Sunday, September 4, 2011

Honoring Wounded Warriors

Today, I received an email from The Wounded Warriors Project, thanking me for a donation I had made in honor of my recently deceased uncle. He had been a Marine in World War II, but that’s not why I chose that particular way to give.

My father, who will be 82 in December, has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD.) He struggles for breath always, even when he sleeps. Yet, he wakes up every day and fights the good fight. He keeps on trucking, doing whatever he can to contribute to the life he and my mother share. It’s hard. I watch him and think, “I hope I’m this brave when I need to be.”

My father served 10 years in the United States Navy and, I believe, he might have made a career out of it if it hadn’t been for the protracted absences from his family. Maybe this is why the thing that seems to touch my father the most nowadays is the sacrifice of our military personnel and their families. In particular, for his Father’s Day, birthday and Christmas presents, he always asks that we girls, his four daughters, give to The Wounded Warrior Project instead of buying him something. We do this – what little it is.

The motto of this worthy organization is “To honor and empower wounded warriors.” They work to make sure those wounded in the service of our country are not forgotten and helped in every possible way.

On the way to visit my parents, I remembered the email and the fleeting thought came, “Dad would be pleased by this.” Suddenly, I was struck with an idea that seems too simple, too easy. Maybe it is, I don’t know.

I can do something for my Dad that would make him very happy. I can donate a portion of the royalties for my books to The Wounded Warrior Project. So, that’s what I’m going to do for the month of September.

If you were already considering buying a copy of one of them, please do so in September, from the first to the 30th (so if you’ve already made your purchase this month, it counts.) At the end of the month, I will post my book sales reports on this blog and when I receive my payment from Amazon, 60 days later, I will donate a portion of my proceeds (and post the receipt here) in the following way.

NOW GIVING ALL ROYALTIES ON BOOK SALES IN SEPTEMBER TO WOUNDED WARRIORS (Up to 500 books)


Red Mojo Mama – Kindle Edition - $.75
Red Mojo Mama – paperback - $.75
Tell Them You’re Fabulous – Kindle Edition - $.20
Her Heart – Kindle Edition - $.20

(PS - in answer to a question about this. After accounting for the tax I'll need to pay on the income, the donation amounts to between 51-86% of my income from the books - depending on the book)


I also have Red Mojo Mama available on Smashwords, but frankly don’t understand the royalty system enough to pledge a specific amount. However, I’ll donate a 1/3 of proceeds from whatever sales I make in the month of September.

Let me say here, I am not affiliated with The Wounded Warrior Project and they don’t know about this plan (at least at the time of posting this). They have not endorsed me or my books in any way. This is just a way for me to do something meaningful for my dad.

You can donate directly, by going to their website, http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

19 comments:

  1. Kathy. What a beautiful post. You're honoring you family and past and present warriors! Those who have paid a great price for our freedom deserve our support!

    As a veteran I thank you for your kind words and thank you for this great thing you are doing. I'll be buying your books this month-- you can be sure!

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  2. Dannie - I need that. Thanks. I'm so excited that my energy is off the hook! Thanks for the support. I specifically asked a few special people to stop by cause it means so much to me.

    Again, thanks.

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  3. My son is currently in AF BMT and as a home health Nurse, I see many veterans (saw two this morning). I appreciate your committment to this project and intend to buy this month to help support.

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  4. Thank you so much for sharing this information. Everybody should read it. And your dad sounds AMAZING. Good for you! Good for him! May your books sell well!

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  5. Kelly - thanks so much. My son is a former Marine and now active National Guard. My late husband was AF. My family has been very lucky - no injuries. I'm going to find other ways to become involved after this month.

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  6. Kathy,
    I love the post and the idea it conveys. When I think of all the men and women coming home to a country that, by and large, has no idea of what they've been through, I choke up. Maybe because I remember my homecoming, maybe because I realize nothing much has changed since then. What you are proposing can and will make a difference.
    Thanks again my friend.
    Yours to count on,
    Bert

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  7. Bert - your comment means the world to me, because I know how it was for you returning from Vietnam. I'll going to be relentless - people will probably get sick of hearing about it. But hopefully I can get enough sales to send in a $1,000. It won't change the world, but it's a start. And I'm going to promote their website at the same time. Cross your fingers for me, friend.

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  8. I've never understood a nation of warriors that has no idea and no seeming intent about how to heal them when they return home. My heart aches for men in war, for they are never the same. Thank you, Kathy, for your kind attention to them which is worth millions. Your further generosity speaks to your beautiful heart.

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  9. I am taking care of my husband at home. He's retired Army - was injured in a bike wreck 10 years ago.

    I know what Traumatic Brain Injury is like. Not fun at all to deal with.

    Best wishes!

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  10. Hey Miss Mama, I just awarded you the liebster over on my blog, hop over to see the deets!

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  11. Christina, Miss Kitty & regected! Thank you all so much for the support! Going over to see what's up and Regected's blog!

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  12. That's great. My children send care packages with little notes to wounded warriors families. It's great to see that others are embracing our warriors too.

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  13. What a fabulous idea! I'm sure your dad will be thrilled. Such a worthy cause.

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  14. Thank you for this post. My son spent a year away from his family serving in Iraq - so I know about that "separation from family" thing - he's got a wife and two little boys. And it was a year of little sleep and a lot of worries for mom, too. Thank for for this.

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  15. Thanks Karen. I really need that right now. Kath and Carla - thanks too. I hope I get to make a significant donation.

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  16. Found you through twitter. This is a wonderful idea. What a generous thought. Good for you, Red. It's a honour to retweet.

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  17. Thank you Joylene! I answered you by email as well. I'm so looking forward to Friday night when I get to tell my dad about this. He'll be so gratified. I know a few people have made donations from the link above and there have been messages just for him. I'm going to do this every year, but I'll probably break it up into smaller periods. I hope I've helped build awareness of this wonderful organization. Thank you - really - thank you.

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  18. I found you through Elise Stokes @CassidyJonesAdv on twitter. You should check out www.rabmad.com, started by @rsguthrie as a showcase for authors to donate a portion of their proceeds to a cause of their choice. RADMAD, Read a Book,Make a Difference, doesn't dictate the amount or do it for you, just provides the forum. I blogged about it and tweet it often, just haven't sold my book yet or I would be there too. I plan to blog about individual authors who give to charities in future. Good luck!

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  19. Thanks Sher! I'm already a member and very proud of it. R.S. did a great thing by starting the organization. I can't believe I haven't stopped by this post for this long.

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