Tag: generous

Observing National POW/MIA Recognition Day

Posted on by Jordank

National POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed on Sept. 19 this year, honoring service members who were prisoners of war (POWs) and those who are still missing in action (MIA). Its eternal message? That POWs and MIAs will not be forgotten.

National POW/MIA Recognition Day became an official observance under President Jimmy Carter in 1979, with the families of more than 2,500 Vietnam POW/MIAs pushing for full accountability. While associated with those who served in Vietnam, the day isn’t limited to their recognition.

More than 130,000 U.S. service members were held as POWs in World War II, and 14,072 of them died. Some 7,000 were imprisoned in the Korean War, and 2,701 of them died. And 725 service members were imprisoned in Vietnam; 64 died.

According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, more than 83,000 Americans remain missing in action, including more than 73,000 from World War II and more than 7,000 from the Korean War. The number of MIAs in Vietnam is now 1,571.

The U.S. is one of the few countries in the world that prioritizes recovery and identification of its service members. Efforts are ongoing to identify MIAs — and each year, more men and women are identified from their remains and interred with military honors.

The most recent to be identified is U.S. Army Master Sgt. Donald P. Gervais, who was killed when his helicopter crashed in Vietnam’s A Shau Valley. U.S. Navy Capt. Thomas E. Scheurich was identified in April, 57 years after his A-6A Intruder was shot down.

The Vietnam Veterans of America’s Veterans Initiative Program helps identify remains, using clues from maps, stories, after-action reports, pictures and personal items. It’s just one of the initiatives funded in part by generous donations to ClothingDonations.org.

You can honor POW/MIAs in multiple ways this week. Fly a POW/MIA flag below or adjacent to your U.S. flag. Take a moment of silence when you see it flown. Wear a POW/MIA bracelet. Attend a local ceremony featuring the POW/MIA Missing Man Table. And support veterans organizations dedicated to recovering the missing.

How Pet Parents Keep Their Homes Clean

Posted on by Jordank

#Pet parents know how hard it is to keep a home clean when #dogs and #cats are invited to cohabitate. While some can be relied upon to accomplish the simplest grooming tasks needed to stay clean themselves, our animal companions just don’t have the same cleanliness standards for the #home environment.

Let things go, and your home can quickly become beset with tracked-in dirt, shed hair, litter and other debris such as shredded toys. It takes a lot to stay on top of such #messes, but doing so can make everyone — #pets included — happier and heathier.

Hair is the first concern. The same thing that makes animals adorable comes loose constantly and sticks to clothing and furniture. Keep a lint roller or latex gloves handy remove it from upholstered surfaces, and be ready to sweep and vacuum frequently.

Robot vacuum cleaners are a good option for maintenance, says Kaleidoscope Living, but don’t think for a minute that they can eliminate all sweeping, vacuuming and mopping. They can cut down on these chores, however, as well as access hard-to-reach areas.

You can head off the accumulation of stray pet hair at the source by observing a good grooming schedule. Bathe and brush your pets regularly or take them to a groomer to help them shed that hair in a more manageable way.

Pets also tend to bring dirt in from the outdoors. Pet parents would be wise to keep towels at all entrances to wipe feet and coats before pets climb on the furniture or track in mud. Use washable rugs as another line of defense, MasterClass says; keep them at the door, under pets’ bowls and under litterboxes to catch debris and moisture.

Pets — like children — have occasional accidents. Have a stain and odor remover product available to clean up those messes and freshen the area. Or try what Architectural Digest calls the best pet stain-removing product for rugs and carpets: shaving cream.

You can find some items you’ll need to keep your house clean — throw rugs and used towels, for example — at the #thrift stores supplied by generous #donations to ClothingDonations.org. And in the face of the worst messes, remember that having an animal companion is a long-term commitment that rewards your attention and work many times over.

Celebrate National Give Something Away Day

Posted on by Jordank

July 15 is a day that makes an official acknowledgement that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure — National Give Something Away Day. Established in 2015 by Linda Eaton Hall-Fulcher to encourage generosity, the day promotes #giving selflessly, mindful consumerism and #sustainability.

It’s a great incentive to #declutter and redistribute anything that you no longer need or want. “The reward goes both ways,” National Today says. “We benefit from feeling good about giving and making someone’s day, and at the same time, we also let go of items that we no longer need and are just lying around.”

The sheer amount of stuff in the average American home is staggering — about 300,000 different things. One in 10 Americans rents offsite storage for their extra #junk, and 25% of people with two-car garages don’t have room to park a car inside. The average 10-year-old owns 238 toys, but plays with only about a dozen of them.

Check your closets: There are probably outfits in there that you not only don’t wear, but didn’t even know you had. Pack up any items that no longer fit or don’t get worn, and schedule a free #donation #pickup at ClothingDonations.org to do your part on National Give Something Away Day.

You can also #donate lightly used household items, appliances, books and other items. Whatever you decide to give, having less #clutter in your life to worry about makes everything simpler. And giving actually activates the brain’s pleasure centers, a 2007 study revealed.

Whether you give someone flowers, pay for the next person’s order at the coffee shop, or sort through your old things and donate them to ClothingDonations.org, observing National Give Something Away Day is good for the giver and the recipient. Give something — one thing or a whole truckload — away. You’ll be better off for it!

#NationalGiveSomethingAwayDay