Tag Archives: Support the Troops at Walter Reed

May 17, 2015 – 4th Floor: Armed Forces Day Weekend

 

buffet The Team:

Elizabeth and Mary

Thank you! Job WELL done!!!

The Menu:

Deli Platter: Turkey, Ham, and Roast Beef
Rolls & assorted breads
Condiment tray
Chicken noodle soup
Potato salad
Green beans
Fresh fruit platter
Chips
Soft drinks, juice, and water
Dessert
Fresh Smoothies

It’s still quiet on the ward. It’s also Armed Forces Day weekend, a day to honor those who are serving our country.  Continue reading May 17, 2015 – 4th Floor: Armed Forces Day Weekend

April 19, 2015 – 4th Floor: It’s Spring!

Flowering trees at Walter Reed
Spring has sprung! April 2013, Mercy Hall patio.

Way-uhl, we forgot to take pictures so here’s one from 2013 taken at a Mercy Hall luncheon.

And the sandwiches were sooo pretty. And tasty. Yep, sandwiches can be pretty. Something about nice, large, unsquished croissants with chicken or tuna salad on them to make them extra special. They were excellent. Continue reading April 19, 2015 – 4th Floor: It’s Spring!

March 22, 2015 – 4th Floor: It’s quiet on the ward!

Yep, things are quiet on the ward these days.  This is good.

The Menu:

March 22's buffet
March 22’s buffet

Turkey, ham, and roast beef sandwich platter

Tuna salad

Macaroni salad

Rolls and condiment tray

Chicken noodle soup

Fresh fruit platter

Sandwich fixin's and sides
Sandwich fixin’s and sides

Cherry tomatoes

Individual bags of chips

Smoothies

Assorted drinks.

The Donors:
Continue reading March 22, 2015 – 4th Floor: It’s quiet on the ward!

February 22, 2015 – 4th Floor: A soup and sandwich kind of day…

2015Happy New Year

After taking a break, our 2015 luncheons have begun!

We had quilts from Bayside Quilters and Katie made up snack bags to give out to our guests. Earlier in the week Gladys, Bob and I met up to give them the supply boxes. They were ready to roll!

Saturday's snow
We were keeping our fingers crossed the snow and ice that came in on Saturday would melt before they headed out Sunday morning. Thankfully, Gladys and Bob’s street was plowed and the roads in Katie’s neck of the woods were clear by the time they were ready to leave.

Continue reading February 22, 2015 – 4th Floor: A soup and sandwich kind of day…

Thursday, December 4th – MM-B’s “Holiday Cheer 2014” Luncheon at the USO

Our annual Holiday Luncheon!

stockings, cards, and cookiesSpecial Thanks to:

The Warrior Family Coordination Cell for helping us coordinate the event.

The Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment-East at Walter Reed for their advice and help.

Preventative Med for ensuring the safety of our service members through good food practice policies.

The USO at Walter Reed for the use of their room and kitchen, and to their volunteers for assistance.

Huge Thanks to:

Our “Elfs”, many of whom who have been doing “Elfie” stuff with us since 2007, helping to make the event so special!

Our MM-B Volunteers, who pull everything together to make the luncheon a success!

And most especially, Tremendous Thanks to:

Our Nation’s service members and Veterans who’ve put their lives on the line defending our country.

Gingerbread houses at USO 2014
Gingerbread houses in front of the welcoming fireplace at the Walter Reed USO. Photo courtesy of Gladys.

Location:

 A room at the USO at Walter Reed.

Luncheon Sponsors:

Choptank Marine Corps League Detachment #439

Washington State Operation Thank You

Joanna & Joel in Florida

Barbara in Alabama

Mary T. in Maryland
Continue reading Thursday, December 4th – MM-B’s “Holiday Cheer 2014” Luncheon at the USO

November 9, 2014 – 4th Floor: Marines, Veterans, and Thanksgiving

Julie & LCpl. Smitty
Happy Birthday, Marines!

Today’s Luncheon was a celebration of the USMC’s 239th Birthday and Veterans Day, serving a Thanksgiving Day meal!

 

The Sponsors:

Carey & Chris

Joanna & Joel

Mary T.

WA State Operation Thank You

Thank you!

Room Before
The room when we arrived, the “stuff” we brought (first trip up), and almost ready to serve.

the food
The buffet, missing are the mashed potatoes and stuffing.

The Menu:

Turkey & Ham

Gravy, Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Potato Soup & Fresh Fruit Salad

Stuffed Celery, Cranberry Sauce

Cheese & Pepperoni Tray

Pickles & Olives

Asst. Rolls

Assorted Drinks & water

Fresh Smoothies

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Pie & Cake

The Niftie Gifties:

pantry bags, quilts and pillowcases

Quilts from Olde Kent Quilters

Patriotic Pillowcases from Bayside Quilters of the Eastern Shore

Marine & Army Lap Quilts from Jean in Ohio

Scarves from Eleanore in New Jersey

Snack Bags

Thank You!

