The few days we spent in Landstuhl at the beginning of December visiting wounded U.S. soldiers deeply touched me. You would have thought Sherry, Deb, and I had known one another forever. They are both such magnificent women, who radiate love with each person they meet. Sherry was so very gracious in allowing us to not only stay in her home, but in driving out of her way to give us more time with the troops.
With each conversation we had, I was reminded of the significance of simply "showing up". These words have tremendous meaning for me as I experienced them for the first time when I volunteered with the Red Cross at the Respitz Center at Ground Zero for 18 days after 9/11. There was a fire chief who shared a story with me about a camping trip he had that summer with 28 fellow firemen and their children. I remember him telling me how he could visualize them sitting around the campfire sharing stories, and how very much it hurt knowing those children would now have one less parent at future campfires. As tears streamed down both of our faces, he looked at me and said "Thank you for showing up, you don't know how much it has helped me to share this with you."
Never before did I realize that I could make a difference just by "showing up".
As I retold my experiences to some of the troops I was playing cards with, they were astounded that 9/11 was what ultimately brought me to them. One soldier in particular asked me the following day "Why are you here"? I told him that I was there to encourage the wounded and tell each one how much I appreciated the sacrifices they have made every single day to serve our country and to make the world a better place. He then said to me "You know, a lot of celebrities come here for photo ops, and leave without spending any quality time with us. Having you, an ordinary person, come here and just spend time playing cards and talking to us, means more than some of those celebrity visits ever will." Again, "showing up" was all it took.
Of course, not all celebrities are simply into photo ops. I just had Christian Slater on one of my flights (the day after Christmas). He had on a USO cap, and we discussed what it was like for him on the USO tour. He said he was incredibly moved by the tenacity of the wounded and how much he enjoyed spending quality time talking with the troops. Along with Gary Sinise, I believe these two celebrities really take the time to make our military feel valued and respected. Christian told me about his visits to Walter Reed Medical Center and some of his stories from there. They were deeply moving and I was thankful to be able to share the needs we experienced from our Airline Ambassadors mission.
We just never know the importance of one small act and how it can affect others, all the way around the world, even at times in the distant future. We learned that when wounded soldiers arrive, they only have the clothing on their backs. There is a tremendous need for solid black zip up sweatshirts (with no logo) and sweat pants, and black duffel bags that can be put on the wheelchairs. In addition, they need athletic shoes (one pair is often sadly used for two individuals).
One thing the wounded told me they would like are cards and board games to break the boredom. They also asked if we could please come back to the center to share our love and gratitude with wounded troops who come in after them.
One of my projects before going to Germany, was to ask my contacts from Facebook and email to rally together to have Christmas cards written to give to our wounded troops. When we passed out some of these cards (I hand delivered 539 which I received prior to my flight from JFK) at the center, the soldiers lit up saying how nice it was to have complete strangers reach out to them with words of encouragement and thanks. Words cannot begin to convey my gratitude for those who spent countless hours making and writing cards .. or for the kind donations of gifts sent to me to take to the wounded.
I can't wait to share more stories from the next visit to Landstuhl with Airline Ambassadors, which I hope is in the not so distant future, and having more volunteers join us in supporting our Wounded Warriors!
Robin
Over Christmas Airline Ambassadors turned my double layover into El Salvador into an amazing holiday experience providing 3,000 lbs of aid for the country's recent flood victims.
Thanks to Lory Oppenheimer for arranging the shipping of the aid through TACA, Dave and I delivered the aid to the new First Lady’s office and launched an AAI partnership with her with a press conference at the Presidential Palace.
On Christmas Day our flight crew helped deliver toys and gifts to two orphanages: the Jardin de Amor (for HIV kids) and the Hogar Infantil. All the children received presents.
A thousand thanks for the donation of teddy bears from the Desert Aids Project, toys from Ana Montano, and CROCS shoes and other gifts from the flight attendants on our American Airlines crew.
What better way to spend Christmas!
Nancy Rivard
Airline Ambassadors began its first project in Colombia in a small town called San Juan del Cesar. The program is in partnership with the Inter American Development Bank.
On this trip we provided accordions and other musical instruments to the music school of “El Maestro Mauro Milian”, an institution which has dedicated all its efforts to educate the most needy, including very young indigenous children.
We were also able to visit a very poor community called “Las Tunas”: 32 families in real need of homes, education, health and work. We had two meetings with the new mayor who was very receptive to our visit. As always we counted on the help of the National Police Department, especially Colonel Chavarro from the narcotics division who played a very important role in our logistics. We also had huge support from Antonio Urbina (a very well known artist in our country) and Tasha Bermudez, a new Airline Ambassadors' member.
The idea for now is to obtain additional instruments for the school using the formal agreement for partnership with the Inter-American Cultural & Development Foundation of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Organization of American States.
The governor of Cundinamarca would like AAI to initiate the AAI CASA Program, which is key for this community. There are tons of things to do. We are organizing an agenda to start our planning. We’ll keep you all posted!
Andres
The meal we prepared for the Wounded Warriors was a great success for the soldiers AND us! Periodically I made announcements introducing the celebrity in our presence and handed out the printout about Robin and what she does. They were blown away and sooo appreciative and amazed. A few guys initially were kind of distant but then joined in. They finished off the chili con carne, and we had a little bit of the vegi-chili left over. We had soldiers who, due to their wounds, couldn't serve themselves (one was an officer) so it was an honor to prepare their plates.
Then we put out the word that I was a massage therapist - I had instant "best friends ever" from a number of injured soldiers. I couldn't work on anyone that is on pain medication so a few were disappointed, but the others were very appreciative!
