“The Real Heroes” ARC Event Recap – Rizer Family

Daddy Dolls our parent sponsor, works within the military community on other benefits that sometimes provide parallel relationships that are both supportive of Daddy Dolls business and that also bring awareness  and support to our Non Profit Mission to provide Free Hug A hero Dolls to Those families who meet OHAH eligibility requirements. In that venue back in October 2009 Daddy Dolls sponsored an event with the American Red Cross of San Diego. We recently received permission to  publish a letter we had received from this event. Here is the event recap.

“Daddy Dolls, Inc. has partnered with the American Red Cross San Diego/Imperial Counties Chapter to help provide Hug-A-Hero dolls to children who are missing their mommy or daddy.  In a recent breakfast honoring “The Real Heroes” which took place on board the USS Midway, there were surprises waiting for some of the Little Heroes in attendance.

Please read on to hear about the heartfelt experience this had on the children attending, especially little Miss Katie Rizer.”

“Good afternoon: Words cannot express how grateful I am for what your company did in support of our Real Heroes Breakfast. The event, held on board the USS MIDWAY was very successful, attracting over 800 people from our community, all of whom were touched by the Hug-a-Hero dolls at their tables. When it was announced that the individuals on the dolls were real service members currently deployed and that the dolls were donated as gifts to their families, a long applause erupted throughout the hanger deck. Many folks throughout the morning commented on the dolls and on how real they made the experience of military families who find ways to cope with missing parents and absentee spouses as a measure of their commitment to something bigger than themselves.

Your generosity also allowed us to invite ten Marines from the Wounded Warrior Program at Balboa Naval Hospital. They were grateful for the invitation and enjoyed a front row seat as they heard Rear Admiral Bonnelli thank them for their sacrifice and services. Most of all, I want you to know that your generosity made all the difference in the world to Katie Rizer, a six year old young girl whose father is currently deployed aboard the USS SAMPSON. Katie misses her father terribly and her mother Rebecca feels the pain of trying to help a young girl understand something that, on an emotional level, no six year old can understand. Katie and her mother were able to attend the breakfast as quests of your company.

I had the privilege of escorting them to their table. As we reached the table and I was introducing them to others seated there, Katie’s eyes became as big as saucers and she could not contain herself. Politely but with great emotion, Katie drew her mother’s attention to the center piece and said, “Mommy Look! It’s Daddy.” Everyone at the table turned to Katie who was a picture of unabashed joy. Rebecca, seeing the picture of her husband and watching her daughter’s joy, could not contain herself. Large tears filled her eyes and she sobbed deeply while a touching smile crossed her face. Katie’s natural response and the warm and supportive response of those seated at the table made it a moment to cherish. Rebecca let me know several times during and after the event how much this meant to her and to Katie. You and your company helped make that possible.

I know of no other way to tell you how much I appreciate what you helped me do and the potential impact of your contribution, than to send you a picture. Please enjoy and share the moment you helped create………………..Best and more later, Charlie

Charlie Fleishman

Manager, Services to the Armed Forces

American Red Cross San Diego/Imperial Counties Chapter”

2009 Holiday Hugs Drive

OPERATION Hug-A-Hero is inviting retailers, businesses, schools, churches and other interested organizations to adorn a holiday tree with OHAH Holiday Hug “ornaments.” Each ornament represents a Hug-A-Hero doll for a child, for a $25 donation. Donors can write a personal message to the child recipient on the back of the ornament which will be lovingly included in the package that OHAH will send to the child. OHAH will also offer the Holiday Hug drive on its website as well, and will offer donors the same opportunity to craft a personal message to the child recipient.

The Holiday Hugs Drive is made simple for the sponsoring organization as OHAH sends all of the materials – the sponsors simply provide the tree or other display for the ornaments. To obtain your Sponsor Package please contact our Director of Development, Stephanie Crabb at stephanie AT operationhugahero.org. or using our Contact Form select the Request a Holiday Hugs Packet option.

The Holiday Hugs for Our Littlest Heroes Drive will continue through January 31, 2010.

