YRF board member Vito Pampalona celebrated his eighth year of bringing holiday cheer to the injured by throwing not one, but TWO parties — at the new Walter Reed in Bethesda, Md., and (for the first time!) at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia. Those two parties alone drew more than 300 patients, 200 family members and caregivers, and 100-plus children.

This year the National Association of Realtors’ annual Good Neighbor Award goes to our very own Vito A. Pampalona — YRF board member, Ambassador Program chairman, Vietnam veteran, and A+ volunteer! Vito, a Realtor and broker with Vito Anthony Homes in Rochester, Mich., is one of only five winners nationwide.

The award comes with a $10,000 donation plus a $2,000 Lowe’s gift card, all for the winner’s favorite charity. As far as Vito’s concerned, that’s the Yellow Ribbon Fund, of course! The $10-grand comes on top of the nearly $500,000 Vito has already raised or donated to help injured service members and their families since 2003.

Known as “Uncle Vito” to Walter Reed staff and patients, he has made sure that recovering service members have workout clothes, a pantry full of healthy snacks, movies to watch, and a collection of books and audio books. Plus, every year he throws a Christmas party for hundreds of injured service members and their families at Walter Reed, and now Fort Belvoir, too. Thank you, Vito, and congratulations!

Realtor Magazine is running an online voting competition among the Good Neighbor finalists to select a “Web Choice” winner, who will receive an additional Lowe’s gift card worth $500.

Vito is among the finalists and we would appreciate your vote!

Voting runs now through October 28 and you can vote as many times as you want!

http://realtormag.realtor.org/good-neighbor-awards/finalist/2011/10/vito-pampalona

Please forward this to your contact list and please post on your social media sites as well.

Thank You!

I recognize these are economically challenging times.  However, I would greatly appreciate any consideration you could give to providing a contribution to help ensure we create some holiday magic.    If you have the ability to make a donation personally or through your business, it would be tremendously appreciated.  YRF is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and is 100% tax deductible.  Those of you who might be able to take advantage of an employee philanthropic match program your company offers, please do.  Maybe your department at work, church, school, or neighborhood association is looking for a great cause to give to this Veteran’s Day or holiday, please put Yellow Ribbon Fund at the top of your list.  Your expression of gratitude will provide a lasting memory and many smiles!

We welcome either monetary donations which can help us purchase items needed or you may also consider donating items such as gift cards (gas, restaurant, retailer, cash, etc.), clothing, toys, books, or electronics.  If you are donating gift items, we would need to receive them no later than November 15^th.  Monetary donations to directly support the holiday party are requested by no later than November 30^th.  However, a monetary donation can be made at any time and will be used to support the Yellow Ribbon Fund initiatives.

All checks should be made payable to Yellow Ribbon Fund. Please forward your donations to Karen Head at Vito Anthony Homes 1235 N. Main Street, Rochester, MI 48307.  If you would like more information or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Karen at 248-652-2000 or email either of us at the following:  Vito@VitoAnthony.com or  Karen@VitoAnthony.com.  For more information on the Yellow Ribbon Fund, please visit www.yellowribbonfund.org or www.facebook.com/YellowRibbonFund-Michigan .

Thank you in advance for your continued support.  I hope that the courage these soldiers have shown in their willingness to die for each of us and now their bravery & strength to live inspires you and your family as it has mine.

God Bless America!

Our very own Vito A. Pampalona of Vito Anthony Homes has been nominated as a 2011 Good Neighbor Finalist.

Vito A. Pampalona, Broker, Vito Anthony Homes, Rochester, Mich.

As a Vietnam veteran, Pampalona wanted to help wounded soldiers. Since 2003, he has frequently visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center and has adopted the nickname “Uncle Vito.” Pampalona created a book, video, audio library and snack pantry for patients and their families at Walter Reed. He also provides new clothes for patients to wear instead of hospital gowns and holds an annual Christmas party with generous gifts for patients, families and staff. Since 2003 he has raised or donated $500,000 to benefit wounded veterans. Pampalona is also national chair of the Yellow Ribbon Fund Ambassador program, which helps welcome injured soldiers home.

