The theme for February's dinner was “Magic of the Heart” and it was another spectacular success! Joel Ward, Magician Extraordinaire, visited us again and delivered another fantastic performance. He is so good with our Wounded Warriors! He stopped at all the tables around the room briefly performing his magic and then did a 30 minute performance.

This was Joel’s second time performing on behalf of Marine Parents, and we and all our Wounded Warrior love to have him. It is so wonderful to have such an amazing young man who has performed all over, including Las Vegas , the Magician's Castle, and cruise ships, come and perform for us. He lights up the evening and leaves electricity in the air, giving our Wounded Warriors time away from their injuries and the typical hospital atmosphere.

To complement the entertainment, the Kitchen Art Studio donated a melt-in-your-mouth dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Over 150 men and women lined up for the feast with many coming back for seconds! It was a culinary delight!

Click here for the Kitchen Art Studio website.

We have some of the best volunteers working with us, and every one of them walks away with many stories regarding our Wounded each time we have a dinner. One story in particular touched all of us this past Thursday night, and left PHFS volunteer, Lori, with tears of joy and gratitude.

After Joel Ward’s show ended, Lori and a few volunteers were talking about the wonderful show when they realized a Marine named Michael pacing back and forth near the group. One of the volunteers asked Michael if there was anything he needed, and that they could get for him, completely unprepared for Michael’s response.

He said, “No Ma’am; I just wanted to let you know that 7 months ago I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. I didn’t feel much like anything and didn’t want to socialize much. That is until I started going to your Thursday night dinners. All of you greeted me with hugs and made me feel like I was something. You treated me like I was part of a family, and the way you all really cared about us made me decide what I wanted to do with my life. When I get my Termination papers, which should be within a month, I’ll head back to Texas where I’m going to college to become an RN and care for people the way all of you care for us”.

“It brought tears to my eyes,” said Lori. “These young men and women are so amazing to me. They sacrifice so much for us up to and including their very lives if called to do so. What we do for them is so small compared to what they do, and yet these dinners and our being here means so much to them. I am so humbled and grateful and don’t expect anything in return for what we do. This young man touched my heart so deeply, and I’m so thankful to God and to Marine Parents, and to manager Joyce and her husband, Curtis. You keep the donations coming in and do much of the behind the scenes work. It is a lot of work and it does not go unnoticed.”

Needless to say, I was not only touched by Michael, but also by Lori’s kind words. We all work hard, but to us it isn’t hard work at all. We are simply serving those who have served us. We adore our young service men and women and wouldn’t trade those Thursday dinners, or any other time we spend with them, for anything. Thank you to all those who provide support and donations to Purple Heart Family Support. Without you, we wouldn’t have stories like those above to tell.

Hugs,
Joyce