On Memorial Day, Detroit Tech Group Helping The Troops
DETROIT -- Here's something cool for Memorial Day: A high-tech care package from Detroit has arrived in Afghanistan, about five months after a Detroit tech networking group decided to do something a little different to support the troops.
DetroitNet.org did an event in December (see www.detroitnet.org/index.php/3565/update-from-december-event/) to gather donations to support some Michigan military folks in Afghanistan, as well as their families here in the United States.
Around 20 iPods, many iTunes gift cards, cash and other items were gathered to send to the troops and their families.
According to DetroitNet.org's Dave Phillips, the group divided everything into five shipments and sent it off.
And now the stuff has started to arrive in Afghanistan. Well, except for some DetroitNet.org T-shirts, which met an untimely demise at the hands of an IED. (DetroitNet's response in this post: "Okay, Taliban, now it's personal.") See www.detroitnet.org/index.php/3614/okay-taliban-now-its-personal/.
Phillips said DetroitNet.org officials tossed a couple T-shirts into each box of goodies. The soldiers in Afghanistan said they'd take the T-shirts out into the field and get some pictures to send back home. "But the shirts were in a bag on an armored car, fell off the armored car, and detonated an IED," Phillips said. "So what we're saying is that our shirts valiantly threw themselves off an armored car and onto an IED to save American soliders."
At any rate, package No. 2 has now arrived, and it's making the guys very happy. Check it out at www.detroitnet.org/index.php/3681/package-number-2.
"It's definitely one of the best things we've managed to pull togeher as a group, and we're already making plans for our second run at this later this year," Phillips said.
So now, DetroitNet.org can lay claim to something cool besides its major mission -- helping out-of-work nerds and geeks find jobs. The organization has in fact helped more than 350 people find jobs over the past two years.
And if you'd like to help future efforts to send cool stuff to the troops, contact Phillips at echodave@gmail.com.
