MOTS Update and 90% Off Hallmark Gift Items Fundraiser for Manasota Operation Troop Support

On Saturday, March 9th, from 9am to Noon, Manasota Operation Troop Support(MOTS) will be holding a sale at Lakewood Business Park, 4301 32nd Street West, Suite E22, in Bradenton, North of Cortez. A generous donation of new Hallmark stock has allowed us to offer 90% off of the retail price of over a thousand Hallmark items! Lots of boxed Christmas Ornaments, Knick Knacks, Picture Frames, Halloween, and beautiful cards. A great way to stock up on gifts at a steal and to help MOTS send boxes to our local deployed troops. We're not sure of how big a turn-out there will be so it would be a good idea to bring your own bags!  Follow the flags!

Easter is coming upon us quickly and I encourage all of you to write a letter or card for our troops. This is an excellent Sunday School or classroom project for our children too.  They can be inserted in the mail slot at our office or mailed to us.  We are requesting that they get to us by March 16th to be inserted into our care packages.

The next Packing Party for our combat troops is March 16th, 9am, at the Lakewood Business Park, 4301 32nd Street West, Suite C20, Bradenton. Pirate City has donated 50 ballcaps for our troops, so the theme for our party will be "Bradenton Loves Baseball!" As always, remember not to dawdle as the action goes quickly!

Big "thank you's" go out to all of the churches, clubs and individuals who have donated products to send to our troops. And a HUGE one to Walgreen's and their customers for all of the Pistachios, Potato Chips, Candy and Yogurt Bars donated this month!

Horses for Heroes continues to serve our veterans every week, so if you see anyone from SMART please let them know how much it means to our veterans and their families. One of our favorite SMART volunteers, Stephen, passed away yesterday. He was always at our sides, holding reins, giving advice and always with a huge smile. We will miss him so much.

Hernando Desoto Seafood Fest is coming up in April and MOTS will be involved in a special way. So please mark your calendars for 5th, 6th, and 7th! I will keep you updated on details as they become available.

Michael Gregory has put together a MOTS Golf Tournament for April 27th at Tara. Please call Linda at 782-0748 for more details or watch for posts on Facebook under Manasota Operation Troop Support. He also has a bigger one planned for May 11th at Harbor Oaks, which is also a benefit for MOTS! Thank you for all of your efforts, Michael!

We are still in need of two acoustical guitars to be donated to begin our Guns to Guitar classes for our veterans. Maybe you have one in the attic or a closet that could come to life for someone else?

Some folks have asked what items we are low on in the MOTS warehouse. At the moment we are low on socks, beef jerky, wet wipes and triple edge razors. Sounds pretty basic, but that is what they need and want.

We have plenty of chocolate thanks to the Walgreen's customers, so that is not a need right now!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions at 941-782-0748. Sincerely, Linda Craig