'The Tackifier' Blog by FindTape

I'm very excited to announce the results of our Memorial Day campaign for Operation Homefront. Thanks to your support, we are donating $7,102.30 to help our soldiers and their families.

They are the ones who bear the brunt of war: More than 50,000 men and women come home wounded and many of their families struggle financially. Operation Homefront is a nonprofit organization that does a lot of good for those who serve our country. It provides emergency financial assistance, caregiver support, and access to permanent, mortgage-free homes for our veterans.

As I've mentioned before, FindTape.com has strong connections to the military. Many U.S. military divisions are our customers, and the owner of our primary tape converter, Robert Valley, is a veteran of the 82nd Airborne and both Operation Just Cause in Panama and the Gulf War in Iraq. Also one of my grandfathers served in combat in World War I and the other in World War II.

But beyond all of this, we are passionate about military families and all they do to protect and serve our nation, and we are so grateful to all of our customers who joined us in supporting this cause.

With this donation to Operation Homefront, we say a big "THANK YOU" to all of our service men, women and families.

About Operation Homefront

A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront leads more than 2,500 volunteers with nationwide presence who provide emergency and other financial assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors. Operation Homefront has provided assistance to thousands of military families since its inception in 2002. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity watchdog groups, nationally, 92 percent of Operation Homefront's expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.net.

FindTape.com has many crafty customers, many of whom use pressure-sensitive adhesive tape in artistic ways. Our colored tape is often used to decorate scrapbooks, hula hoops, and phone cases.

But one of my favorite uses for our tape is both artistic and charitable: Decorating crutches for wounded warriors and military veterans who are amputees.

The genius behind this activity is Genevieve Finn, who founded Genevieve’s Crutches along with her mother, Regina. Genevieve and her mother are regular customers of FindTape.com, and their story is very uplifting.

When Genevieve was 15 years old, she spent a lot of time on crutches. An active kid and an athlete, she began experiencing pain from hip problems. She had to use crutches for several months before and after two separate surgeries that led to her recovery.

As a creative person, she quickly found a solution to the boring look of her silver crutches. In preparation for attending a Mets game, she used tape to decorate her crutches in the team's colors.

This seemingly simple action completely changed Genevieve's perspective on her injury. People commented on her crutches, and suddenly, her injury wasn't front and center. She discovered the decorated crutches made a positive difference in her recovery. That's when she and her mother recognized the therapeutic value of crutches as art. They set out to help others feel this way too.

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May is National Military Appreciation Month, and perhaps it's not so surprising that this is the month we've chosen to honor the men, women, and their families who have or are serving our country. After all, May includes some important observances: Loyalty Day (May 1), VE Day (May 8), Military Spouse Appreciation Day (May 8), Armed Forces Day (May 16), and Memorial Day (May 25).

At FindTape.com, this month is important to us because of our strong connections to military personnel and veterans. As I've mentioned before, I have both family and friends who are veterans, and many military divisions are customers of FindTape.com.

National Military Association Month gives all Americans an opportunity "to honor, remember, recognize, and appreciate those who serve and have served.... It recognizes those on active duty in all branches of the services, the National Guard and Reserves plus retirees, veterans, and all of their families - well over 90 million Americans and more than 230 years of our nation’s history."

Note the inclusion of the word, families. We often forget how much military families contribute to the cause of freedom. When a spouse or parent is deployed, it's the spouse and the children who are left behind and who must manage the tasks of daily life on their own. They're the ones with an empty chair at the dinner table, or only one set of hands to tuck the kids into bed.

But it's not just the absence of a conversation or a helping hand that they miss. Many military families also experience financial struggles. Whether a spouse is deployed or returned home injured, military spouses may have a difficult time paying the water bill or the mortgage. These families shouldn't have to bear the burden of war alone. This is why, at FindTape.com, we've made a commitment to help military families.

Recently, we announced our support of Operation Homefront, which provides assistance to make the lives of military families better. We've partnered with this organization because of the tremendous impact it has had on military families.

Here's just a small sample of how successful some of Operation Homefront's programs are:

• The Emergency Assistance Program provided grants to more than 2,700 military families, totaling $4.8 million in 2014. With these grants, families were able to buy food, pay water bills, and keep their homes.
• The Homes on the Homefront program, in partnership with major banks and a homebuilder, moved 138 military families into permanent, mortgage-free homes in 2014. And another 
89 families successfully completed their transition plans and received the deeds to their homes.
• The Hearts of Valor™ program, which provides support to caregivers of wounded warriors, welcomed 836 new members in 2014, for a total membership of 2,369. The program includes 50 support groups across the country.

