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It has long been the mission of the ASTP to provide assistance for our local service members and their families during times of need. On January 31st 2008, one of our local heroes, Captain Dave Schultz was killed while serving in Iraq. A benefit will be held at The Double Play Saloon in Blue Island for Captain Schultz’s wife, Sabrina and 1 year old son Logan. The details for the event are:
October 25th, 2008
Double Play Saloon
13011 Western Ave
Blue Island,IL
7-11pm
$25– bottle beer, well drinks, food
Tickets can be purchased at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Double Play Saloon (see Tony). Make checks payable to; Americans Standing Together Proudly.
ALL PROCEEDS WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE SCHULTZ FAMILY
About the Schultz Family:
-Dave and Sabrina met at Northern
-Dave was ROTC in high school (Eisenhower)
-Dave left about 2 weeks before Logan was born (he was born on fathers day, June 17th, 2007)
-Dave saw him for the first time that Christmas for 2 weeks
-Dave was killed Jan. 31st. ~ 3 weeks later.
-While in Iraq, he started a drive to bring school supplies and soccer equipment to the children over there
You can follow the links below to view photographs and read more about Dave’s story.
http://iraq.pigstye.net/article.php/DavidESchultz
http://news.webshots.com/album/562453202elbdFW
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=5950494
http://journals.aol.com/jmorancoyle/MyWay/entries/2008/02/12/david-shultz-remembered/2542
http://www.militarycity.com/valor/3353702.html
Despite sweltering heat, the festivities still had a cool touch to them…whether it was choosing to participate in the Water Wars event or feeling a cool breeze from a child carrying a portable fan that also happened to spray water…so that by the end of the bash, the outside temperature didn’t matter any more and everyone instead left with a feeling of internal warmth and camaraderie.
Whether it was the Bean Bag Tournament or one of the songs performed by two different bands that called you onto the dance floor, the steady stream of raffle winners who also crossed the wood-paneled floor became quite entertaining as many of the winners became exuberant with the prizes they won. It was almost like Christmas in July with the number of prizes that were so graciously donated from a variety of places. Golf bags, bean bag sets, gift certificates from a variety of stores and restaurants helped make the raffle ticket sales soar while keeping the odds fairly reasonable.
The children seemed to have an easier time in the heat, not hesitating to play with water balloons or squirt guns while also spending a significant amount of time dancing and playing on the dance floor with inflatable sharks and colorful beach balls, courtesy of the band Southern Course. Many had their faces and arms painted with various images of baseball team allegiances, bunny rabbits and rainbows by artistically-talented volunteers of ASTP, while everyone of all ages enjoyed food and drinks provided by Double Play Saloon in Blue Island, Kenootz Pizzeria, Banquets and Catering in Midlothian, and Hayes Beer Distributing Company of Alsip.
Many of the Oak Fest volunteers came out to hang out with us, and we are grateful for the hands-on assistance of Hank Kuspa, Joe Koce, Ken Keeler, Kevin Helwig, Ed Meroz, as well as everyone with DNR Construction and KC Audio. A special thanks to members of the Color Guard from the Midlothian American Legion who attended the event as well as the police presence throughout the event.
And finally an all-inclusive thank you to those of you who helped us set up and take down what we used during the event…the stacked chairs at the end of the evening, people picking up garbage throughout the day, volunteers selling the raffle tickets…your efforts were both felt and appreciated by all.
Just a reminder that the Americans Standing Together Proudly Summer Bash will begin this Sunday at 1:00pm on the Oak Fest fairgrounds located at 159th and Central Avenue.
You can still up your tickets at Kenootz Pizzeria in Midlothian, Illinois and we are also selling tickets online at our website at www.4astp.com. If you prefer, simply drop in on the festivities and buy your tickets at the entrance. We’ll be celebrating until 9:00pm with live music, food and fun for the kids, as well as a cash bean bag tournament so there will be something for everyone.
If you missed out on getting one of our t-shirts or tank tops at the Oak Fest, you still can buy them online at our website at www.4astp.com.
Proceeds from the t-shirts and tank tops benefit our Relief Fund.
Join us on Sunday, July 8, 2007 for our annual ASTP Summer Bash.
This year, the fund-raiser will be held at the main Oak Fest grounds located at 159th and Central in Oak Forest, Illinois. The fun begins at 1:00pm and ends at 9:00pm with activities for all ages.
We will be having live music, food, drinks, fun for the kids and a cash bean bag tournament this year and proceeds from this event benefit the Deployed Service Member and Family Relief Fund managed by ASTP.
There is a $10.00 advance ticket price and tickets can be found at the following location:
Kenootz Pizza,
Banquets & Catering
www.kenootz.com
We will be posting more details on our website before the event.
For more information, please call 708-307-3178.
Since its inception, the ASTP has been proud to choose and support local charities. We have raised fund for a variety of causes over the years and helped many local families in their times of need. In January, the board of the ASTP made the decision to concentrate all of our efforts into one cause, which is to provide emergency relief funding through Deployed Service Members and Family Relief Fund.
The plan of the fund is to offer financial assistance to the families of service members during times of deployment. Many service members are deployed for 12 to 18 months at a time. Imagine if tomorrow your husband, wife, mother or father was deployed for that period of time. Of course it would be emotionally difficult but it would inevitably cause a financial hardship on the family as well. The purpose of the relief fund is to offer some financial support to these families in their time of need.
Regardless of your position on the war, you must agree that if these families need help, they should get it. The members of our military volunteer to serve. And when they are called upon, they selflessly respond. The support we can offer these families is small compared to the sacrifice they are making to protect us all.
The fund will be specifically directed to benefit local families. While there are federal aid programs available, we want to offer a simple process of getting aid to the people who need it quickly. Qualifying family members will be able to fill out a short application form, our board will evaluate the request within 24 hours and funds will be dispersed immediately upon approval. By servicing local families, we will be able to eliminate a lot of the “red tape” usually associated with requesting financial aid directly from the government.
We do acknowledge that we may not be able to pay a mortgage for a family, but we want to offer prompt assistance to families in need even if it is on a comparatively smaller scale.
We always encourage open conversation and idea sharing on how to improve our collective efforts. Please feel free to visit our website at www.4astp.com for more details.
