Yellow Ribbon America

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Events

We have a number of events still in the planning stages; but for more information regarding these scheduled events please feel free to contact us. To contact Yellow Ribbon America about sponsoring an upcoming event, email us at info@yellowribbonamerica.com.

Yellow Ribbon America Schedule of Upcoming Events:

OPERATION CHRISTMAS FOR OUR TROOPS IV
"The Largest Christmas Holiday Effort in the Nation
for America's Deployed & at Home
Military Members & their Families!"

Help us bring a Merry Christmas
to 250,000 of our Military & thier Families.

DONATE MONEY
DROP OFF LOCATIONS
MORE INFORMATION

It's Official. We have our own day.

Century City California 2006: YRA's Operation Iraq and Enduring Freedom Veterans
present Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger a “autographed” sign
to thank the people of California for their continuous support.

California's First Lady Maria Shriver with YRA Military Members
Declaration of Independence event
Sacramento, CA.

YRA Special Events Coordinator Bryan Carr
awards Duke's Restaurant Huntington Beach
for their support of California's Military and their families.

YRA's own SGT Mark Lans, with Carl Lewis
9 time Olympic Gold Medalist USA Track and Field Championships
Home Depot Center CA.

LA City Councilman Bernard Parks with YRA US Army Reserve Soldiers,
Home Depot Center.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 21, 2007
Contact: Rodney Stanhope (916) 410-0599
Yellow Ribbon America/Northern Ca Volunteer Chairman

Living in a Shed to Honor Soldiers and Families Injured in the War!

Event Information:

YRA Memorial Weekend Event
YRA CA Purple Heart Sponsor Letter
Troop Support Event in Placerville
YRA 2007 Ca Purple Heart Event

SACRAMENTO, CA: Having twice (2003, 2006) lived in a shed for 12 days during the Christmas Season to raise Toys for the Children of our Troops serving during the holidays with Operation Christmas for our Troops and working with Yellow Ribbon America’s other great community outreach programs, I have decided to put together a very important summer time event! Yellow Ribbon America is sponsoring two great events to honor California’s Iraq and Afghanistan Purple Heart Recipients centered on the 225th Anniversary of the Purple Heart and to promote our national partnership program with Heroes with Head Injuries for our Severely Injured Troops suffering from Traumatic Brain Injuries. This month we will be honoring our nation’s military on Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day because of this it has moved me to once again move myself into a shed. This time it will be to raise funds for California’s two great events to honor our Iraq and Afghanistan Purple Heart Recipients and to support our Severely Injured Military members suffering from Traumatic Brain Injuries and their families.

Thursday May 24th 2007 at 9:00 AM through Monday May 28th, 2006 9 PM, as a fundraiser to help thank and honor our Iraq and Afghanistan Purple Heart Recipients in California, Rodney Stanhope will be living in a shed for 5 days 24 hours a day to Support our Injured Troops and their families. The location of the shed will be the parking lot of the Best Buy Store at Arden Fair Mall 1901 Arden Way Sacramento.

There will be a Press Conference on Thursday May 24th at 9AM as I enter the shed. Attending the event will be various Elected Officials, Military Members, Family Members of our Troops, and many Sacramento Citizens showing their support for our military troops. The event is open to the public.

Because of California’s size, we have more military members and families than any other state in the nation. We have the highest number of wounded who are returning from this war to find their lives are forever changed. The transition alone back to civilian life is daunting. A generation ago American Patriots returned from Vietnam not to a hero’s welcome, but to taunts and jeers. It is our hope and goal to not only provide a warm welcome home to our returning physically and mentally injured OIF and OEF military members but to also inspire our fellow citizens to take action and give much needed community support to them and their families. This is part of a nationwide Community Outreach Campaign we are planning across the country. All our efforts are non-partisan and sponsored by the Democrat and Republican Parties.

Over 23,000 of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines have been wounded in the line of duty during the current War on Terror? Now is the time for all of us to join together and give our deep appreciation for all that they have sacrificed so that we can be safe and free. We need your help in sponsoring one or both of our events it will be a great opportunity for all of us to say “thank you” to them and their families during this crucial time in American history.

Yellow Ribbon America was founded in February 2003 as a non-partisan, grassroots effort to organize and unite all Americans in giving direct help and support to our nation’s military and their families. YRA’s concept is simple, locals helping locals: local businesses, residents, churches and community groups focusing their resources on helping military members and their families in their individual communities. Yellow Ribbon America has made great strides on behalf of America’s military members and their families, gaining sponsorship from numerous State Legislature’s, National Veteran and Community Organizations and from both the Republican and Democratic parties. This joint effort with local politics has given YRA a unique edge in helping to establish a non-partisan effort for all Americans that has organized hundreds of communities in assisting their local military members and their families.

