Fight For The Troops

After I got done watching the copy of Kung Fu Panda I borrowed from my sister yesterday, I was flipping through the channels for something to watch while I worked on a cross-stitch project that someone's Christmas present. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back had started on SPIKE about 45 minutes earlier. Since I've see it more times than I could count, and it didn't matter that I'd missed the beginning of it, and that I didn't need to pay close attention to it to know what was going on, that's what I went with. I'm now on to Return of the Jedi, and I've now seen several commercials promoting Fight For The Troops. It seems that UFC and SPIKE are teaming up to raise money to benefit the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. UFC Fight For The Troops is a charitable services fund of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

You can make a donation - from yourself, or in honor of someone else, or even in memory of someone - in any amount you wish, or, there is also an auction for those with both the interest and the deeper pockets. Up for auction is:

• A handmade, specially bound, limited edition copy of OCTAGON® by Kevin Lynch, which weighs in at 50 pounds, currently with a high bid of $600.
• A limited edition alligator duffle, with both the Coach and UFC® logos, currently with a high bid of $500
• A once-in-a-lifetime UFC® VIP Experience, currently with a high bid of $18,100
  

So, whether you would like to donate just a little, or if you'd like to go for one of the pricey auction items, the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund is a worthy charity. What has the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund done?

• The Center for the Intrepid, co-located with Brooke Army Medical Center, opened in January 2007, specializes in physical rehabilitation
• Provided unrestricted grants of $11,000 to each spouse and $5,000 to each dependent child; and $1,000 to parents of unmarried servicemembers killed in the line of duty prior to May 12, 2005 (the government has since increased survivor benefits)
• Began construction, in June 2008, on the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (located near the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda), which - when completed - will be an advanced facility dedicated to research, diagnosis and treatment of military personnel and veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and psychological health issues.

Please do what you can to support the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.