Operation Homefront operates very efficiently – with 92% of its expenditures going directly to programs for military families. This type of stewardship shows great dedication to making a difference in the lives of military families. Yet, the work of this organization wouldn't be possible without financial support.

And we believe we can help. From May 22 to May 28, 2015, for each purchase a customer makes on FindTape.com, FindTape.com will donate 10% of the total merchandise price to Operation Homefront. We plan to donate up to $10,000 to the nonprofit over the week of the Memorial Day holiday this year.

It's our way to give back to this great community, and to say thank you to the men, women, and families who serve our country.

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For many of us, war seems a distant prospect. But for millions of U.S. military men and women and their families, it is an ever-present and lasting reality. More than 2.5 million people have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11, and more than 50,000 have come home wounded. On the homefront, their families bear the brunt of the war's implications, including economic hardship and health issues. For many, it's a daily struggle.

These men and women and their families need our help, and I'm very excited to announce FindTape.com's support of Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit that provides emergency and other financial assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors.

But before I tell you what we have planned, I'd like to explain why our support of military families means so much to me.

Many divisions of the U.S. military are customers of FindTape.com, and we're proud to serve them. But the decision to support military families is a very personal one, for several reasons.

Both of my grandfathers served in combat in World War II, and the stories they told about the war and the heroism of our soldiers always filled me with a strong sense of pride.

Until one of my closest childhood friends, Robert Valley, joined the 82nd Airborne, war was a distant prospect for me too. As a veteran of both Operation Just Cause in Panama and the Gulf War in Iraq, Robert made war a reality for me too. (As it happens, Robert also has close ties to FindTape.com. He's the owner of JV Converting, the primary tape converter we work with.)

I started FindTape.com while I was still living and working full-time in New York City, and I was working in lower Manhattan during the attacks on 9/11. This experience heightened my appreciation for the men and women who have defended the causes of freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm grateful for their courage and the sacrifices they and their families have made in defense of our nation.

It's in honor of these connections – my grandfathers, my childhood friend, and all of those who have served and are serving – that I've dedicated our charitable efforts at FindTape.com toward supporting military families.

I've chosen to partner with Operation Homefront because the support offered by this nonprofit organization makes an enormous difference for military families. In 2014, 92% of Operation Homefront's expenditures - $49 million - were spent on programs for military men and women and their families. This remarkable focus on making the lives of military families better is very inspirational.

So how do we plan to support Operation Homefront?

During the month of May, we'll help Operation Homefront raise awareness about the needs of military families due to financial hardship, death, injury, or physical or mental detriment as a result of service since 9/11. Follow this blog and our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest – to learn more about the efforts Operation Homefront and others are making to improve the lives of veterans and military families.

We’re also pledging to donate a percentage of our merchandise sales – up to $10,000 – over Memorial Day week to Operation Homefront. From May 22 to May 28, 2015, for each purchase a customer makes on FindTape.com, we'll donate 10% of the total merchandise price to Operation Homefront.

It's our way of saying thank you for the courage military servicemen and women show and the daily sacrifices they and their families make in service to our country.

About Operation Homefront

A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront leads more than 2,500 volunteers with nationwide presence who provide emergency and other financial assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors. Operation Homefront has provided assistance to thousands of military families since its inception in 2002. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity watchdog groups, nationally, 92 percent of Operation Homefront's expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families.

2 inch x 30 yard rolls of Shurtape PC-626 Camouflage Duct Tape are now being stocked. It is the first duct tape that features the official digital pattern used for U.S. Army combat uniforms, making it the closest match to soldiers' camouflage. The 30 yard length rolls make it very easy to carry around although we do allow you to still special order the regular 60 yard length rolls. The cloth tape's lusterless film reduces light glare, an advantage for both the military and for hunters. Shurtape PC 626 is an ACU digital camouflage pattern duct tape with high holding power. This high performance, polyethylene coated, waterproof tape is also used for sealing, packaging, waterproofing, holding, camouflaging, sound deadening, covering reflective surfaces, and patching applications.