Robin was in her element last night - she was with her people. She can dole it out (as in "smart mouth" and quick wit) with the best of them (see photo with two new friends...)! As for me - I'm a little slow to catch on sometimes - but that provided more laughter which promotes the healing process. YEAHHHH! And of course Sherry was right at home.
Sherry, Robin, and I are totally fulfilled and enjoying every aspect of this opportunity. Thank you, THANK YOU Airline Ambassadors!
Deb
Last Thursday, December 3rd in New York City, Airline Ambassadors International celebrated CHILDREN OF THE WORLD at the United Nations. AAI provides humanitarian assistance to children and families in need as well as international relief and development to under-privileged communities worldwide. It is the only non-profit in the world leveraging connections with the airline industry to facilitate humanitarian efforts, and is recognized by the US Congress and the United Nations. AAI has been granted official U.N. Non-Governmental Organization status.
President and founder, Nancy Rivard, is employed by American Airlines and has been since 1976. She was moving up the management line of American Airlines, but decided to move back to her original position as a flight attendant. She founded Airline Ambassadors in 1996. Originally, AAI began with airline personnel bringing relief and aid to smaller underdeveloped countries whenever Rivard and her colleagues had a layover. AAI has now expanded to 6000 members including medical and business professionals, students and retirees.
Rivard has gotten American Airlines to get involved and provide needed aircraft to deliver shipments to smaller countries. Monthly volunteer mission groups organize in the several selected countries to distribute relief and aid to the needy countries.Thursday's event presented two awards. The 2009 Global Compassion Award went to Joaquin Antuna and Paz y Cooperacion. Paz y Cooperacion was founded by Joaquin Antuna in 1982. It has been centered on promoting a movement of non-violence and creativity and on building a world of solidarity. Airline Ambassadors has partnered with Paz y Cooperacion since 1996 with their annual international school competition, the Peace and Cooperation School Award. The School Award encourages students and teachers to reflect upon the important issues of our time.
The 2009 Global Humanitarian Award went to the McCord Foundation, Jim and Darlene McCord. The McCord Research Foundation is the philanthropic arm of McCord Research, supporting programs and causes close to the hearts of Jim and Darlene McCord. The foundation currently funds many activities including research by the University of Tennessee on a cure for Buruli Ulcer which effects many children in Africa. Darlene McCord informed the audience that Buruli Ulcer is the quiet epidemic that is affecting children in Ghana. Buruli Ulcer is a skin disease caused by bacteria that is a genetic cousin to the bacteria that causes leprosy and tuberculosis. Like leprosy, patients with Buruli ulcer develop ulcers on their body that can eventually cripple and even kill them.
To help celebrate the evening, performances were led by George Sigma and Jamia Nash. Mr. Sigma debuted an original one of a song entitled “PEACE”, in which in just 3 minutes and 12 seconds he includes the word ‘peace’ in 77 languages and idioms. Thirteen year old singer and actress Jamia Nash sung the inspirational song “Hero” by Mariah Carey. Jamia spoke very eloquently about how passionate she is about AAI and the work that is to be done. Ms. Nash is known for appearing in the film, “August Rush” and singing the song, “Raise It Up”. She currently stars in the daytime soap, “The Young and the Restless”.
The CHILDREN OF THE WORLD event last Thursday raised continued awareness and acknowledged those coming together through shared resources and public engagement to make an international global difference.
We arrived safe & sound in Frankfurt. Yesterday while I napped, Sherry & Deb went to the commissary to purchase groceries to feed up to 100 wounded troops this afternoon / evening (see info box to the right). Today is Football Sunday and we will be serving homemade chili and loads of baked potatoes. It is probably chilly outside, but you would never know it as the oven has been on since the wee hours of the morning.
The only obstacle we ran into so far, was Sherry and I spending time to dig through the recycling bag to try to find the recipe for banana nut bread. After finally giving up and going to another recipe, Lexi (Sherry's 13 year old) walked into the kitchen and found the note card we had spent hours looking for. Now I will be the one to blame if the banana bread doesn't turn out.
I am also the first one to fall sick. Sherry was so sweet to take me to the bakery with her this morning so we could pick out freshly made German treats for breakfast and coffee (extra strong). As we were standing there talking, I started scratching like a dog with fleas, and my right arm broke out in a huge welt. Hives. After a short discussion, I was popping Benadryl and drank what seemed like a gallon of water - although a good stein of German beer would have probably have made the hives go away quicker...
The facility we are going to is a USO Wounded Warrior center at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. The Wounded Warriors come and go throughout the day .. and I am hoping to find a way to root on the Seahawks, especially to cause a little adversary between one of the Marines who was giving me hard time yesterday. It seems they LOVE having visitors at the center, and, of course, I now make a good person for them to pick on with my skin looking like beetroot. The troops were so excited to find out we were the ones cooking for them today, and kept asking what time we would be returning. Not sure if they were more excited for the company or our home cooking.
We've been reading through the 600+ cards my friends so graciously rallied to get written for me to hand deliver. It's been incredibly uplifting to see the sweet words of encouragement from girl scouts, students, nursing home residents and all the loving people who contributed to my request. Hopefully going forward people will continue to send Sherry cards for the wounded, as that will be an ongoing request of mine (not just for the holidays).
For now, I must hop in the shower. I've been up since 5am trying to get everything accomplished for our day. I feel so very blessed to be here ..
Robin (photo of us all plus Jo from USO)
The few days we spent in Landstuhl at the beginning of December visiting wounded U.S. soldiers deeply touched me. You would have thought Sherry, Deb, and I had known one another forever. They are both such magnificent women, who radiate love with each person they meet. Sherry was so very gracious in allowing us to not only stay in her home, but in driving out of her way to give us more time with the troops.