Be sure to check out our Press Release

Our Holiday Hug Angel:

Press Release November 17, 2009

OPERATION Hug-A-Hero® Launches Holiday Hugs Drive

OPERATION Hug-A-Hero kicks off its inaugural “Holiday Hugs for Our Littlest Heroes” Drive to provide Hug-A-Hero dolls to the children of military, law enforcement and first responder families this holiday season.

Jacksonville, NC (PRWEB) November 20, 2009 — OPERATION Hug-A-Hero, a 501(c)(3) organization serving the children of military, law enforcement and first responder families, kicks off its inaugural “Holiday Hugs for Our Littlest Heroes” drive this week with the goal of providing 2,500 children with Hug-A-Hero dolls this holiday season.

“I will be leaving behind my fiancee and daughter to go to South Korea for a year. I have only spent a few days apart since she has been born. I am hoping this (Hug-A-Hero Doll) will help her remember me while I am gone.”

OPERATION Hug-A-Hero Executive Director, Lisa Berg, reports a tremendous increase in the applications for the Hug-A-Hero doll program in the weeks leading up to and just after the holiday season. This is due in part, Berg suggests, to the fact that the holidays are very hard for the littlest heroes when they are separated from a parent or other loved one in their lives, or, in the worst case, if they have lost a parent serving in the line of duty. “The separation anxiety is often heightened during the holidays, a time that is already particularly stressful for the family back on the homefront or that is grieving a loss. In addition, the number of units and individuals across our armed forces scheduled to deploy in the January-February timeframe is high,” stated Berg.

A recent application for the OPERATION Hug-A-Hero program from a service member in the United States Air Force readying for deployment puts the need into perspective. The application stated, “I will be leaving behind my fiancee and daughter to go to South Korea for a year. It will be extremely hard for me considering I have only spent a few days apart since she has been born. I am hoping this (Hug-A-Hero doll) will help her remember me while I am gone,” shared Berg.

OPERATION Hug-A-Hero is inviting retailers, businesses, schools, churches and other interested organizations to adorn a holiday tree with OPERATION Hug-A-Hero Holiday Hug ornaments. Each ornament (a $25 donation) represents a Hug-A-Hero doll to be gifted to an eligible child. Donors can write a personal message to the child recipient on the back of the ornament which will be lovingly included in the package that OPERATION Hug-A-Hero will send to the child. The Holiday Hugs Drive is made simple for the sponsoring organization as OPERATION Hug-A-Hero sends all of the materials – the sponsors simply provide the tree or other display for the ornaments.

Individuals who want to participate in the Holiday Hugs Drive may do so on the OPERATION Hug-A-Hero website. The website will also offer donors the same opportunity to craft a personal message to the child recipient.

“We are thrilled at the early response from organizations and businesses all over the country who are becoming Holiday Hugs supporters,” shared Stephanie Crabb, Director of Development for OHAH. “Our goal is to have 50 participants in the Holiday Hugs Drive this year, and for each of those sites to display a minimum of 50 Holiday Hug ornaments. If we achieve this goal we will be able to include 2,500 more children in our program.”

The Holiday Hugs for Our Littlest Heroes Drive will continue through January 31, 2010.

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Press Release November 10, 2009

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                      November 10, 2009

OPERATION Hug-A-Hero® Veterans Day American Flag Tribute eBay Auction

OPERATION Hug-A-Hero launches eBay auction featuring an American Flag flown over an historic military installation, in honor of the winning bidder, on Veterans Day. Proceeds raised from the auction will support OPERATION Hug-A-Hero’s programs and services targeting the children of those who serve in the military, law enforcement and as first responders.

United States (PRunderground) November 10, 2009 – OPERATION Hug-A-Hero®, a 501(c)(3) organization serving the children of military, law enforcement and first responders, launched a very special auction this week on eBay to raise valuable funds and honor those who have served the nation – past, present and fallen – this Veterans Day.

