Azalea Charities AID TO WOUNDED SOLDIERS

Mission Statement

The Azalea Charities Aid for Wounded Soldiers project provides comfort and relief items for soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines sick, injured or wounded from service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Depending on needs, comfort items are distributed to Military Medical Centers, VA Medical Centers and Fisher House rehabilitation facilities each week. Many of the servicemen and women are grievously wounded and will require long hospitalization and rehabilitation. The purpose of the program is to lift their spirits and enhance their morale by contributing quality of life items.

Long-Term Commitment

We hope the war against terror will be over soon and all our brave sons and daughters, wives and husbands can return home safely. Until that time, and perhaps even long after, there will still be seriously ill servicemen and women undergoing treatment and rehabilitation at Walter Reed, Bethesda and elsewhere. We will not abandon them. We will not forget them. They are our heroes and we will stand with them in their suffering, pray for them in our private moments and provide for them to the utmost of our ability. The project will go on for as long as necessary.

Azalea Charities "Aid for Wounded Soldiers" program supports:

  • The Fisher Houses rehabilitation facility at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
  • Walter Reed Army Medical Center Medical Family Assistance Center
  • Landstuhl Regional Medical Center
  • Tripler Army Medical Center
  • McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond
  • Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center, Clarksburg, West Virginia
  • Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base Maryland
  • USAF 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad Airbase in Iraq
  • Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon, Georgia
  • Wounded Warrior Barracks, Camp LeJeune, NC

Donations by Check

Checks are the preferred method of donation to Azalea Charities Aid for Wounded Soldiers. Check donations can be combined to purchase the exact type, size and quantity of items requested and required by military medical centers and rehabilitation centers. All donations are tax deductible. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope for return of a donation receipt. Checks should be sent to the following address:

Azalea Charities Aid for Wounded Soldiers (AWS)
P.O. Box 579
Dumfries, Virginia 22026

Operations Costs:

The only costs are those associated with postage and packaging. All other costs are absorbed by Azalea Charities volunteers who work without compensation or reimbursement.Azalea Charities Aid for Wounded Soldiers Point of Contact George Kraus, Azalea Charities VP Special Projects; (703) 680-3557; E-Mail: blackgeorge@comcast.net or Frank Lasch, President & CEO, 703-670-5238 or email: azaleacharities@aol.com

Wish List:
Azalea Charities
Aid for Wounded Soldiers
www.azaleacharities.org

The Azalea Charities Aid for Wounded Soldiers project provides comfort and relief items for soldiers and Marines sick, injured and wounded from service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Depending on needs, donated items are sent to military medical and evacuation facilities around the country and around the world.

How Your Money is Spent:

Phone Cards: we need AT&T phone cards of 500 minutes or more for wounded soldiers recuperating at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. We need 500 minute cards and above because of high overseas phone rates.

DVD movies: very important for morale of bedridden patients. Hospitals are boring and noisy, privacy is at a premium. Even momentary escape from the tedium of hospital routine can be beneficial. We have only a very limited supply of current-title (within the last year) DVD movies. .

Portable DVD players: these are the 7"-10" self contained players. Particularly useful for bedridden patients and those whose mobility limitations prevent them from getting to ward lounge areas to watch movies. New only.

X Boxes: these are video game sets that the soldiers love to play. The sets come with only one controller, so the donation of an X Box should be accompanied by up to 3 additional controllers so that up to 4 soldiers can play the game together. Soldiers will play these games for hours. A real cure for hospital boredom.

CD music: R&B, country, rock; anything on the top 20 CD list (usually available on an end-cap at any music store). Soldiers away for a year yearn to know the latest music. New and recent only.

Men’s Clothes: many soldiers arrive at in hospital with only the clothes on their backs. Your contributions allow us to purchase critical needed items:

  • Boxer shorts (S, M, LG, XL)
  • "T" shirts (M, LG, XL)
  • Basketball style (nylon) exercise shorts (M, LG, XL)
  • Snap-sided (breakaway) sweat pants (M, LG, XL)
  • Sweat suit sets (M, LG, XL)
  • Hooded-Zippered Sweat Suit Tops and Matching Bottoms (M, LG, XL))
  • Winter hat and glove combinations (one size fits all) available now at Walmart
  • Winter Coats (M, L, XL)
  • Other items: electric razors (for wounded soldiers on blood thinners), 28" - 32" rolling luggage, stamps.

Donations are tax deductible: Donors who wish to claim a tax deduction should include a self-addressed stamped envelope for return of a receipt. IRS Tax No: 54-1973354-501{c}3.

Donation Collection Points: bring items to the Manassas Journal Messenger office, 9009 Church Street Manassas or to the Potomac News, 14010 Smoketown Road in Woodbridge. Residents of Montclair can bring items to the MPOA office at 3561 Waterway Drive. Fairfax County residents can deposit donations at collection boxes both inside and outside St. Peter's in the Woods church at 5911 Fairview Drive in Fairfax Station.

Donation POC: George Kraus at (703) 680-3557, E-Mail: blackgeorge@comcast.net or Frank Lasch, President & CEO, 703-670-5238 or email: azaleacharities@aol.com

For online donation form click here