August 3, 2006 at 4:23 pm
Want to get involved in a great non-partisan charity to help families of America’s troops?
Check out ThanksUSA.org, which is currently conducting a national treasure hunt.
Extreme Mortman, New Media Strategies, and many others are helping the charity in its effort to provide education scholarships for our troops’ families.
What’s the charity and the national treasure hunt all about? We asked the creators, eight-year-old Kelsi Okun and 10-year-old Rachel Okun, for details.
Question: Tell me what ThanksUSA is and what the national treasure hunt is?
Answer: ThanksUSA stands for Treasure Hunt Aiding Needs of Kids (and spouses) of those Serving the United States of America. We hope Americans everywhere will get excited about playing a “virtual” treasure hunt about American history to win fabulous prizes, and at the same time they will contribute to the ThanksUSA scholarship fund to help military families.
Q: Why should people support this charity?
A: The troops protect all the rights and freedoms that we enjoy each and every day, and one of those freedoms is to go to school and be whoever we would like to be. We wanted to give the troops and their families the same opportunity that they have given us. The treasure hunt is also a way to help others while having fun with your family at the same time!
Q: Can you share any success stories so far that the charity has had?
A: In July, 1,001 ThanksUSA scholarship award letters were sent to kids and spouses in all 50 states! The scholarships range from $1,000 to $5,000 dollars.
A really heart-warming story was a newspaper clipping we received from Connecticut about a policeman who caught the spirit of THANKS and donated $764 that was meant to help him in his time of need. Instead of keeping the money for himself, he donated it to help raise money for the scholarship funds. We were astounded at how selfless he was and are so happy that he caught the spirit!
Q: What will young people gain from participating in the treasure hunt?
A: This hunt will give young people a wonderful opportunity to work with their friends and family toward a goal with a special cause. The hunt provides kids with a refreshing, family-friendly way to brush up on this nation’s incredible history. This is also a way for young people to give the troops a “THANK YOU” that will last in their hearts forever. And, on top of that….. how often are you able to win FABULOUS prizes by studying history!!
Q: Tell me something you’ve learned about America from the treasure hunt.
A: That we have a lot more to learn, so we want to do a Treasure Hunt II! We also learned how one event, like the sinking by pirates of a ship filled with Spanish money, changed the whole course of America’s history by leading to the Louisiana purchase.
Q: Which of the prizes really excite you?
A: While all the prizes are awesome, our favorites are: the amazing trip to the Pyramids in Egypt and the GRAND PRIZE trip to Washington, D.C., complete with a treaure-hunt around our nation’s capitol! The best part of the GRAND PRIZE awaits the winner at the end of the hunt - an authentic chest opens up to real sparkling gold, historic coins and jewels donated by a man with the heart of gold, Mr. George Adler!
Q: What part of doing this charity work and treasure hunt has given you the most satisfaction?
A: This week we received a huge number of “thank you” letters from the recipients of ThanksUSA scholarships. Hearing how grateful these young scholars were totally convinced us that we were doing the right thing. Knowing that we can give a little bit back to the men and women that boldly serve our country is the best feeling of all.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish from all your work, both personally and for others?
A: Our greatest wish is that the spirit of THANKS will touch the lives of others and encourage them to “pay it forward,” meaning that they will not only say “thank you” but will pass on the spirit of giving. If we all did this, who knows how many lives we would be able to make a difference in! Instead of just wishing, we would like all of you to get out there and go make a difference!
Q: What is the most moving story you have heard from families of troops?
A: We’ve received many wonderful emails and letters from people playing the game and those who have received scholarships. We really liked a froggy card from a scholarship winner in New Mexico which said, “with the help of THANKS, I will be the first child and grandchild to graduate from college.” Hearing that we would be putting a hand-print on the hearts of an entire family really showed how a little bit of help can make a HUGE difference in the lives of others. IIf we did it, YOU can too!!
You can read more of these wonderful stories on our website, http://www.thanksusa.org/ under “Endorsements.”
Fellow bloggers: Want to help the effort? Simply copy the above ThanksUSA logo image onto your site and link it to the treasure hunt page: http://www.thanksusa.org/main/hunt.html