To the highest bidder will go an American Flag, flown specifically in his/her name in honor of those who have served, high and proud over one of the most historically-significant US military installations in the world, on Veterans Day. The unique, one-of-a-kind collectible is expected to generate great interest and a generous bid for OPERATION Hug-A-Hero.

“We are humbled by the individuals who organized this amazing tribute and selected OPERATION Hug-A-Hero as the beneficiary,” stated Stephanie Crabb, Director of Development for the non-profit group. “There is no greater symbol of freedom than the American Flag. To have it fly high and proud, at a US military installation steeped in rich history for our cause, on Veterans Day no less, is incredibly moving for our entire team.”

Once the Flag has been flown, a certificate bearing the name of the winning bidder, the time, location and installation where the Flag was flown will be signed by a commissioned US military officer. Further, the certificate will notify all that the Flag was flown for the winning bidder on behalf of OPERATION Hug-A-Hero and all of those who have served.

The eBay auction is being sponsored by Goin’ Postal in New Port Richey, Florida, a specialist in eBay auction services that donated its expertise and waived all fees associated with the auction as its contribution to OPERATION Hug-A-Hero.

The American Flag Tribute eBay auction for OPERATION Hug-A-Hero will end at 10 pm EST on Wednesday, November 11, 2009. Interested parties may bid on the Flag on eBay, EBay Auction Item number: 180426880681.

For more information on the American Flag Tribute or other OPERATION Hug-A-Hero fundraising initiatives, please contact stephanie@operationhugahero.org

About OPERATION Hug-A-Hero:

Operation Hug-A-Hero® is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization (ID # 26-3006655) serving the children of our nation’s heroes that serve in our armed services, law enforcement and as first responders.

Since its establishment in 2008, Operation Hug-A-Hero has raised funds to launch and implement its Hug-A-Hero doll program. To date, hundreds of Hug-A-Hero dolls have been provided, at no cost, to the children of heroes that are deployed, in harm’s way each and every day, or fallen.

The Hug-A-Hero doll is no ordinary doll. The Hug-A-Hero doll’s design features the head-to-toe photograph of the recipient’s parent or loved one and a personalized message just for them. The doll not only provides comfort in the times of distress or sadness that separation can cause, but also provides a vehicle for the child to share his/her feeling and tell his/her story about his/her hero’s service.

Please visit www.operationhugahero.org to learn more, make a donation or volunteer.

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Press Release November 5, 2009

OPERATION HUG-A-HERO®

SELECTS FEEDBLITZ AS ITS PRIMARY RSS FEED

AND NEWSLETTER AGGREGATOR

WHO WE ARE: Operation Hug-A-Hero® (OHAH), www.OperationHugAHero.org
WHAT WE DO: Provide FREE Hug-A-Hero® Dolls to Children of our American Heroes
WHERE: Across the Globe
WHY: To Help Comfort the Children of our American Heroes
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Donate to and Help Make Others Aware of Our Inspiring Cause

Effective November 1, 2009, OPERATION Hug-A-Hero® is using  FeedBlitz services to integrate their RSS feeds to supply Newsletter subscription services to all viewers on our site.

OHAH Board Member and acting CTO Thomas Townsend said,

“We wanted to provide our viewers with an easy option to receive news and updates about our nonprofit organization. As a nonprofit in its infancy, we wanted to  differentiate ourselves from other nonprofits to call attention to our cause. This is the primary reason our website was redeveloped into a Social Content Managed System this last spring. Today’s technology is Web 2.0 based and social by design. Our cause has a huge social element to it, and we needed a venue that would work seamlessly into our new site to allow us to communicate on a more dynamic level, have a wide reach of different social network aspects that would still allow us to maintain a very personal and down to earth feel to it. This is where FeedBlitz uniquely fits in.

As our organization grows, we now have the ability to reach all of our potential demographics with a single service that integrates analytics, subscriber management and data collection facilities all in one service.

We have a dynamic team supporting our fundraising efforts.  In the current economic climate we feel using Feedblitz will help get our message out to more people, help bring awareness to our cause, visitors to our site and hopefully more donations and sponsors so we can help more children.”

