These two leading retailers were offered a no cost opportunity to BACK-OUR-VETS and turned it down.
Walmart’s
excuse was that they donate millions of dollars every year to
worthwhile veterans causes and employ thousands of veterans, while
Costco said they employ veterans and won’t want to collect money at
their check-out counters. We embrace Walmart’s generous corporate
donations’ and extend congratulations to both companies stating they
employ veterans, whereas we offered them the chance to enlist the
POWER-OF-THE-PEOPLE - their customers, to participate in raising huge
amounts of “MONEY” of which every single penny would go to support our
military families.
If
COSTCO would have participated in their 442 USA based stores we
estimated their customers would have voluntarily donated $18,564,000 to
BACK-OUR-VETS. Whereas Walmart reports that 1,400,000 USA customers
shop their stores every week. Let’s suppose that each customer
voluntarily donated 2 cents on top of their TOTAL bill then Walmart
would help raise $145,600,000 for our veterans. Grant you not every
customer might participate, but if only 25% of their customers donated
the 2 cents each time they shopped they would be contributing annually
$36,400,000 to BACK-OUR-VETS.
Equally
important would be the leadership example either of these two retail
giants would be setting for the other retailers across America. Our
goal is to have 150,000 retail cashiers participating in every town
across America which can raise $1 billion every year, with 100% of the
funds going to care for the welfare and providing the compassionate
benefits our veterans have rightfully earned. I will not apologize to
any company, organization or group that will not participate to
BACK-OUR-VETS which is a noble cause, and our duty as patriotic
Americans to lock arms to share our responsibility to honor our veterans
and troops.
We
are in the midst of a presidential campaign in which both candidates
have publicly repeated their pledges and empty promises to provide for
our veterans without revealing how this will be accomplished. What is
their plan?
Being
a World War ll Navy veteran I have red, white and blue running through
my veins and feel passionately obligated to TRY to assist 50 million
veterans/troops and their military families.
At
85 I shouldn’t be a sissy, but when I see a spouse, especially with
young children, that lost their husband or wife due to their service for
this country, and we callously
abandon her or him my heart breaks with shame, and I weep when our
heroes in Afghanistan return to America to be homeless and hungry. The
climbing rate of suicides amongst our military men and women is not only
alarming it must end, and the sooner the better. I am no famous
war hero. I haven’t a chest full of medals. I served my country
honorably for which I am grateful and proud, yet I believe I am
responsible for my brothers and sisters in arms. I don’t have a degree
in medicine nor psychology to help mend the bodies and minds of those
veterans and troops who are crying to be helped and cured from their
dependency on alcohol and drugs to relieve their pain.
Rarely
did we see during World War ll any women (other than the nurses),
bearing arms with the troops, yet today almost 15% of our military are
ladies who often fight like tigers in the trenches of warfare. There is
an absolute shortage of beds in and out of our VA hospitals for these
women warriors. I needn’t tell you about the high percentage of these
ladies who return home with mental problems which can be cured with the
right professional care, concern and loving compassion.
My
treasure is a long history in advertising and marketing in which I used
my God given talents to influence, and persuade millions of people to
buy products, services and ideas, so I am dedicated to raise “MONEY,”
lot’s of money, to be used to care and treat our 50 million veterans and
their families. This is not a one-shot, kiss ‘em and leave ‘em program.
America has not adequately taken proper care of our Iraqi troops and we
are about get a new influx of courageous
men and women in 2013 who will be returning from Afghanistan. Will
Americans accept their moral obligation to care with compassion or will
our apathy continue to be a blot on our souls?
I
apologize for preaching to my fellow Americans, but I simply want
everyone to understand what beats in my heart when most people tell me
to retire, travel and enjoy the numbered days of my long life. My
preference, however is to love, and toil with a will to be of whatever
assist I can muster for not only the military veteran families,
but to kindle the spark of patriotism in every American to pitch in and
work collectively, whether they are rich or poor, to be of help.
The
plan is so simple it scares most people. All we are trying to do is
get 300 million Americans, young and old, when they shop at an
authorized, participating retailer to voluntarily add two cents to their
total purchase. Two cents? That sounds absurd, doesn’t it? For every
1,000 transactions at a single cashier in Walmart, Walgreens,
McDonalds, Starbucks, Macy’s, 7-Eleven, Chevron, General Dollar, Subway, etc. it’s $20 a day, and over 350 days we have raised $7,000 per
cashier. Our goal is to have 150,000 retail cashiers, all across
America, and we would be the horsepower for having raised over $1
billion dollars annually to BACK-OUR-VETS. Guaranteed that 100% of every consumer
donated dollar, with no fees or commissions, goes directly to those
public and private organizations serving, treating and caring for our
military families. The two cents donations are not a tax, they are a voluntary hands-up to help our vets. We
supplement, or possibly replace much of the Federal funds to relieve
the burden on our national debt. It’s simple free enterprise using the
POWER OF THE PEOPLE, (no matter if
they are Democrats, Republicans, Independents, or whatever color of
their skin or religious persuasion), to meet their responsibility and
obligation to do their duty for those who honorably gave their time, and
unfortunately for some their limbs and lives.
If
all America isn’t ready, willing and able to roll-up their sleeves to
BACK-OUR-VETS then we can’t wait to do our part, but will start with a
program in the 12 counties which comprise the Greater Houston Metro Area
and hope our success with 6.1 million people will allow us to expand across Texas, and then in every State in America. What we are currently planning to do is get the major local and national retailers to participate, and we have a similar program to enlist the banks, museums,
sports arenas, major office and public buildings, colleges and
universities, shopping malls, and houses of worship where they become
catalysts for collecting the “MONEY,” two cents at a time to
BACK-OUR-VETS. We have an outline for a plan as to how to reach every
consumer by working in collaboration with other veteran organizations
like the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Wounded Warriors,
the USO, Paralyzed Veterans, Operation American Heroes, U.S. Vets, Int.,
and many others, we believe we can lay the ground work to contact and
expedite a successful program not just temporarily, but which will work
for many, many years into the future.
In
addition, we will offer a complete line of BACK-OUR-VETS merchandise
including t-shirts, jackets, backpacks, canteens, flashlights, caps,
kids helmets, boots, Fallen Hero greeting cards, posters, stamps, books,
flags, etc. including full color paintings of the 500 Texans who gave
their lives fighting for our country. Any profits we will enjoy will be shared with our non-profit partners. Primarily, the authorized retail participants have an advantage to build customer loyalty as patriotic shoppers have the freedom of choice where they will shop and be able to BACK-OUR-VETS with their 2 cents contributions. Everyone, working together in unison, we can Bless America’s troops and veteran families.
May I please suggest you take 30 seconds to watch a video we produced
for just $115 which was the rental cost of my Uncle Sam costume.
Then Mr. and Mrs. American open your hearts and “DON’T FORGET. BACK-OUR-VETS.”
Come
on Costco, Walmart and you other multi store retailers, we are not
asking you to open your pocket books, but open your minds and conscience
to BACK-OUR-VETS who back America in war and peace.
