UPDATE, 11/19: Lori won! Thanks to everyone who voted for her — we are so excited for her. Lori will get a $500 VISA gift card – she will spend it on gifts for her soldier babies — and the use of a GM car for a week. Remember, the next Toys for Troops event is Sunday, Dec. 2. Hope to see you there! – Laura
I’ve met some amazing people because of the Internet, and one of them is Urbana’s Lori Stewart.
Many moons ago, I came across Lori’s blog. She wrote about her life as a military mom — the ups and downs of having a son deployed on dangerous, foreign soil. She wrote about what it meant to have a child in harm’s way over in the hot Middle Eastern desert. The year was 2007.
One day, her son Brian asked her to send soccer balls at the request of the Iraqi children he’d encountered. She promised she would research soccer balls, but in the interim she would send Beanie Babies. She put out a request on her blog. What happened next was unreal. Beanie Babies poured in from all over Central Illinois and beyond. Donations came in. People wanted to help Lori make life better for our troops overseas.
A movement was born, called “Toys For Troops.” There were fundraisers, and community gatherings to pack Thanksgiving packages and Christmas packages. Toys for Troops became an official non-profit, thanks to a local lawyer who offered his services pro bono. At the end of 2007, Lori was summoned to Springfield and named a Hometown Hero by then Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn.
Fast forward five years, and Toys for Troops is still going strong, thanks to Lori’s perseverance and persistance. Lori’s son has been home and back and home again. But it’s never been just about Brian — she writes about all the men and women she knows who are overseas – her “soldier babies.” (The next Toys for Troops event will be Dec. 2 starting at 1 p.m. in the ILEAS building. Click here for the info, we will be sure to write more about it as the event approaches).
Lori has made military men and women all the more real. She wrote about a life I had only heard about, but didn’t have any real connection. I didn’t have any family members fighting for our country, didn’t have a direct connection to what it means to serve.
Lori made it all the more real.
A few weeks ago, I was perusing Twitter when I stumbled upon a contest sponsored by GM. Called “Our Town, Our Heroes” this contest was looking for Illinois residents who have helped support our troops from the homefront. It was a no-brainer to nominate Lori. I did it so fast, I hardly remembered what I wrote until I read it on the ballot.
Last week, Lori was announced as a finalist. The grand prize is $500 in gift cards and a one-week loan of a Chevrolet vehicle. If she wins, Lori has already pledged to use the gift cards to buy more stuff for her “soldier babies” overseas.
So please, vote for Lori. Help her help more soldiers this holiday season. Vote for her because she deserves it. You can add your vote once a day – and voting ends Friday, November 16. It is super easy – no sign-ins, no nothing. Just click on the little bubble.
I’ve met some amazing people because of the Internet.