About OPERATION HUG-A-HERO®

OPERATION Hug-A-Hero®: a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in August 2008, and granted it’s 501(c)(3) designation in early July 2009. Operation Hug-A-Hero® reaches out to families of our deployed military and public safety officers in need. We do this by providing a FREE Hug-A-Hero® doll to the children of families who cannot afford one or who have lost a loved one in the line of duty.

For additional information, photos and back story on Operation Hug-A-Hero® or for local recipients (i.e. military families in your local area that have benefited from our services), contact Lisa Berg or visit www.operationhugahero.org.

CONTACT:
Founder: Tricia Dyal (910) 333-1502, Tricia at OperationHugAHero.org
Executive Director & Media Relations Point of Contact: Lisa Berg (910) 546-3127, Lisa at OperationHugAHero.org

About FeedBlitz

FeedBlitz, LLC was founded in August, 2005 to provide a service enabling marketers, publishers and bloggers to make more effective use of newsletters, RSS and new media technologies by helping subscribers get the information they want in their preferred format. FeedBlitz converts RSS and blog updates into email newsletters delivered daily (or desired frequency) to subscribers’ inboxes, instant messengers or social network site. Managing subscriptions, circulation tracking, real-time analytics, and email Autoresponders, FeedBlitz is compatible with all major blogging platforms and services. More information is available at http://www.feedblitz.com/

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Newsletter migration to FeedBlitz

The team at OHAH has been working hard to spread the message about our cause. One of the ways we achieve that is by communicating on the different social sites we have accounts on such as Face Book, MySpace,Twitter and YouTube to name a few.  Our web site here at Operationhugahero.org is our main communications portal if you will, and helps us to achieve one of our goals of being able to maintain that close dialog and relationship with our Hug-A-Hero families, as well as all those interested in following our progress or in helping us to spread the word about our mission.

Many of you have signed up for our email newsletter and it is to you that I am writing tonight’s post. We have some very exciting new features and enhancements to the site that we will be rolling out this month. The first one of those is our new and improved newsletter feature.

If you are a current subscriber, there is some important information below that we need you to be aware of so you can keep getting updates from us. If you have not yet signed up for our newsletter feature, you are going to want to do this so you don’t miss out on all the great new features in store for our visitors and subscribers.

Late last month we converted out RSS feed system from FeedBurner to FeedBlitz.  Most of you will not have noticed as it was a fairly seamless process. The newsletter feature is the final part of the integration and that means that everyone that is currently subscribed will be getting a notification from our newsletter vendor FeedBlitz in the next few days. Actually the cut-over is going to take place on November 4^th at approximately 8:00 PM EST.

So what do you need to do if you are currently subscribed to OPERATION HUG-A-HERO ?

Add feedblitz@mail.feedblitz.com to your address books or email white lists immediately.

• Only unsubscribe to our newsletter using the links we provide in each email, and not on your ISP’s spam or abuse buttons.
• Look out for the message from FeedBlitz advising you that the change has taken place.

If you want to know what the new Newsletter will look like, click on the Preview Link either here or on the home page. Be sure to pass our Newsletter on and invite others to sign up too.

Stay tuned for our Press Release that will be posted on Wednesday evening after the migration.  It will be in the new format and  the Press Release provides a lot of the details as to why we decided to use FeedBlitz services.

Thanks Again

Team OPERATION Hug-A-Hero

Motorcycle Ride for OPERATION Hug-A-Hero & Children’s Bicycle Rodeo

REGISTER NOW!

Be one of the first 100 to register and receive a FREE t-shirt!

October 24th 2009 in Jacksonville, North Carolina there will be (2) great events to support our Military and Operation Hug-A-Hero. These  events are for the entire family. The first event is for all the  Motorcycle Enthusiasts. This Harley Ride is just for you.  For the second event be sure to bring your children along for the Bicycle Rodeo, where the kids get to dress up their bikes with all kinds of free stickers and then a contest for the best dressed and a lot of other categories for them to win prizes with their bikes.  Lot’s of fun stuff for children of all ages; there will be Face Painting, a Rock Wall,  Giveaways, Live Music, Food and more.