We are very proud of Vito and want to wish him lots of luck.

That’s right.  Watch our very own Vito A. Pampalona on Channel 7 WXYZ this Sunday, June 19th at 8:00 AM.

He will be talking about our upcoming 4th Annual Yellow Ribbon Fund Golf Outing.  The Outing is scheduled for Monday, August 8, 2011 and is filling up fast.

Be sure to get your foursome or dinner only tickets soon.  We are filling up fast!

This year we are honored to have a special Keynote Speaker Four-Star General Stanley McChrystal.

General Stanley A. McChrystal

A transformational leader with a remarkable record of achievement, General Stanley A. McChrystal was called “one of America’s greatest warriors” by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.  A retired four-star general, he is the former commander of U.S. and International Security Assistance Forces Afghanistan and the former commander of Joint Special Operations Command. He is best known for developing and implementing the current counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan, and for creating a comprehensive counter-terrorism organization that revolutionized the interagency operating culture.

The son of Major General McChrystal, McChrystal graduated from West Point in 1976. He is a graduate of the US Naval War College and he completed fellowships at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1997 and at the Council on Foreign Relations in 2000.

After 9/11 until his retirement in 2010, General McChrystal spent more than six years deployed to combat in a variety of leadership positions.  In 2002, he was the chief of staff for military operations in Afghanistan. From 2003 to 2008, McChrystal was deployed to combat where he led the US Military’s counter-terrorism efforts all over the world.  From the summer of 2008 until June of 2009, General McChrystal was the Director of the Joint Staff.  In June of 2009, the President of the United States and the Secretary General of NATO appointed General McChrystal to be the Commander of US Forces Afghanistan and NATO ISAF.   His command included more than 130,000 troops from 45 allied countries.  On August 1 of 2010 General McChrystal retired from the US Army.

General McChrystal is currently the President of McChrystal Associates. He is teaching a seminar at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.  General McChrystal resides in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife of 33 years, Annie.  Both he and Annie serve on the Yellow Ribbon Fund’s Board of Directors.

Foursomes are filling up fast so contact Karen Head at (248) 652-2000 to get your team in.

YRF 2011 Golf Outing         YRF Sponsorship Letter

The players for the Michigan National Guard will be deploying to Afghanistan in Late July 2011.  Please join us to give them a special sendoff while we raise money and awareness for their fellow injured Soldiers.

Tickets can be purchased at:

http://michiganheroesvsouforcharity.eventbrite.com/

We are currently seeking sponsors and donations.  Please contact Karen Head at (248) 652-2000 for further information.

Kroger will give YRF a percentage of everything you already spend on groceries.

• Simply register online at krogercommunityrewards.com
• Be sure to have your Kroger Plus card handy and register your card with your organization after you sign up.
• If a member does not yet have a Kroger Plus card, they are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.
• Click on Sign In/Register
• Most participants are new online customers, so they must click on SIGN UP TODAY in the ‘New Customer’ box.
• Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account by entering zip code, clicking on favorite store, entering your email address and creating a password, agreeing to the terms and conditions
• You will then get a message to check your email inbox and click on the link within the body of the email.
• Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.
• Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards information and input your Kroger Plus card number.
• Update or confirm your information.
• Enter NPO number or name of organization, select organization from list and click on confirm.   Non Profit Organization 83269
• To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see your organization’s name on the right side of your information page.
• REMEMBER, purchases will not count for your group until after your member(s) register their card(s).
• Do you use your phone number at the register?  Call 877-576-7587 to get your Kroger Plus card number.
• Members must swipe their registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to their registered Kroger Plus card when shopping for each purchase to count.

We’ll keep you posted on how much we’re raising.

Thanks!

Sincerely,

“Uncle Vito”