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Publisher's Column

We need to help the families...

Normally I use this column to comment on some aspect of our industry or about a new feature that we have introduced to make Baby Shop magazine more tailored to your needs. However, this time I want to address a different topic.

We have been at war in Iraq for five years now. During this time we have lost over 4,000 lives and at least 10,000 of our young brave soldiers have been maimed or severely injured. Without getting into a political debate about the merits of our involvement in Iraq, suffice it to say that many children have lost their fathers or mothers or are suffering as a result of this war. Of course, there are some programs that our government has to assist such families, but rarely are these efforts enough. As a society, we have an obligation to assist the families of fallen soldiers.

In President Lincoln’s in his Second Inaugural Address, he indicated the importance of caring for the Nation’s veterans with the following: “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.”

I appeal to you to make some donation to this cause.

I wrote to the Veterans Administration and asked the following question: IS there a government organization or department that I can send a small donation to for helping the families of soldiers who have died or been injured in the Iraq war. Please provide me with the FULL contact information along with the mailing address. Thank you.

This is the reply I received: Since VA is a federal agency, we do not take donations to help families of soldiers. However, there are several veterans service organizations recognized by VA for the purpose of helping veterans and their families, who take donations. PLease go to our web site to obtain a list of those organizations: www1.va.gov/vso

I have sent in a modest donation to Gold Star Wives of America, Inc (www.goldstarwives.org). I encourage you to do the same to an organization of your choice.

Thank you and God bless all those who serve and defend our country every day!

Naresh Dewan,
Publisher