for your help. Just a box, or two, of signed and unsealed Christmas cards is all it takes. The guidelines are simple - nothing political, nothing religious, no personal information (other than name), and PLEASE NO GLITTER (glitter can cause complications for those who have had surgeries or open wounds).  If you wish, a simple "Thank You" or "Thank you for you service and sacrifice" written in the card would be great. We heard back from every facility last year, and the cards were received with joy and tears.  Some have even requested multiple cards for each resident this year.

Project D.E.F.T. has NO PAID employees - just me and my daughter, and all the generous people who donated cards and/or helped cover the cost of mailing. WE NEED YOUR HELP.  These cards need to be collected no later than the first week of November, and they need to be mailed no later than the week of Thanksgiving.  Please call if you have any questions or wish to help.  We also have created a "my space" page - www.myspace.com/projectdeft.  We are working on several locations as drop-off points.  Please contact us via email at sushismith@bak.rr.com, or by phone at 661-398-5582 for more information.