The Day:

We send out the call for sign-ups to our luncheon volunteers and they help when they can. Some months we have two or three, this month we had seven. Even though we staggered the arrival times, I thought we’d be knocking elbows with everyone in the room, and we were – until the line began to form. Continue reading November 9, 2014 – 4th Floor: Marines, Veterans, and Thanksgiving

October 23, 2014 – Good people doing good things.

There are a heck of a lot of nice people doing good things for our service members at Walter Reed.

Mercy Hall has closed. The residents moved over to Sanctuary Hall, the new barracks, in the early summer, and food events aren’t allowed there. Base policy. Today was our first luncheon at the USO Warrior and Family Center.

Luncheon room at the USOWe reserved a room in the new USO for today’s luncheon. Their volunteers were very helpful, checking in with us every so often to see if we needed anything. They stayed busy greeting people as they entered the building, making them feel at home, keeping the snack bar stocked for the guys and gals coming in, and a multitude of other things.

The Warrior Family Coordination Cell (WFCC), the office tasked with coordinating events in cooperation with the different service branches and the USO, sent a Sailor down to offer help, and then later during the event, stopped by to check on us again. Yes, they are military, doing the job they’re assigned, but they went out of their way to help us out. Continue reading October 23, 2014 – Good people doing good things.

October 19, 2014 Newsletter

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Greetings!

After taking some time off, Marine Moms-Bethesda’s Newsletters are back!

Nine years ago this month, October 2005, Janelle and I made our first visit to Bethesda Naval Hospital to visit a Marine mom and her son who had been wounded in combat. Where have the years gone?

Flag afghan
An afghan from Bayside Quilters given out at the July 20th – 4th floor luncheon.

What’s in this edition:

  • What we’ve been up to

  • Thank yous!

  • We need your help!

  • Changes

  • Upcoming luncheons

  • Surfing

What we’ve been up to:

We continue hosting monthly Sunday luncheons at Bethesda, now Walter Reed NMMC, on the 4th floor, and invite the Critical Care Unit combat families and the Traumatic Brain Injury Ward guys & gals and their families to join us. Continue reading October 19, 2014 Newsletter

Holiday Cheer 2014 – Would you like to be an MM-B Elf?

Marine Moms-Bethesda 2014 Holiday Cheer LogoThe holidays are right around the corner and it’s time to plan for “Holiday Cheer 2014”!

We’ll be serving out-patients at Walter Reed during this luncheon. They live on their own or with their caregivers in dorm-like rooms. Many are young, single, and do not have family living with them.

Not all are “combat wounded”, however they are at Walter Reed-Bethesda for medical reasons during active duty service. Our Holiday Cheer event and bi-monthly luncheons are a HUGE morale booster for them!

The event consists of a holiday meal, Christmas stockings, handwritten holiday and Christmas cards from across the USA, cookies baked by our local “Elfs” AND a whoooole lotta CHEER!

“Holiday Cheer 2014” will be on December 4th, 2014. Location: USO. Serving Time: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM  This event will be limited to 25 wounded, injured, or ill service members and their family members, first come, first served.

Would you like to be a Marine Moms-Bethesda Elf? Sponsor a stocking or send cards! Here’s how!

Continue reading Holiday Cheer 2014 – Would you like to be an MM-B Elf?

September 11, 2011 – 4th Floor: 9/11

My “Note 4 Bethesda” this month began:

“September 11, 2011

We hope you enjoy today’s luncheon, made possible by Marine Moms-Bethesda Volunteers, The Easton Rotary Club in Easton, MD, Touch of Relief, and “Elfs” across the USA who care and would like to say “THANK YOU!”

This day brings back ten year old memories of a beautiful sunny morning.  I was in the garden cutting flowers to make a bouquet to place in my Uncle’s casket.  His funeral was to begin at 1100.  I walked back into the house and saw on TV the second plane hit the Tower and knew immediately our country was at war.

Uncle Steve was a World War II Army Veteran.  His Honor Guard that day included young men and women from all branches of the military.  I remember thinking to myself as they folded the flag that covered him, “They will be going to war.”  A few months later, we went to Afghanistan.

Actually, it wasn’t even a few months…

soldier in afghanistan DoD photo
DOD photo taken when we first entered Afghanistan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our volunteers knew that many of the young men and women we would be serving were eight, nine, ten years old when the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and Flight 97 were attacked and thousands of innocent Americans were murdered.

Thank you for your service cake

 

 

 

 

*********************

We are very grateful to the Easton Rotary Club of Easton, MD for their sponsorship and help serving this luncheon, and to Touch of Relief for their soothing seated massages provided to family members and patients. 

I met with the Rotarians who would be joining us – Jackie, Doug, Tim, Connie, Maureen, and Patti a month before the event, filling them in on whom we would be serving, what to expect, and explained our Code of Conduct, which all volunteers joining us are expected to follow.

Under Jackie’s guidance, the Rotary Club had already begun collecting items for the pantry bags. Continue reading September 11, 2011 – 4th Floor: 9/11