Lions Club donate to wounded warriors

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Matthew Hubby
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  For six years, the Ocean City, Md., Lions Club has been coming to Dover Air Force Base to purchase gift cards from the Dover AFB Exchange for wounded warriors overseas.

To date, the OC Lions Club has donated more than $150,000 and more than 13,000 articles of clothing for wounded warriors. The program was created to help support those who had been separated from their personal effects due to medical evacuation from the theatre.

"We started this program in 2004 to raise funds for our [military] wounded returning from Iraq and Afghanistan," said Ben Dawson, OC Lions Club past president. "In 2006 we started to host a golf tournament to raise funds and we've been holding one ever since."

This year the OC Lions Club is donating $22,000 in gift cards to the wounded warriors at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. The gift cards were purchased at the Dover Exchange and will be transferred to the Exchange at Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany. The cards will then be presented to the Landstuhl medical center commander and command chaplain for the troops.

"This year we invited two wounded troops from Walter Reed Army Medical Center to participate in our fundraiser," said Mr. Dawson. "Our city rolled out the red carpet for their three-day stay. We got them individual ocean-front hotel suites, meals at our finest restaurants and a limousine service." Mr. Dawson said he hopes to do the same next year with more troops from Walter Reed.

"I've been with this program since day one," said Mr. Dawson."The idea came after I remembered my time in Vietnam stationed with a medical unit. When the troops were evacuated from our unit they went with just the clothes on their back to Japan. It really hasn't changed much since then," he said.

"It holds a strong place in our heart to help the troops. As a former military member I know that being military isn't just something you do while you're in, but something that sticks with you forever," said Mr. Dawson.