The Freedom Pen program is an all volunteer effort spearheaded by the members of SawMill Creek Woodworkers Forums to provide custom hand crafted pens to American servicemen and women overseas. We welcome anyone who is interested in our project and willing to donate their time, talent or services to assist us in our goal of providing beautiful writing instruments for our military stationed in foreign countries who are in harms way.
Every Freedom Pen that is delivered will serve as a constant reminder to our troops that they are not alone and will have our continued support until every one of them returns home.
Additional information and links to all pertinent messages here in our forums are now available on the Freedom Pen Project Website at;
http://www.freedompens.org
Who Makes The Pens?
Freedom Pens are being made by individual woodworkers everywhere, from small towns to our largest cities, amateur woodworkers are donating their time, talent and personal funds to create custom pens as a symbol of their support for our military men and women.
How Can You Get Involved?
We need your help to advertise our program, create pens and assist in funding the cost of providing pen kits and materials. The Freedom Pen program has just started to evolve and the members of SawMill Creek are all participating in the development and creation of the program. Additional details will be posted publicly right here in our forums as the program develops.
Where Can I Ship My Pens To?
SawMill Creek Woodworkers Forums are sponsored by Hampton Roads Online (HRO), a small Internet Service Provider located in Yorktown Virginia. HRO has volunteered to receive and distribute all pens created for the program. The shipping address is;
SawMill Creek C/O
Northwind Associates Inc.
8770 Little England Rd.
Hayes, VA 23072
I Don't Own a Lathe, How Can I Help?
Our Power Tool Forum Moderator Ken Salisbury is working on a system that will provide information concerning financial assistance and services we will need to help us promote the Freedom Pen program. We will need to purchase pen kits and materials to supply some woodworkers who have the equipment and talent but do not have the financial resources to purchase materials. The cost of materials for each each pen is very inexpensive however with the number of pens we hope to produce we will need to ask for monetary donations. All of the details will be made available in just a few days.
We will need woodworkers who do not own a lathe to help us prepare wood turning blanks for those who are producing pens. Anyone who would like to provide lumber, even in small quantities would be a valuable asset to our program and we welcome their assistance. Often workshop scraps can be used to prepare turning blanks for pens.
Our immediate need is to get the word out to newspapers, radio stations, television stations and magazines about our program. If you are able to assist by contacting the media and letting them know about our program we would certainly appreciate your efforts.
What are Our Goals for the Freedom Pen Program?
We believe we can ship over 20,000 pens this year. Our target number is relative to the number of woodworkers who are willing to participate. Financial support will be necessary but we can produce hand crafted pens at a very low cost since all of our labor is a volunteer effort. The progress of our Freedom Pen program will be updated regularly here in this forum and on a new web site under development right now.
The members of SawMill Creek have already pledged to produce hundreds of pens so we expect to make our first shipment overseas in late January 2004.
The men and women in our military forces serve and protect many nations all over the world. They are provided the very best equipment and technology by our Government but they need moral support from home, positive assurance that the people of our country are behind them every minute of every day. When one of our hand made writing instruments is used to write a letter home it is a symbol of our support and physical evidence that the people of America care deeply about their safety and are praying for their safe return home.
It is a privilege for the members of SawMill Creek Woodworkers Forums to develop and provide continued support for the Freedom Pen program. Our members are responding to our call for help and are excited about getting involved with such an honorable project that will touch the hearts of our sons and daughters in harms way.
www.sawmillcreek.org
If you would like to join us or you can lend a hand in any way we would be glad to have your help and your support with our Freedom Pen Program. You may contact any of our members, they will all be willing to share information concerning our program or answer any questions you may have. Ken Salisbury and myself are also willing to answer questions or to assist you in any way we possibly can.
Contact Information;
Keith Outten, Freedom Pen Project Adminstrator
keith@sawmillcreek.org
Cell Phone 757-871-8214
Ken Salisbury, Freedom Pen Material/Financial Coordinator
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