Young
Janelle L. Johnsen
Director of Public Relations
Toll free: 1 (800) 717-0060
Fax: (202) 889-0502
Marines
Young Marines National Headquarters
P.O. Box 70735
Southwest Station
Washington , DC 20024-0735
media@youngmarines.com
“Strengthening the lives of America’s youth”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 2009
For more information contact:
Michael Guiles, Temecula Valley Young Marines Unit Commander
Phone: 951-553-3519, Email: TVYMCO@tvym.us
Or
Janelle Johnsen, Director of Public Relations, Young Marines National HQs
Email: media@youngmarines.com
TEMECULA VALLEY YOUNG MARINES ANSWER A “NATIONAL CALL-TO-SERVICE”, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ORGANIZATION STORIES OF SERVICE, TO HONOR AMERICA’S VETERANS
(San Diego, CA–January 16, 2009): The Temecula Valley Young Marines are partnering with the organization, Stories of Service, this Monday, Martin Luther King Day, at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, CA for the rally that is in response to President-elect Obama's call for volunteerism, civic engagement and service to community that will be major themes in his Inaugural Address and throughout the life of his Administration. The Stories of Service West Coast Rally is being held January 19th, from 11 AM to 3 PM on the historic USS Midway in San Diego. The Temecula Valley Young Marines are official partners of this event.
The Temecula Valley Young Marines have shown a strong commitment to excellence in community service and have been recognized on a national level by Young Marines National HQs as the 2006-2007 Unit of the Year for their dedication to honoring America’s Veterans, community outreach and youth drug demand reduction education. Some of their community outreach projects have included: America Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, Operation Guardian Angel (relief effort for victims of Hurricane Katrina), Young Marines Veterans Appreciation Week, Fill a Backpack campaign for underprivileged children, Operation DVD (sending DVDs to deployed troops), and Operation Pages (sending books to deployed troops), and that is just to name a few.
Stories of Service started in California’s Silicon Valley in 1998 by the Digital Clubhouse Network, a nonprofit created by NASA, that was one of the founding partners of the Veterans Oral History Project of the Library of Congress, and which has received three medals from the Smithsonian for its “visionary use of information technology to improve society.” AMVETS California Service Foundation has provided funding to develop teaching resources and a website.
Academy Award winning actor Ernest Borgnine has volunteered to be Stories of Service National spokesman, urging his fellow WWII vets to come forward and share their stories.
While the emphasis has been on preserving the legacy of World War II veterans who are now passing away at an estimated rate of one every 90 seconds, Stories of Service also encourages youth to preserve the stories of vets from the Korea and Vietnam eras. In 2005, a special version of the program was created to assist Gold Star families produce videos to honor the memory of loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mike Kessler, National Executive Director/CEO of the Young Marines of the Marine Corps League says it’s no surprise, considering the Temecula Valley Young Marines’ deep commitment to serve others, that they have partnered with Stories of Service to answer the “Call to Service” to honor America’s veterans.
“I am thrilled that the Young Marines in general and the Temecula Valley Young Marines more specifically are in partnership with Stories of Service”, says Kessler, “Our nation has survived numerous conflicts because America’s citizens wanted to preserve the many freedoms we have come to expect of our men and women in uniform. The stories are many, most of them untold. The experiences of our brave men and women run deep, and need to be chronicled to ensure their legacy.”
Kessler says he is proud to have the Temecula Valley Young Marines represent the National Young Marines program at the West Coast Community Rally at the USS Midway Museum on Monday.
“I look forward to a long and successful partnership with Stories of Service and would like to announce today that this will become a part of our National Campaign to honor America’s veterans from all wars and conflicts”, said Kessler.
The Young Marines is a non-profit 501c(3) youth education and service program for boys and girls ages 8 through completion of high school. The program promotes the mental, moral and physical development of its members and focuses on teaching youth: leadership, teamwork and discipline. Young Marine units are community-based programs led by dedicated adult volunteers. Currently there are over 300 units with 11,700 youth and 3,400 adult volunteers in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Germany, Japan, and affiliates in a host of other countries.
The mission of the Young Marines is to positively impact America's future by providing quality youth development programs for boys and girls that nurtures and develops its members into responsible citizens who enjoy and promote a healthy, drug free lifestyle .
Contact Janelle Johnsen at: media@youngmarines.com for more information about the
National program of the Young Marines of the Marine Corps League or visit www.YoungMarines.com
The Temecula Valley Young Marines website is: www.tvym.us
Stories of Service’s website is: www.digiclub.org