Shop at iGive.com & support OPERATION Hug-A-Hero

This holiday season, send a gift that means an automatic donation to OPERATION Hug-A-Hero when you shop at any of over 700 participating online stores through iGive, a portion of each purchase comes back to support our cause in the form of a donation check.

Gotta have those fringed boots for the season?  Order them from shoebuy.com at  iGive.com and 7.6% of your purchase will be donated to OPERATION Hug-A-Hero!  Sending photocards?  Order them through Snapfish at  iGive.com and 6.4% of your purchase will be donated to OPERATION Hug-A-Hero!

It’s free for you, free for us, and you pay the same (or less!) than you would by going directly to the store. Shopping online means no wasted gas and no more standing in long lines at the mall. And to all you smart shoppers: don’t miss iGive’s treasure-trove of coupons, sales, and free shipping. Save money, save time, and send gifts that give twice. What could be better than that?

See for yourself here: iGive.com

Be sure to select OPERATION Hug-A-Hero as your cause, Bookmark it and start shopping!

As always, we thank you for your support!

Team OPERATION Hug-A-Hero

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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Ebay Flag Auction to benefit OPERATION Hug-A-Hero

Veterans Day is only a few days away. Wednesday November 11, 2009.   You can help make this day even more memorable  for a Special Friend or Loved one who is a Veteran , Patriot or Flag Collector by participating in an EBay auction to support OPERATION Hug-A-Hero.

We have been provided with a very special  opportunity to help raise attention to the OPERATION Hug-A-Hero mission while also being able to pay tribute to all of our Veterans all across the globe. We would like to call your attention to the information below regarding an EBay Auction that started this week and will continue until approximately 10:00 PM on  Veterans Day.

This is a very Special Flag, and while the specific details of where it is going to be flown are a SECRET, we know that whomever is the wining  bidder will be pleased with the historic nature and value of this collectible item of our Military History. On top of that, the proceeds will go to OPERATION Hug-A-Hero.  That means that we will be able to help  reach-out to many more children in need.  We are hoping that the bidding  will continue to increase as word spreads of this great item and the great cause that it will support.

Every $30.00 that we can bring in allows us to help (1) child.  A $300.00 bid will allow us to help about 10 children, $500.00 would help over 16 and $1000.00 dollars will help over 30 children.  No matter the amount of the final bid, know that your thoughtfulness will go to help a very worthwhile cause and every time you look at the Flag and the Certificate in your name, you will be proud to own a piece of history and will know that you helped a lot of Military family’s and put a smile on the face of a young child in the process!

We would be honored if you bid on this SPECIAL Flag as a tribute to our VETERANS. It would be great  if you could also pass this article or link on to a friend or relative who might be interested.

Thanks from Team OPERATION Hug-A-Hero

===================================

American Flag Tribute

November 5, 2009 – November 11, 2009

EBay Auction Item number: 180426880681

Bid on an American Flag flown proudly over one of the most historically-significant overseas military installations in celebration of all those who have served our nation.

• Flag will be flown on Veterans Day.
• Winning Bidder will have their name inscribed on a Certificate accompanying the Flag stating that the Flag was flown in their Honor.
• Flag will be expertly Folded by US MARINES, and inserted into a Flag Presentation Case.
• Certificate will be accompanied in a matching frame.

===================================

This is not any Flag; but one that will be flown on a US Military Base that is located overseas in a location with significant historical merit.   The Flag is a standard 5 x 8 Flag that will be flown on Veterans Day November 11, 2009.

Once the Flag has been flown, a Certificate will be issued identifying the Time, Location and Place that the Flag was flown and Signed by a Commission US Military Officer.   We have arranged to have the Certificate held until the 15^th, so that we can determine the winner of the Auction. That individuals name will then be put on the Certificate, which will then be Formally Signed and Framed, notifying all that The Flag was flown for this person(s) on behalf of OPERATION Hug-A-Hero.

The Flag will then be Expertly Folded by US MARINES, the procedure photographed and the Flag will then be inserted into a Flag Presentation Case and sealed.

The Flag/Case Framed Certificate and (2) Photos of the Flag Folding Ceremony will then be packed and shipped to the United States office of OPERATION HUG-A-HERO, where it will then be FED-EX Ground to the winner.

Please expect 2-3 weeks delivery at completion of the Auction due to shipping from the overseas location.

OPERATION Hug-A-Hero would like to provide a special thanks to the Team at Goin Postal, in New Port Richey, FL for setting up and running the auction for us. They have kindly donated their services to support the OPERATION Hug-A-Hero cause.

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