| Veterans
News Flash 
'Bear Hug a U.S. Soldier' to Ship 300,000 Teddy Bears Overseas; Estero Couple Created Organization to Show Support for Those Serving
By AILEEN MCELROY
Thursday, February 07, 2008
 Next Memorial Day 300,000 red, white and blue
teddy bears will be delivered into the arms of
men and women serving or having served in the U.S.
Armed Forces, thanks in part to the efforts of
David Hamblett and his wife P.J.
Late last year, the
Estero couple created "Bear
Hug a U.S. Soldier" as a means to honor
overseas military and soldiers recuperating in
VA hospitals.
Seated
on a tan couch in his Pelican Sound home, Hamblett
said he and his wife, successful retirees of a
mom-and-pop direct response company in Binghamton,
N.Y., pondered a way to give of themselves and
brainstormed "Bear Hug a U.S. Soldier."
"We felt that we have to give back," said Hamblett. "My
wife and I are the most fortunate people. We’re
61 years old and we lack for nothing."
While petting Kobi, his white puppy,
Hamblett shared he had always felt compassion
for the U.S. military. Hamblett traces
his sensitivity for soldiers back to
the Vietnam War era when he was a teenager
living in Newport, Vt. Hamblett related
he did not enter Vietnam alongside his
friends.
"I flunked the physical," he
said.
The 18-year-old Hamblett recognized he
was more fortunate than his friends overseas
in more than one way.
"I had a couple of advantages," he reflected. "Number one,
I wasn’t in harm’s way. Number two,
I had a two-year jump on all my friends going into
industry. I trained earlier and got to work earlier."
Hamblett also did not suffer the wrath
of anti-war citizens as his best friend,
a U.S. soldier, did.
"When my best friend came home, we went drinking as we all did at that
age," he said. "My best friend was spit upon. It was a very divisive
war. I always felt that my best friend didn’t
want to go and he was being dishonored for it."
Nowadays, Hamblett said his thoughts
dwell on the military stationed in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
"There have been an awful lot of men and women in this conflict now and
100 percent of the people there are volunteers," he said. "The
war is going on longer than most people anticipated and we wanted to make sure
we still honor the soldiers — the people doing their job. They’re
stopping bullets and not eating in the best of
conditions. I figured how do we honor them? I think
one of the best ways to do it is to just show your
appreciation."
The couple have committed to the manufacture
and delivery of 300,000 plush 5-inch
bears.
"All in all it will be $350,000 for the bears," said Hamblett. "If
we only sell 10 bears, my wife and I will owe $350,000. But we’re not
worried about that. We’re worried about making sure that the soldiers
know we care. It’s our way of saying we support
you and we send you a hug."
The polyester bears
come in navy blue with white stitched buttons
and a bowtie. Stitched in red on each bear’s chest are the words, "We
Support And Hug You."
"They’re red, white and blue for the flag, and everybody loves
a teddy bear," said Hamblett.
The Hambletts are also raising $1 million
for Operation Gratitude and Operation
Care and Comfort, non-profits that specialize
in the overseas delivery of care packages
to armed forces.
According to Hamblett, Operation Gratitude
will deliver 70,000 bears and Operation
Care and Comfort will deliver 140,000
bears next May to armed forces throughout
the desserts and cities of Iraq, Afghanistan
and other conflict regions. Eighty-five thousand
soldiers recuperating in VA hospitals across America
will also receive bears on Memorial Day.
"Our first goal is that we want to honor the soldiers," said Hamblett. "Our
second goal is to raise enough money for these
non-profits so that they can have a year where they can ship products that U.S.
citizens want to give without having to beg for money."
Each bear will be secured
in a mesh bag with a red ribbon drawstring. In
addition to the stuffed animal, soldiers will
also receive a thank you note, a Veteran’s
Advantage membership card and a five-minute calling
card.
"If you call internationally and through the war-zone, a five-minute
call can be very expensive and not everyone can afford it," said Hamblett. "Some
of these soldiers, their families are on food stamps,
so this is a way for them to talk to their mother
or daughter."
Thus far, "Bear Hug a U.S. Soldier" has
raised more than $5,000 and troops have already
made requests for bears through the couple’s
Web site.
"They’ve already been over 100,000 bears that the troops have asked
for so they’re very excited," said Hamblett. "We
think they will be very well received."
Hamblett conversed
with military soldiers on the upcoming Memorial
Day teddy bear dispersal and learned the U.S.
Armed Forces plans to treasure the bears in
various ways — giving bears
to kids who live near the base, sending bears home
to loved ones, or placing them in a memorabilia
box as a reminder for the years they served their
country.
Those
interested in donating to "Bear Hug
a U.S. Soldier" can visit the couple’s
Web site.
"We’re grass roots," said Hamblett. "We’re
only asking for a dollar. There isn’t anybody on the socio-economic level
whose kids haven’t been put in harm from the richest family in the world
to the poorest. It’s the people of the U.S.,
our way of saying we support you and we send you
a hug."
For more information
on "Bear Hug a U.S.
Soldier" visit: www.bearhugaussoldier.com
SOURCE:
Cape Coral Daily Breeze
top
of page | 
