[South Florida DX Association] Hams Remember Children

[Esteban Romagni]

 Hello all,
 The following message is from the ARRL Southern Florida section, if you
have any question Hope WB3ANE will be able to provide you with more
information for this good cause.
 73
 Steve
 W4DTA - YV5DTA

 News last updated: Tue, October 19, 2004 at 7:18 PM ET
 We have had more than our share of wind, rain, blue tarps, plywood, and
exercise (picking up all of the roof shingles that littered the lawn). I
hope everyone affected by September's storms is on the road to recovery and
fix-up. I'm saying a personal thank you to all who helped during and after
the storms. Every hour of time that you donated made a difference in
someone's safety.
 The ARRL is undertaking a very different project for the holidays this
year. It's called "Hams Remember Children."
 We need your help.
 Over the past weeks, we have all heard of the devastation in central
Florida. Many of you actually heard it first hand through volunteer service
or on the HF nets.
 Thousands of families are without a place to live and will be homeless over
the coming Holiday Season. For a child suddenly  living out of a tent, or
car or someone else's home, the 2004 holiday season will be anything but
jolly.
 But hams are coming to their rescue in a new way. Your club can help!
 Between now and Thanksgiving, hams across the country are being asked to
purchase a new child's toy and send it with a QSL card or 3x5 showing their
callsign to:
 Ham Radio
 The United Way White Dove Project
 50 Kindred Street - Suite 207
 Stuart, FL 34994
 "The storms and their aftermath have been especially traumatic for
children. In addition to the frightening experience of going through the
hurricanes, youngsters are coping with a great deal of stress felt within
their families and at school," writes Carol Hodnett, a Director at the
United Way site, who will be handling the distribution end of the program.
"Because of the overall strain on our state, we have been looking outside
the area for help in supporting the White Doves Holiday Project this year.
We are so incredibly thankful to you and the American Radio Relay League for
thinking of the children of our area in planning your toy drive."
 The Martin County United Way in Stuart still has the facilities to manage a
large toy drive. They have agreed to serve as the collection point and also
coordinate distribution to the surrounding counties whose agencies are no
longer capable of managing such a project.
 If you don't want to shop for a toy or take the time to mail it you can
send a check and the White Doves group will do the shopping.
 For more details go to:
 http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/10/18/2/?nc=1
</news/stories/2004/10/18/2/?nc=1>
 Remember you can give locally to other projects instead of this or in
addition to this. Please be as generous as you can with time and money this
holiday season. I have been at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in connection
with my work and I have seen many homeless families.
 Let's not forget our servicemen and women during the holidays. To send a
personal greeting go to: Operation Dear Abby -
<http://anyservicemember.navy.mil/>
 If you want to send a care package but don't have a name or a list of
needed items try this site:
 <http://anysoldier.us/index.cfm>