I'm Baking for the Troops with Kenmore and Sears!! Join me!!

Hey there! Ok, I need your help. It's really really easy, trust me! I'll explain, especially if you have a Facebook account ...

I'm in Chicago to kick-off an event tomorrow with Kenmore and Sears called Baking for the Troops. If you don't know, the military is a very big part of my upbringing and family tree. My grand-dad was an Army veteran of WWII, my dad followed his dad's steps and entered the Army then deployed to Vietnam and my Uncle just finished commanding 2 waves of the 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan. I never went to war, but instead was a radio broadcaster and journalist in the Air Force, but I say that to tell you how important this is to me. Even though I'm a veteran, I still feel a part of the fold and my military experiences will be with me for a lifetime. I still use some of the skills I learned back in 1993 right here in 2010. So I say all that to tell you a quick story ... as a young Airman serving in Korea, far from home and fresh from high school, I received one of those holiday cards addressed to "Any Soldier". It was right on time because I was going through a rough time, very rough and there I was alone on the holidays. The card meant so much and I still have it along with letters I began exchanging with the family. Really it just started as a thanks from me back to them and the next thing you know I gained a new family through a simple act of kindness. It meant so much then and still now I think of how nice it was for someone to take time out of their schedule to send a card to someone they didn't know, me, Any Soldier.

So, how can you help today's "Any soldier"? Well, don't worry about stamps and don't even worry about baking!!! I've teamed up with Kenmore and Sears for their Baking for the Troops event and guess what?? We're doing the baking!!! Here's what you do;

1. Visit Facebook.com/KENMORE

2. "Like" us :-) (c'mon give us the thumbs up! have you seen the Kenmore Elite? You can bake 100 cookies at once, huuuuuge capacity inside and it's the regulation-size range!!)

3. Then click on the tab that says "SEND A DOZEN COOKIES FOR ME"

4. You'll redirect to a page that allows you to choose from several pre-written messages to accompany your dozen. Choose the words that fit you (it's like walking the card aisle at the drug store), then ...

5. That's it!!!!! We do all the baking, packaging and mailing!! We even attach your personal note to the box!! FOR FREEEEE!!!! :-)

6. Tell a friend!!

Here's where it gets really cool, once we reach 250,000 cookies (about 20,800 clicks), Kenmore and Sears will donate $50,000 to the Heroes at Home Wish Registry!

Ok, so if you are here often you know I'm Facebook and Tweet illiterate, so you really gotta get the word out. Tweet and text and poke, all that lol. #baking4troops is Twitter ready! The boxes we are sending the cookies in are really cute too. The boxes are labeled as C.R.E's or "Cookies Ready to Eat, just like the lesser tasty at-war M.R.E, a freeze dried block of stuff called a "Meal Ready to Eat. I used to fight over the chicken and rice one, in a pinch it'll do with some hot sauce. I'll take pics and post it tomorrow so you can see what you're sending. you may also catch me on your local news because I'm broadcasting from the Kenmore Live Studio here in Chicago. If you are here, please come by, say hi and order some free cookies to be sent to the troops!!!

Ok, click those links and get started! It takes less than 2 minutes to make a deserving soldier feel like someone cares. I can't tell you how many of our children are at war. I'm talking fresh-faced from high school, some can't even tell their parents exactly where they are. That's how it was with my uncle, so it's just major detachment and a feeling of separation I wouldn't wish on anyone. These are the people that protect us from dangers we don't even know about and whether you support war or not, you have to find some pride in a young man or woman dedicating their life to the service of the country. Freedom isn't free, but these cookies are and can really make someone feel special. I'm gonna dig out that card "Any Soldier" card I got in Seoul when I get home and post it here for you to see how much it really meant ... I've kept it since 1993, from S. Korea, through Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Michigan, New Jersey, California and New York. That card made the cut every time, sadly my cassette singles didn't :-).

Ok, please tell a friend!!! www.Facebook.com/KENMORE

P.S. There's also a neat game to play once you finish the process, somthing for the cubicle doldrums. :-) Ok, get clickin, pleeeease. I neva ask much and I'm not out doing things that don't make sense, THIS makes sense and it's so easy to give back. Please help me pay that "Any Soldier" holiday card forward. AHEM ... and "comment" fam, I'm counting on you don't make me name-names :-)