Veterans Day and Project VALOUR-IT

Sunday is Veterans Day and Monday will be a holiday for many but before everyone heads out for the long weekend, I wanted to suggest that you consider supporting the Valour IT project. As you can see from the graphic on the headlines bar, they are behind what they had hoped to raise this year.

In case you don’t know about the project, you can learn more at their site but here’s the history of the project.

(Voice-Activated Laptops for OUR Injured Troops)

In memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss

Project Valour-IT began when Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss was wounded by an IED while serving as commander of a tank company in Iraq in June 2005.

During his deployment he kept a blog (an online personal diary, opinion forum, or news analysis site-called a milblog or military weblog when written by a servicemember or about military subjects). Captivating writing, insightful stories of his experiences, and his self-deprecating humor won him many loyal readers. After he was wounded, his wife continued his blog, keeping his readers informed of his condition.

As he began to recover, CPT Ziegenfuss wanted to return to writing his blog, but serious hand injuries hampered his typing. When a loyal and generous reader gave him a copy of the Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred software, other readers began to realize how important such software could be to CPT Ziegenfuss' fellow wounded soldiers and started cast about for a way to get it to them.

A fellow blogger (blog author) who writes under the pseudonym FbL contacted Captain Ziegenfuss and the two realized they shared a vision of providing laptops with voice-controlled software to wounded soldiers whose injuries prevented them from operating a standard computer. FbL contacted Soldiers Angels, who offered to help develop the project, and Project Valour-IT was born.

Since that initial laptop was created over 1,500 laptops have been given to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to help them in their recovery.

It seems Veterans Day is an ideal time to give a little to help those who have given so much for us all.

Bumped [Gabe]: Because I made fun of Drew earlier and I don't want to feel like an ass. And because I suspect (but am not sure) that Jack bumped his victory poem (which is actually one of his better efforts) ahead of this post.

posted by DrewM. at 04:01 AM

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