Operation Gift Card

Westport Firefighters joined with Connecticut veterans to present $5,000 in gift certificates to our wounded and injured troops.

Last week two Westport firefighters traveled to Walter Reed National Military Medical Hospital in Bethesda Maryland and Fort Belvoir in Virginia, as co-sponsors for Operation Gift Cards, to deliver thank you kits to wounded and injured troops. The Westport Uniformed Firefighters Charitable Foundation donated $1,000 to Operation Gift Cards.
Firefighter Peter Nichio, a former Marine and Army veteran with two combat deployments and current member of the Army National Guard, and Assistant Chief Brian Meadows traveled to Walter Reed and Fort Belvoir to hand deliver the thank you kits over a two-day period.

Each wounded patient received $75 in gift certificates.

Since October 2005, Operation Gift Cards’ 202 monthly/ bimonthly visits have presented 34,480 thank you kits which contained $771,915 in post exchange (military department store) gift certificates to our wounded troops. An additional $1,040,870 in other gift certificates and special group product donations (Girl Scout cookies, corporate gift certificates etc.) have been delivered to the Soldier Family Assistance Center, the Fisher Houses, Building 62, the Navy Lodge, the Red Cross, and the Casualty Affairs Office, along with over $50,000 worth items on the “wish list” for both the wounded troops and their families (approx. $1,862,780.00 total).

The All-Volunteer group has organized the delivery of over $1,862,780.00 in Post Exchange Service gift cards and corporate donations to the wounded troops at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland and at Fort Belvior, Virginia during 202 monthly/bimonthly visits during the past 16 1/2 years. The program has 79 organizations or individuals who have become co-sponsors to the program by purchasing $1,000.00 of Post Exchange gift cards (in $25.00 amounts) and in doing so, they have the opportunity to send one representative to hand deliver their donation to the wounded troops (at their own expense, which enables each organization or individual to deliver 100% of their donation to the wounded troops).

Operation Gift Card is an all-volunteer group that makes monthly/bimonthly visits to Walter Reed Medical Center, and for the last year Fort Belvoir.
On February 23rd & 24th of 2022, under the guidance of Al Meadows & Buzz Ayles the organized made their 200th visit to the Walter Reed Community.
During the 16 years Operation Gift card has delivered over $1,800,000.00 in Post Exchange gift cards and corporate donations to the wounded troops and families at Walter Reed.
Over 75 organizations or individuals who have become co-sponsors to the program by purchasing $1,000 of Post Exchange gift cards (in $25.00 amounts) and in doing so, they qualify for the opportunity to send one representative to hand deliver their donation to the wounded troops. Seventy-three of the co-sponsoring organizations are from Connecticut. Each representative is responsible for his or her own expenses for the two-day trip, that enables 100% of the donation of the co-sponsor to be delivered to the wounded troops. Three hundred and forty-two representatives, of the 75 co-sponsors, have participated in the two-day visit to Walter Reed.
Smaller donations, of any amount, are collected until the amount reached $1,000.00, then Operation Gift Cards will send a wounded warrior/disabled veteran to deliver the $1,000.00 in gift cards (which is therapeutic to the veteran).
Operation Gift Cards has received 34 awards awards/special recognitions for the program: 6 national, 20 statewide, 4 military, and 4 regional/local awards.

https://www.veteransunited203.org/operation-gift-card

https://www.facebook.com/Operation-Gift-Cards-348033711897771/