Spirit of America Founder Honored by U.S. Marine Corps

Spirit of America’s Founder and Chairman of the Board, Jim Hake, was honored by the U.S. Marine Corps on May 22nd at the Marine Barracks in Washington, DC. The host for the evening was Lieutenant General Joseph F. Dunford, Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations. General Dunford is also a long-time supporter and friend of Spirit of America.

Jim Hake met General Dunford in 2005 at Camp Pendleton, and the two discussed shipments of humanitarian aid to Iraq. A friendship was struck, and General Dunford has followed the growth and expansion of Spirit of America as it has funded over $13 million in projects over the past five years.

The Evening Parade has a long tradition and is held every Friday evening during the summer months at the oldest post of the Marine Corps, and home to the Marine Corps Commandant.

Spirit of America is the only nonprofit organization that fulfills requests from members of the U.S. military for goods that will help local people in Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa. In October 2009 we will turn our focus almost exclusively to Afghanistan in response to the troop build-up in that country. Through the Americans for Afghanistan Campaign, United States citizens will come together in support of the efforts to rebuild the Afghan nation after decades of warfare.

Spirit of America continues to actively seek projects from all U.S. military personnel serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa. Please contact Project Director Michele Redmond at michele@spiritofamerica.net for more information on how to submit a project request.

Please contact Deputy Executive Director Caryn Marshall if you have questions about the Evening Parade or would like photos of the event.

Jim Hake's blog (personal) is here http://jimhake.typepad.com/jimhake/