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During February and March 2010, Fort Bragg received over 1,000 KidsLink Card Kits during the MOPS project, but they’ve expressed that they need MORE!

So, we are looking for KidsLink coordinators and creators to help make this a new goal of sending them 1,000 more kits.

Why does Fort Bragg need more kits?

Fort Bragg is the largest Army installation in the world, providing a home to almost 10 percent of the Army’s active component forces. There are many people deploying from this location and many families are interested in receiving and using the kits. People have seen KidsLink Card Kits that have been made previously and are asking for them!

Who will distribute these newly created kits?

Cadence International staff at Fort Bragg will distribute the kits working with chaplains and Family Readiness Group (FRG) coordinators. Some kits may also be distributed within church small groups, at the Fort Bragg Hospitality House, and through Protestant Women of the Chapel.

Sound like a go for your group?

Great! Get your group together… and start creating now. Visit this page for details and step-by-step instructions on how to do the project.

If you would like to submit your own thank you (for anything related to the military or KidsLink Downrange…), please do so here on the Community Forums and we will be sure to pass the thanks along!

Dear MOPS groups and KidsLink participants,

One of the things my father always told me is to never forget the people who show me kindness. The kindness you have shown our soldiers here at Fort Bragg has touched us beyond words.

My wife, Wendy, and I direct the Fort Bragg Hospitality House here in North Carolina. We started receiving the KidsLink Downrange packets you sent early last month. We arrived here in June of last year, and I can say this has been one of the most touching projects we’ve been a part of to date.

When Peter Remmes, our point of contact for this project in our home office, asked me late last year if we would be willing to take 1000 packets for the families of Ft. Bragg soldiers, although interested, my initial thought was, “wow, could we distribute that many here?” I knew we had a community of 45,000 soldiers but getting the word out to those families seemed a bit daunting to me. To make the people who attend our house aware of the project, we showed the KidsLink video on a Friday night during our main meeting of the week. We did this month’s before the packets started to arrive. Then as the packets arrived, we passed out samples to our folks, made them available to Family Readiness Groups of various units, and gave various chaplains samples. We also made them available to Protestant Women of the Chapel. Before long, the word was out and we couldn’t keep up with the demand.

Most of the packets were gone within a week or two of arrival. Groups that wanted 350 each only got 100 – and there were three different groups who fit that category. Other groups received their desired quantities but just as soon as we’d meet one need, we’d hear of another group who wanted more. You’ve tapped into a need and people have been touched. Thank you so much!

We have four soldiers from our own ministry here deployed to a combat zone. Only one of them is a father but each of them is special to us. Later this year we will say good-bye to another soldier who is especially dear to our own family. In fact, each of our soldiers is like family to us. Knowing where they are and the dangers they face would fill us with anxiety were it not for the confidence we have in entrusting them into God’s care – no matter what. Your part in ministering to the Bragg community warms our hearts and touches the families here in a very personal way. Thank you! I hope that when this project comes around next year that you will remember us here. Remember our soldiers; remember the spouses and the children left behind. They are a special group of people and we love them with all our hearts. Thank you for loving them too!

We wish you all God’s very best as you live for Him and serve the special people in your own community. Thanks for having eyes for those outside it, as well.

In His Grace,

Bruce E. Dower

217 Woodglen Dr. Fayetteville, NC 28314

Every hour from 6:00 am - 5:30 pm on March 22nd, AM91 staff and new guest hosts will discuss the work of KidsLink Downrange and Cadence ministries, as well as tell testimonies of those affected by or involved in Cadence’s mission, such as military chaplains and military personnel. You can listen live to the broadcast locally or online from www.am91.org.

Listeners are encouraged to financially support Cadence’s role in Kidslink Downrange, by pledging $2.50 per kit. The goal for the day is 2,500 kits ($6,250). Cadence has invested over $20,000 in support of this project thus far.

Find out more about this live broadcast and donating to this cause at www.kidslinkonline.org/am91. You can start donating TODAY and start getting donations toward the final goal! Thanks for your support.

Because deployment was imminent, on February 23, 2010, Chaplain Tim Won took the early-arriving Fort Lewis Kits to a Family Readiness Group (FRG) meeting to be distributed. Within days, over 700 soldiers would be deploying, many with families. These soldiers will be deployed for at least a year.

Every one of the 87 packets (that had been received at Fort Lewis at that point) were distributed at perhaps the greatest point of need at this FRG meeting. Thank you to those who have already sent your Card Kits. To those who are still creating, please know that there is a great need for these kits to help families stay connected during this very difficult time of separation.

Do you see your Package in the picture? Yea for all participants—for making a difference in families’ lives!

