Hello, beautiful! Although I take you for granted and call you "the oldest dinosaur Macbook out there," I still love you. *Sigh. Since I have the chance to write today, I wanted to use my time wisely and share an organization with you that I support and hope to one day be a part of...and it's just in time for Veteran's Day Weekend.
Sweethearts for Soldiers
*pulled directly from their website: |
| Photo courtesy of the SFS Facebook page. |
Sweethearts for Soldiers is a "Non-Profit Public Charity that provides troop entertainment overseas and stateside, produces an annual charity troop calendar and Sweet'n Your Day Gift Baskets for our female troops." Sweethearts are all either former NFL cheerleaders and/or former NBA dancers from all over the US. Their mission is to "help raise morale and bring a touch of home to the brave men and women fighting for our freedoms."
Here is a short video that helps explain more about what they do:
You can learn more about the Sweethearts by visiting their About Us page on their website.
As you can see, going on military tours to show support to our troops is a huge opportunity for dancers and cheerleaders in the NBA and NFL. I've been to numerous countries during my 4 seasons dancing for the NBA including China (twice), Indonesia, and Italy but I never got to go on a military tour.
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| My most recent trip to Rome, Italy - June 2011 |
When I first made the team, I was SO excited to get to be a part of an organization that gives back and reaches out to communities who deserve recognition, whether it be locally, nationally or even internationally. I wouldn't have traded my experience as an NBA dancer for the world and my time there is something I will always cherish, but there is a part of me that feels like I'm not quite done.
As most of you know by now, Scott is also very involved in Sports Entertainment and has been working on a few projects here and there all over the place - or world in this case. Next month he will go on a military tour with a group of NFL cheerleaders to Okinawa, Japan and visit the Army/Navy bases there.
Scott has been on several military tours (lucky!) and feels blessed to have another opportunity to show his support to the brave men and women fighting for us overseas. Ironically, in 2007 (my first year on the team) Scott went with a group of our dancers to Okinawa.
Before their tour, I had just been on my first trip to Shanghai and Macao, China so I was not able to take more time off of work for this tour. I don't have many regrets in life, but giving up the chance to go on that military tour is definitely something I wish I would have done.
I'm hoping that one day I get to fulfill my dream of visiting the troops overseas, and I'm planning on applying to be a Sweetheart for next year's team. For now, I am just a supporter, fan and volunteer at any event I can participate in!
Upcoming Events:
*TODAY, Nov. 12 @11am: Veteran's Day Parade
Sweethearts (and friends of mine) Megan and Danielle will be riding with our veterans in the parade and signing calendars.
*TONIGHT, Nov 12 @6pm: 2012 Troop Charity Calendar Fundraiser
I will be joining the Sweethearts in a fundraiser to raise money for their annual Calendar!
The team spent last weekend shooting for it and now it's time to raise the funds needed to print and supply our troops with them. Come out to Baby Grands in Downtown, Orlando to support your Sweethearts and your troops. There will be dinner (tickets available) served from 6-8pm with the event starting at 7. There will be door prizes, drink specials, live entertainment & Sweethearts signing calendars.
*Buy your tickets and wristbands HERE. Even if you don't purchase your tickets in advance, you are welcome to join at the door:
Baby Grands Dueling Piano Bar
54 West Church Street, Suite 250
Orlando, FL 32801
I am really excited about the events, looking forward to meeting some of the Sweethearts and hope to see some of you there too! :)
Happy Veteran's Day & THANK YOU to all of our brave soldiers out there!
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