So be sure to set the date (October 24, 2009) on your calendar for these two great fun events at the New River Harley Davidson off Wilmington Highway in Jacksonville, NC.

Event 1 – Harley Ride for Operation Hug-A-Hero

Fall is in the air! Rain or shine, be a part of the first ever ride in our community for our littlest heroes!

Ride for Operation Hug-A-Hero – Jacksonville, NC

October 24, 2009

New River Harley Davidson/Buell

2394 Wilmington Highway

Jacksonville, NC

The Harley Ride is Sponsored by:

$20 Solo Rider (Free Event T-Shirt to first 100 registered riders)

9:00 AM Kickoff and Registration

11:00 AM Kickstands Up

After Party – WRNS Your Country 95.1 FM Broadcasting Live – Kids Bicycle Rodeo

For more information, contact: Tricia Dyal @ 910-333-1502 or tricia AT operationhugahero.org

Event 2 – Kids Bicycle Rodeo and Family Fun

Kids Bicycle Rodeo and Family Fun – Jacksonville, NC

October 24, 2009

New River Harley Davidson/Buell

2394 Wilmington Highway

Jacksonville, NC

The Kids Bicycle Rodeo and Family Fun is Sponsored by: Accent Real Estate

While the motorcycles roar, bring your kids and their “bikes” for an old-fashion bike rodeo!

Free Admission – Donations Gratefully Accepted (Free Event T-Shirt to first 100 registered participants)

10:00 AM Kickoff, Registration and Bike Decorating

11:15 AM Bike Parade and Rodeo Begins

After Party – WRNS Your Country 95.1 FM Broadcasting Live – Inflatable Playland -Games

For more information, contact: Tricia Dyal @ 910-333-1502 or tricia AT operationhugahero.org

REGISTER NOW!

Be one of the first 100 to register and receive a FREE t-shirt!

Ride for our Cause!

Sportsman’s Lodge is sponsoring this exciting event! Just $20 gets you in to ride your motorcycle in support of our Littlest Heroes! While the big bikers are off on their great ride, the little bikers will stay behind and enjoy our Children’s Rodeo, sponsored by Accent Real Estate! Lejeune High School Seniors are putting on the Rodeo! Logan’s Food will be there! Vendors will be setup, Hooter’s Girls, a Paintball gun given out from Sportsman’s Lodge in a 50/50 drawing, WRNS Broadcasting Live! Starting at 9:00 and every half hour, a Hug-A-Hero kit will be given away compliments of Daddy Dolls, Inc. The Hug-A-Hero Kit includes a free voucher for the custom made doll of their hero and a voice recorder! There will be a raffle for the chance to win 4 new bikes. Kids bring your bikes and enjoy the following – Extreme Biking, Best in Show, Decorating Contest and a Parade. Bikes will be judged by some of the Motorcycle Riders. Trophies will be awarded at 1:00! Kids can enjoy the Rock Wall and Moon Bounce! Family Fun for everyone. Come on out and show your support for our military and for Operation Hug-A-Hero!

10 Connects Hero – Operation Hug-A-Hero

Operation Hug-A-Hero and the Dorr Family were spotlighted today by Tampa Bay’s 10 Connects and recognized as local heroes.  The feature interview describes the challenges the Dorr Family faced with the deployment of Brian Dorr to Afghanistan.  Operation Hug-a-Hero was there to hear how their Hug-A-Hero doll helped their daughter Paisley and how it kept Daddy close throughout his time overseas.  The video and article can be found here.

Hero Day at Harley Davidson – Brandon –

“Come out and visit one of our local Harley Davidson Stores as they host a Heroes Bike Night at the Brandon Store. This event is remembering 9/11 and our American Heroes, yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Operation Hug-A-Hero will be present at this event to pass out fliers and spread awareness so families in need can have one of their own Hug-A-Hero dolls!”

Tussey Family Testimonial

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