(*** Resource Cards will not be available for the Fort Bragg area until the week of Jan 19. We apologize for any inconvenience.)

The six installations are:

Fort Carson, CO
Fort Hood, TX
Fort Bragg, NC
Fort Lewis, WA
Fort Riley, KS
U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr, Germany

Find where you will send YOUR Kits

These installations are all heavily deploying military personnel downrange and to other areas. Each KidsLink group is assigned to send kits to one of these 6 installations. Depending on the state you live in depends upon where you should send your kits. Please only send your kits to the installation that corresponds with your state.

Click here to choose your state and find out where your kits should be sent. You can also find out what resource cards you should use, by going to the previous link and finding your state.

We want to express our extreme gratitude for your card kit pledge commitments to KidsLink Downrange! With your help, thousands of children will be able to stay connected with their military parents, a blessing worth immeasurably more…so, THANK YOU!

Now go and make your kits! And have fun!

(PS. The dates for sending your kits have changed. Please only mail kits between the dates of February 15 and March 15. This means the mail date has been extended to by 15 days, but we are asking you to wait to do your mailing until February 15. Thank you.)

As of the pledge deadline of November 15, 2009, the pledges have skyrocketed to 4,960 kits (meaning 39,616 cards! Amazing!). The pledge page will be left open for anyone making last minute pledges.

With these pledges, KidsLink representatives at Cadence International are now talking with Chaplains at different military communities around the world to find the best places for distribution. KidsLink leaders (those who made a pledge) will receive an email in December instructing on where your groups should send your kits.

So now, get involved on the community forums, ask your questions, and get to making your kits! Have fun and please continue your prayers for military families.

For more project details, visit the links to the right!

Timeline

• September 1 - November 1, 2009 November 15, 2009: Group Pledges at this time are still open
  
• December 2009: Groups are advised where to ship kits
• January-February 2010: Groups make card kits
• February 15, 2010: Start shipping your kits to the designated locations (see www.kidslinkonline.org/locations)
  
• March 1, 2010: March 15, 2005: Postmark deadline for Card Kit mailing
  
• April 2010: Card kits are distributed at selected military installations

Pledges are now being accepted through November 1, 2009 November 15, 2009. (Deadline extended to allow groups two more weeks to make their pledges.)

To involve your group in this project, PLEDGE how many card kits you will create, join the community forums, and spread the word! All card kits will need to be received by March 1, 2010.

For more project details, visit the links to the right!

Timeline

• September 1 - November 1, 2009 November 15, 2009: Group Pledges
  
• December 2009: Groups are advised where to ship kits
• January-February 2010: Groups make card kits and ship by end of February
• March 1, 2010: Postmark deadline for Card Kit mailing
  
• April 2010: Card kits are distributed at selected military installations

Soon the over 17,000 handmade cards contained in the 2,150 KidsLink Downrange Card Kits that were delivered to the Fort Hood military community will be filled with heartfelt messages and home-front news. Military children will seal them with kisses and send them to their deployed parents with the inherent power of bringing them closer in heart. Read the entire inspiring story at the cadence.org website.

Cadence International spearheaded KidsLink Downrange (www.kidslinkonline.org) and collaborated with MOPS International in hopes of bringing families together through cards, letting them know they are loved even though they are far apart.

“The troops have everything they need—the necessities have been taken care of—what’s missing is their connection to their family,” said Todd Tillapaugh, Vice President of Field Ministries for Cadence International.

Over 150 MOPS groups answered Cadence’s call by creating over 2,150 KidsLink Card Kits.  Each kit contains 8 handmade cards for special occasions, such as Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Birthday, along with envelopes and postage stamps. The kits have been received at Cadence headquarters in Englewood, Colorado, and through a partnership with Penske truck rental, they will be delivered to Fort Hood the week of May 18th.  There, volunteer soldiers will sort the card kits at the Cadence Soldiers’ Hospitality House.

“We have an opportunity to partner and work together to make families feel as though they are not alone,” said Holly Rowlette, Military MOPS area coordinator.

The kits will be delivered into the hands of children through military chaplains and directly to students at a major event that week hosted by Military Children’s Ministry (MCM), a ministry partnership with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF). MCM currently facilitates the afterschool “Good News Clubs” held weekly on post. MOPS groups in the Fort Hood area have volunteered to help with the on-post distribution.

“We love the military families and anything we can do to help support them during this difficult time, great or small, that has lasting impact is our true desire,” said Peter Remmes, Director of Advancement for Cadence International.

From a MOPS group creating card kits to the distribution in Fort Hood, the entire KidsLink Downrange Card Kit project will be videotaped and available for viewing on kidslinkonline.org, YouTube, and Tangle. Watch for future KidsLink projects that help link military children to their deployed parents.