Anaheim 13th

Marine Expeditionary Unit

Adoption Committee Newsletter

May 2014

UPCOMING

EVENTS

Committee Meetings

City Hall - 7th Floor

10:00am

2014

May 21, 2014

June 18, 2014

July 16, 2014

August 20, 2014

September 17, 2014

October 15, 2014

November 19, 2014

No meeting in December

SAVE THE DATE

The 2015 Semper 5K

Run will be held on

Saturday, March 21

Your tax deductible donation for every event can be mailed to us: Anaheim 13th MEU Adoption Commit-

tee, 5753-G E. Santa Ana Canyon Rd, #601, Anaheim, CA 92807. Donations can also be dropped off at

City Hall, 7th Floor or to arrange for a pickup, please call 714-637-5575. If you prefer, you can send a check

payable to the Committee with a notation on the memo line as to how you would like your donation used.

After 8 long months of deployment, the 13th MEU is home! A huge Homecoming Celebration

was held on April 24 at Camp Pendleton as we welcomed home the members of the 13th

MEU. There was not a dry eye on the beach as the Marines and Sailors were met by their

loved ones. You’ve never seen a military reunion until you’ve actually seen one in person.

We are so blessed that all of our Marines and Sailors came home to their families safe and

sound. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time. So many people from all over

came together to volunteer their time and other resources to ensure the members of the 13th

MEU and their families knew how appreciated and loved they are. Several members of the

Committee attended the event. No matter how many of these events we attend, each one is

like the first one and we never get tired of wishing our

heroes a huge THANK YOU & WELCOME HOME!

Stay Connected

Adoption Committee Website: www.anaheim.net/13thMEU

Facebook: www.facebook.com/13thMEU

Get Involved

Write

If you would like to send a

letter or card of support to

a member of the 13th MEU,

please write to:

“Any Marine”

c/o Chap. Darren Stennett

13th MEU

P.O. Box 555636

Camp Pendleton, CA 92055

Donate

The Anaheim 13th MEU

Adoption Committee is a

volunteer based, citizen-run

501(c)(3) non-profit

organization. We rely

solely on corporate and

individual donations in

our support of the

Marines, Sailors and

families of the 13th MEU.

Donations can be mailed to

Anaheim 13th MEU

Adoption Committee

5753-G E. Santa Ana

Canyon Rd. #601

Anaheim, CA 92807

714-637-5575

Charity ID #80-0153575

Thank you to all who donated items to be

placed in the Welcome Home Bags for our

returning Marines and Sailors. A special

Thank You to the congregations of The

Rock Community Church in Anaheim

and The Crossings Church in Corona.

When approached to help collect several

hundred items, both churches jumped at the

opportunity to give back. The children

made Thank You cards to include in the

bags as well. Thank you also to Claudia

from Colorado who was driving by and saw

committee members stuffing the bags and

stopped by to help. What a wonderful addi-

tion she was to the “bag stuffing party”.

The response to our donation solicitation

was amazing and once again, members of

the community pulled together and made a

huge difference. The generosity and sup-

port shown was priceless and appreciated.

Easter may have come and gone but the memories live on thanks to so many who donated baskets and gift cards. Not only did

we collect the number of baskets needed for the families of the MEU, people were so generous we were able to take Easter bas-

kets to the hospital and bless the children there with Easter too! Imagine how sad a sick child must have felt being in the hospi-

tal on Easter morning and then imagine how quickly they perked up when given a basket - a basket donated just for them by a

complete stranger. The difference made is amazing and to all who donated, we cannot thank you enough.

Saying “Thank You” to those who donated and made the day so special for the children just doesn’t seem enough. As you can

see by the pictures, the kids truly had a great time and many had such a hard time picking out that perfect baskets amongst all

those donated. The call for baskets and gift cards went out and the response was almost immediate. The blessing of so many

wonderful people is one that the committee never takes for granted and we are continually grateful for the support always shown

for our families.

A special “Thank You” to Jeanne Spence, Della Kirchner, Drew Lerner, Letty Valdez, Jack Sievers and Linda Garcia

who went above and beyond with their beautiful baskets once again this year. Thank you to the Anaheim YMCA for donating

the wonderful baskets made by their kids for our kids. These cute baskets are assembled by the kids attending the YMCA and

are used as centerpieces for the Good Friday Breakfast. The YMCA has been so generous over the last several years to our

families as they have donated all those baskets back to the MEU Easter Drive. In addition to all the candy-filled Easter eggs

were golden eggs which contained the grand prizes. Thank you to Disneyland and the Anaheim Hilton once again for their

generosity. A trip to Disneyland and an over-night stay at the Hilton is something that the winners will surely remember fondly

for years to come. Thank you also to Anaheim Discovery Christian School (ADCS) - we needed those $15 Target gift cards

for the teenagers, and our friends at ADCS came through again.

Enjoy the pictures and know that none of this would have been possible without so many angels who blessed these children.

The smiles, excitement and laughs are what being a child is all about - giving them this day, especially during deployment, is an

amazing gift. Thank you again to all who donated - your kindness will NEVER be forgotten!

Due to the outpouring of support, boxes of baskets were taken to the hospital. They

couldn’t be at Easter, but we were able to bring Easter to them. What a blessing!

WELCOME HOME TO MEMBERS OF THE 13TH MEU - 2014 HOMECOMING

Homecoming and Easter pictures by Raymie Chapman

2014 13TH MEU EASTER PARTY - CAMP PENDLETON