FALLEN NOT FORGOTTEN

Fallen Not Forgotten, Inc. was founded in October of 2012.  Since that time we have been able to successfully raise enough funds to establish three small college scholarships:  Our first was given to Macae, the son of USMC Sergeant Joseph Wrightsman that was killed in action (KIA) in Afghanistan on 18 July 2010. Our second was established for the three-year-old daughter of Sergeant Enrique Mondragon (USA) who was KIA on Christmas Eve, 24 December 2012 while conducting dismounted patrols in Baraki Barak, Afghanistan.  And our third one, established for the now 7-year-old daughter of 1^st Lieutenant Jason Mann who died while serving in Afghanistan 17 July 2008 as part of the 24^th MEU.  At this time, Fallen Not Forgotten asks for your continued support in celebration of our service members and their families who have paid the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. 

A CALL TO ARMS

In July 2008, after laying a friend to rest that was killed in action while conducting combat operations in support of Operation IRAQ FREEDOM, I was discussing with a mutual friend about various programs available to the families of service members that were wounded or killed in action (WIA/KIA).  It was during this conversation that his mother innocently offered the statement “Well I always thought you all took care of your own!”  For the past few years the loss of that friend and unfortunately additional ones since then has fueled Fallen Not Forgotten to take action and attempt to do just that!

The U.S. Department of Defense reports as of May 2, 2014 there were 3, 481 KIA and 31,941 WIA in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, 38 KIA and 297 WIA in support of Operation NEW DAWN and 1,805 KIA and 19,551 WIA in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. 

COLLEGE FOR CALI

As some of you may recall, this past winter during our “mini Goal” Fallen Not Forgotten was able to raise funds for several iPad mini’s!  It was at that time that we were introduced to the Baldwin Family and a gold star child – Cali.  Cali is the daughter of Chief Baldwin who was a Sea Bee in the US Navy.  In speaking with her mother, I was informed that Cali would be graduating from high school this year with the intent on attending college next year!

Given a computer, some time to think while baking in the 100 degree Djiboutian hot sun, and a wifi connection…FNF felt compelled to see what we could do to assist in paying for Cali’s first year of college (though we always welcome more).  In doing a quick review of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Summary of Per Semester Expenses for full time students, I quickly realized just how attainable this goal is.

MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE BASIC CHARGES (per semester)

*Note: Students enrolled in more than 21 credit hours in a semester will be charged a per-credit hour fee of $115 per credit hour for all credit hours above.

**Note: Some courses require students to purchase their textbooks and/or other instructional materials rather than participate in the Book Service program. Students may contact the campus bookstore prior to registration to determine required purchases.

HOW CAN YOU HELP

Fallen Not Forgotten asks that you contribute any amount that you can spare to make this goal happen – it is really that simple. So forgo your specialty drink at the local coffee shop, eat leftovers opposed to going out to lunch today at your favorite restaurant, empty out that change jar that you’ve been stowing away, share some of your tax returns, or any other creative way you can come up with to make this happen!

Nothing fancy…no gimmicks…just you and Fallen Not Forgotten working together to remind our gold star families that we have not forgotten them and appreciate everything they have given up.

If you can’t afford a financial contribution at this time there are other ways you can help.  For example simply getting the word out via social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, smoke signals, courier pigeons, or any other way that people may connect with us. 

FEES:

To provide complete transparency the following administration fees are applied:

Indiegogo (our host): Charges 9% on all contributions unless we meet our goal. (4% is refunded if Fallen Not Forgotten reaches or exceeds our goal at the end of 120 days.)

PAYPAL:  ON TOP of the fees applied by Indiegogo, PAYPAL charge an additional 3-5%  per contribution.  

Fallen Not Forgotten, Inc:  We do not charge anything and all funds received from this site, minus the fees mentioned above, are donated to the gold star families of Fallen Not Forgotten, Inc.

 SPECIAL NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF FALLEN NOT FORGOTTEN, INC:

I am an active duty service member that has not forgotten the sacrifices paid by our service members overseas as well as their families at home.  I, like many of you, have experienced the loss of many friends throughout the past twelve years and know in my heart that these are not “someone else’s kids” …these are “our” sons and daughters and they deserve our help to ensure they are well taken care of. 

Thank you for visiting the site and taking the time to consider contributing!