While searching for what to blog about this week, I came across a heart warming article published by The Washington Post on March 16,2008. "Supporting the troops, a coupon at a time" tells the story of a small group of elderly women that have turned into a united and powerful army. It all began with some good intentions, scissors, and coupons....
They aren't exactly in peak physical condition. Most of them are actually quite frail and need the assistance of walkers and wheelchairs just to get around. Despite their appearance, these women in their 70s and 80s are coming together and doing remarkable things. Every day these women cut out a couple hundred coupons (a few thousand a week) and send them to military families in the Middle East and overseas. Families are then able to redeem them at commissaries. (For those of you who don't know- because I didn't- a commissary is a supermarket on a military base for military personnel and their families.) This generation remembers the days of war bonds and rations, and gives their time because they understand that every little bit helps.
The article features Lila Sclawy who is 87 years old. She started clipping coupons for military families shortly after her veteran husband died of pancreatic cancer in 2001. Four weeks after his passing, she witnessed our nation struck by terror on September 11, 2001. Sclawy looked for a way to cope and found one in clipping coupons with a group from Greenbelt, Maryland. They meet every Tuesday at the local American Legion Post #136 and clip and sort coupons for hours. The coupons are sorted by denomination- 25 cents off, 50 cents, a dollar- so they can keep track of how much they are sending in each package. On the bases overseas, the families of the troops can redeem these coupons up to six months past their expiration date to save some extra money.
Most of the women volunteering are wives of veterans who served during America's wars and a part of the American Legion Auxiliary. They know first hand just how hard war times can be on a family. Clipping coupons has become very popular among senior citizens because they too know and remember how it feels to be struggling during times of war. As much as $54 million worth of coupons a year have been sent to overseas bases and they aren't stopping there. Back to our friend- Lila Sclawy- although she can no longer climb the stairs to the Tuesday meetings, she still sends in her work from home. And even though her work has been cut from 20 hours a week to five or six because of arthritis and carpal tunnel, she still does it until her fingers are numb. She continues to clip because she wants military families to know that somebody back home is thinking of them. "The only thing it costs us is time," she said. "And we have plenty of that now."
No matter what you think about our current war situation, you have to admit these ladies are doing a great thing. Something as small as clipping coupons has grown into a nation-wide rally for support. Not support for or against the war, but support for families. That's really what it comes down to. They are doing this for the families that deal and struggle with tough times everyday. I think my life is hard and I have problems? If a little old lady can make such an impact clipping coupons, it makes me wonder what I small things I can do to help others. I think we could learn a great deal from these women who are doing extraordinary things with just some newspapers, scissors, and love in their hearts.
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