The Memorial Weekend Event is sponsored by: Yellow Ribbon America (YRA), National Guard Association of California, Best Buy Arden Fair, Sheds & Swings, DWB Security, Coco’s Restaurant Arden, Aba Daba Rentals, the California Democrat Party, the California Republican Party, and Heroes with Head Injuries, The California Federation of Republican Women and more to come.

These two events to Honor California’s Iraq and Afghanistan Purple Heart Recipients are sponsored by: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s First Lady Maria Shiver, LT Governor John Garamendi, CA State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, The Speaker of the CA State Assembly Assemblyman Fabian Nunez, Senate Minority Leader Senator Dick Ackerman, Senate President Pro Tem Senator Don Perata, Assembly Minority Leader Assemblyman Mike Villines, The Jonathan Elias Family Welcome Home Project, The California State Legislature, the California Democrat Party, the California Republican Party, Heroes with Head Injuries, the Department of Defenses America Supports You Program, The National Guard Association of California, the West Valley Republican Assembly, The California Federation of Republican Women, the National Federation of Republican Women, the California Republican Jewish Coalition and many more.

For more information, please contact:

Rodney Stanhope 916-410-0599 or visit the web site www.YellowRibbonAmerica.org

###

Rodney Stanhope
Yellow Ribbon America
Northern Ca Chairman
Cellular: 916-410-0599
norcal_yra@sbcglobal.net
www.yellowribbonamerica.com/

"Uniting Communities to assist America's Military & their Families"

Yellow Ribbon America joins our nation in morning the Passing of President Gerald R. Ford.

YRA's Honorary Chairman

President Ford will be remembered for putting the country’s best interests first and making very difficult decisions at his own political peril. History now rightly credits him with helping to heal our country after the Vietnam War.

Yellow Ribbon America is honored to have President Gerald R. Ford and Mrs. Betty Ford as our Honorary Chairmen of our project “Home Improvements for our Troops” for our returning Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Severely Injured War Veterans. We will never forget his and First Lady Betty Ford’s support and belief in our nationwide campaign to help America’s Injured Heroes and their families.

On a personal note, during this difficult time in our history, I have tried to learn new ways to accomplish YRA’s goal of uniting all Americans in assisting their local military members and their families; I have learned from President Ford’s lifelong example that it is far more important to do what is right than what is popular.

On behalf of Yellow Ribbon America, I would like to extend our prayers and sincere condolences to President Ford's family. We will always cherish their support and belief in our cause for America’s Heroes and their families.

Brad White
Chairman, Yellow Ribbon America

Click here to read
President Ford's Letter to YRA

OPERATION CHRISTMAS FOR OUR TROOPS III
"The Largest Christmas Holiday Effort in the Nation for America's Deployed Military & their Families!"

Help us bring a Merry Christmas
to our Military Families.

CLICK HERE

YRA's "Rodney Stanhope" lives in a Shed for 12 Days and raises over 20,000 gifts for Military Families for Christmas!
Press Release

Sacramento, CA, December 20th, 2006: As a fundraiser for our Military men and woman serving our country during the holidays, Santa’s Military Elf “Rodney Stanhope” has lived in a Tough Shed in the parking lot of the Best Buy Store at Arden Fair Mall for 12 days straight to Support America’s Military Families and our Troops overseas. With the help of great people of Northern California and the California State Capital they raised over 20, 000 Toys, Gift Cards and DVD’s for Northern California military families so far!

Newport Beach Welcomes YRA’s Operation Christmas For Our Troops III to Orange County

Newport Beach City Hall Thursday, December 14, 2006 Newport Beach sponsors again the nation’s largest toy drive benefiting families of troops overseas

Ralphs Grocery Company Sponsors
Operation Christmas for Our Troops III

Los Angeles, Thursday December 7, 2006 : Ralphs, Yellow Ribbon America and the National Guard Association of California will announce this year's "Operation Christmas For Our Troops III" collection drive for deployed California military members and their families . Southern Californians will be urged to make donations in collection boxes at more than 130 Ralphs supermarkets in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties between now and December 23. In addition, The Ralphs/Food 4 Less Foundation presented a $25,000 donation at the press conference to kick-off this year's campaign.

California State Capital Launches
Operation Christmas for Our Troops III
Press Release

Sacramento CA, December 5, 2006: James Lubey, Executive Director of National Guard Association of California, BRIG GEN Mary Kight, California Air National Guard, California Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Thomas Johnson, John Shore, Southwest Market Vice President; TRI WEST Healthcare Alliance and CPT Christian Werthmuller; United States Army. Help kick off the America's largest Christmas Holiday effort military families and members Operation Christmas for our Troops III.

