PTSD

 I would like to talk a little about PTSD also known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD can come from sever trauma or a life-threatening event. Whenever you hear PTSD most people think of our soldiers serving overseas. War brings many traumatic and life-threatening events that can cause a person to have PTSD which is the case with many soldiers returning home. People who have PTSD will feel very stressed and on edge. They might have nightmares about the events that they faced while on duty. Sometimes certain noises will make them jump. These are all symptoms of PTSD. Many deal with PTSD on their own but there are many who need help dealing with it. Sometimes the symptoms do start until the person has been back for a while. Below are some videos to better help explain PTSD.
                                            (Contains graphic images)

Operation We Care

Last week I finished working on a story for my Specialized reporting class about the Hogs and Heroes Foundation. While I was working on that project I heard about Operation We Care which the Hogs and Heroes Foundation participate in. Operation We Care is an organization of Delmarva that gathers donations to put together care packages to send out to our troops overseas. They have drop off locations all over Salisbury MD and parts of Delaware. You can donated any type of goods (mostly food) and also donate money which Operation We Care uses for shipping costs. The Treasurer of the Hogs and Heroes Foundation DE Chapter 1 told me that this year they are sending out over 700 care packages to the troops. The shipping for each care package cost $12.95 to ship so the shipping alone for that many packages will cost around $10,000. Locals can donate goods at any of the drop off locations or you can donate money through their website (http://www.operationwecare.org/index.html). Also if you know a soldier overseas you can give their mailing info through the websites contact form to have them sent a package. If your a local and want to donate items the list below shows the top ten items needed. Operation We Care also allows kids to decorate the boxes. Im sure the troops get a lot of joy out of these care packages.
 Videos:
 http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=operation+we+care&oq=operation+we+care&gs_l=youtube.3...1099.3959.0.4368.17.13.0.4.4.0.94.783.13.13.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.B1KfvE55YYM

More information:
http://www.operationwecare.org/index.html

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=A7&Dato=20120521&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=205210806&Ref=PH&nclick_check=1

http://www.wboc.com/Global/story.asp?S=13500431

List of Items to donate:

1. Chef Boyardee canned poptop pasta
2. Granola bars
3. Hot chocolate
4. Instant oatmeal
5. Microwave popcorn
6. Pop Tarts
7. Instant tea bags
8. Deodorant
9. Shampoo/Body wash
10. Dental floss