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thedrifter
10-27-09, 01:21 PM
'New Media' Effort Fuels Laptops and More for Wounded Troops
Tue Oct 27, 2009 4:30am EDT


Soldiers' Angels Conducts 4th Annual Online Valour-IT Fundraising Competition

PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Divided among four
"virtual teams," a wide variety of bloggers and other New Media mavens are
competing on the Internet to see who can inspire the most donations to help
wounded troops. Part of the Soldiers' Angels fifth annual online Valour-IT
Veterans Day fundraising competition that runs through Veterans Day (November
11), the effort helps ensure America's wounded soldiers have access to
voice-controlled laptops and other technology that supports their physical and
psychological recovery.

In just over four years, Project Valour-IT has given 4,100 voice-controlled
laptops to severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, and has
supplied additional items that may be a surprising fit in a recovery regimen
-- Wii game systems and handheld GPS devices.

"This project changes lives," says Soldiers' Angels founder Patti
Patton-Bader. "Wounded heroes say that being able to use a laptop helps them
feel whole again. Physical therapists are actually designing therapy sessions
around Wii Sports! And something as normal as a handheld GPS reduces stress
and helps a hero cope. It's just amazing what this project does!"

Each of the devices Valour-IT supplies helps restore confidence and
independence. Voice-activated laptops reconnect the wounded with the world
and develop self-confidence by showing soldiers they can continue to be
engaged and productive despite their injuries. Wounded servicemembers also use
the laptops for education about their medical care or preparation for a
post-military career. Physical therapists report Wii Sports and similar
programs are extremely motivational and beneficial when used in physical
therapy settings, though they are not standard equipment in military
hospitals. And wounded personnel with short-term memory loss due to TBI
(Traumatic Brain Injury) and severe PTSD use GPS systems to keep from getting
lost or disoriented when they move on to more independent living.

Donations for Valour-IT may be made online at Soldiers' Angels, or by sending
checks or money orders to Soldiers' Angels, Valour-IT Fund, 1792 E. Washington
Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104. Details of the current fundraising competition are
available at www.soldiersangels.org and www.valour-it.blogspot.com.

Established in 2003, Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-based 501(c)(3)
non-profit providing aid and comfort to members of the United States Army,
Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, as well as veterans and military
families. For more information, see www.soldiersangels.org or call
623-570-3903. Tax ID# 20-0583415 CFC #25131


SOURCE Soldiers' Angels

Soldiers' Angels, +1-623-570-3903

Ellie