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| LIFE IN SOLERA | MARCH 2023 | 47 To all those who have supported our program over these years, I can't thank you enough. I have seen other care package projects, in nearby communities, start up and then falter. Since 2005, the people in Solera are what has kept ours going. Thank you for caring. One of the things that has always been a hurdle, is raising the funds to cover the postage. This past year, we held a couple of garage sales, at the same time that Solera held their spring and fall sales. Solera's next garage sale is going to be on April 8. I have other comments and don't think I will be able to participate. Should anyone else care to organize a sale, I will be happy to pass on any of my information. Should anyone have other ideas for raising funds, and willing to ramrod such an event, do let me know. Some people ask me how I get the names and contact information to send care packages. In the beginning, when the war was going on in both Iraq and Afghanistan, I would research small town newspapers. They would often list residents, who had a son serving, and give the soldier's address, inviting the residents to write the soldier. I have gotten several soldier's information, from mothers, just standing in the post office or grocery lines. I also talked to military recruiters, who gave me their overseas buddy's information. Over the years, I have had service men and women, contact me, when they were doing another tour. The first such soldier was the one who started the whole Support Our Troops project. My wife Linda and her girlfriends sent packages to an Army Second Lieutenant and his platoon. Later when he became a First Lieutenant, and doing a second tour, he contacted me. Over the years we have supported a lot of service men and women on two and three tours. I have even been contacted by fathers, that we had supported, telling me that their son is now overseas. We have supported three such father/son situations. The same with brothers, and husbands and wives. Lastly, when a service member is about to rotate back stateside, I ask them to introduce me to their replacement. We have supported these groups, one after another for as many as six years. Thank you Solera. ~ Jesse Donardt SUPPORT OUR TROOPS VETERAN ASSISTANCE Billy (Mitch) Mitchell is a resident and Veteran who has voluntarily worked with individuals and the Veterans Administration to assist Veterans in obtaining benefits. If you are a Veteran and want to know which benefits you may be eligible for, contact Mitch at (951) 797-0800. Flags will be raised on Tues., March 28 for Viet Nam Veterans Day. Thank you to those dedicated resident volunteers who are up at the crack of dawn on these special days to put up and take down our flags. Flag Brigade contact – Nick Gercis, nick.gercis@gmail.com. Jesse Donardt is a resident of Solera and someone who cares for our troops overseas. Jesse collects things that our troops need and enhances the morale and well-being of these troops worldwide by shipping care boxes containing items specifically requested by them. Please support Jesse and the SUPPORT OUR TROOPS program. Jesse can be reached at (951) 845-9028. To all veterans, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! Billy (Mitch) Mitchell is a resident and veteran who has voluntarily worked with individuals and the Veterans Administration (VA) in order to assist veterans in obtaining veteran benefits. If you are a veteran and interested in finding out which benefits you may be eligible to obtain, contact Mitch at (951) 797-0800. FLAG BRIGADE

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