Sacramento CA, December 5, 2006: Bob Mulholland; California Democratic Party, CW3 Grinius; California Army National Guard, his granddaughter Ashley Grinius who shared her 8th birthday that day and Duff Sundheim, Chairman of the California Republican Party. Help start California's Operation Christmas for our Troops III.

December 2005
Operation for our Troops II

Operation Christmas for Our Troops HUGE SUCCESS!

Jan 2006 - Yellow Ribbon America has just completed “Operation Christmas for Our Troops II” which was a massive statewide operation with participation from the California State Legislature had over 375 drop-off locations statewide. Each location had boxes available for collecting Christmas presents for our military families and DVDs and video games for our troops. Over forty-thousand items were collected and sent to military families across the state. According to the Pentagon, the Operation represented the largest, most ambitious troop support effort in the nation for deployed service members. Special thanks to the California State Legislature, the California Republican Party, the California Democratic Party, Ralphs Grocery Company, and…

Not all Miracles happen on 34th Street!
California Politics – Joining forces for the troops
Sacramento Bee, Tuesday, December 6, 2005 Page A3

California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres, center, speaks as the toy drive gets under way. Torres was joined by his GOP counterpart, California Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim, at the event, whose organizers Operation Christmas for our Troops II are trying to raise over 100,000 – toys, DVDs and gift cards for California military members and their stateside families. Donors can drop off unwrapped gifts at the district offices of most state lawmakers. They have over 350 drop-off locations throughout the state, WOW! They are listed at:
http://www.yellowribbonamerica.com/opchristmas.htm.

September 9 - October 2, 2005
LA County Fair

August 12- - September 5, 2005
California State Fair
Sacramento, CA

July 29- 31, 2005
37th Annual Pow Wow
Pomona, Ca

July 15, 2005
"I SALUTE YOU”,
Long Beach, Ca

July 10, 2005
Jewish Republicans, Summer Bash for the Troops, Reagan Library
Los Angeles, Ca

July 8-31, 2005
Orange County Fair
Costa Mesa, Ca

July 4, 2005
JFTB LOS AL, Fireworks Spectacular
Los Alamitos, Ca

June 23- 26, 2005
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Military Family Appreciation Day
Los Angeles, Ca

June 4, 20045
Until Every One Comes Home
Armed Forces Appreciation Picnic
Los Alamitos, Ca

May30, 2005
Huntington Beach’s Memorial Day honors.
Huntington Beach, Ca

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
OC Supervisor Jim Silva
Huntington Beach City Council Members: Cathy Green, Dave Sullivan,
Gil Courper (Son currently deployed in Iraq w/ 3rd ID US Army)
Military: CW2 Forchen & SFC Jones w/ 63rd US Army Reserve

May 21, 2005
Irvine Troops honor their local State Assemblyman for his efforts in helping them and their Families
Irvine, CA

Honored by soldiers of US Army Reserve, on his birthday, for his efforts in helping California's military families. California Assembly Member Chuck DeVore 70th District, a Major of the California Army National Guard, is not afraid to demonstrate the front rest leaning position (pushups) with the troops (as seen below).

May 21, 2005
City of Torrance, Armed Forces Appreciation Parade
Torrance, Ca

May 20, 2005
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Baseball Game Honors California Military Families
Rancho Cucamonga, CA

May 14, 2005
Hot Rodz of Irvine, Car Show
Irvine, Ca

Laker Girls make appearance to show their support.

April 10, 2005
49th MP BDE Fairfield Family Readiness Meeting
Bay Area, Ca

April 8-10, 2005
Long Beach Grand Prix
Long Beach, Ca

April 9th, 2005
YRA Event Committee Meeting
Irvine, Ca

March 17th - 19th, 2005
National Guard Conference
San Diego, CA

Left to right; LT COL John Haramalis, President of National Guard Association of California, Honorable, Congresswoman Susan A. Davis, 53rd Congressional District, Major General Eres, Adjutant General of the California National Guard, Honorable Jerry Brown Jr. Mayor of Oakland, Former California Governor, Brad White, Chairman of Yellow Ribbon America

March 13, 2005
Blue Cross, Spirit Run
Newport Beach, Ca

March 1, 2005
Orange County Board of Supervisors, award to YRA Campaign
Santa Ana, Ca

February 2005
Family Support Meeting

February 2005
Race on the Base 10k
Los Alamitos, CA

February 2005
Welcome Home event for US Army Reserve soldier
Orange County, CA

January 2005
Belated Christmas Party for the 163rd Ordinance Company, US Army Reserve
Fox Sports Grill
Irvine, CA

Operation Christmas
Operation Christmas for our Troops is an effort with the California State Capitol which will collect nearly 9,000 gifts...