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Catching hope By Courtney Fox Taylor He was surfing the net, reading Facebook posts, looking at friends' photos when a statistic stopped him cold. 22 U.S. Veterans commit Suicide every day. That's one every 65 minutes. Thinking it was an error, Mike McCue, local business owner, started doing his own research. He confirmed the number was real. So he decided to do something to try and make a difference. Last March McCue founded Operation: Glove. His goal was to send a bit of America and to our troops serving so far away from home. "We send a baseball glove and ball with the hope that they'll associate it with good memories. When they go out into the field, they often sit in the middle of nowhere for hours, thinking solitary thoughts," McCue said. "A lot of them get letters from home from their wives or girlfriends who have moved on with someone else. Most of these guys are 18 to 20 year old kids who thought time back home would freeze. I thought that if they have a ball and glove in their backpack, they can play catch — do something normal that reminds them of happier times." It's a simple concept. As simple as apple pie and, well, baseball. But is it too simple? "We're not naive enough to think that just sending care packages will stop every suicide, but letting a solider know that they're appreciated and giving them a bit of home, something familiar, can keep their thoughts on good things," McCue said. And the response has been very positive. McCue's first shipment consisted of 84 boxes, each with four gloves and two balls. "After the packages were received, we started getting requests in for more," he said. 10 OUR YUCAIPA | JANUARY 2014 McCue shared this letter he received: "I wanted to send a quick note and say thank you on behalf of the soldiers in 7FSAW. We truly appreciate all of your support. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. God Bless, 1 LT Alessandra Braun, Adjutant, Camp Leatherneck." Instrumental in helping Operation: GLove get off the ground was the Inland Empire 66ers. "There was a 'Farewell to Twinkie' night and companies pledged money for a Twinkie eating contest. We ended up raising $9,346 that night," McCue said. The 66ers also have a table for Operation: GLove to collect donated gloves, balls and donations at each game. Since the first shipment, Operation: GLove has mailed out over 300 boxes of gloves and balls. But McCue wants to do more. Much more. "We have a lot of great support from local businesses like Hangar 24, Romano's Italian Restaurant, Redlands Ford, and many more. What we really need are volunteers to help stuff the boxes," he said. The group is having a box stuffing party in February. And they need gloves, baseballs and monetary donations to cover the costs of shipping. You can send donations to 12189 7th St., Ste. 141, Yucaipa, CA 92399. If you would like more information, you can call McCue, owner of Smart Solar Power, at 909-528-9297 or you can e-mail him at mikemccue@operationglove.org. Learn more at operationglove.com

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