About US:

My name is Yvonne Ametller Dunetz. During the early fall of 2006 I was at the Manchester Armory for a book signing of my book “Until Death Do Us Part, A Letter To Our Loved Ones”. A soldier’s mother came up to me. She looked at the contents of the Gift of Comfort Box that I had put together and listened to my CD as she looked through my book. With tears in her eyes she said “Yvonne, I am the mother of a soldier, we need this book and CD along with this Gift of Comfort Box for the families of our Soldiers. Nothing is being done to help these families know that the people of America care about them and their loved ones. Please bring this to the government and try to get this to our families. We need this.” She spent a few more minutes sharing with me what the families of the fallen are going through. As we hugged good-bye, I promised her that I would try to do what I could to bring this Gift of Comfort to the Families of our Fallen Soldiers. 

I started by contacting the office of the United States Senator from New Hampshire, Senator Judd Gregg. An appointment was made for me to meet with Matt Leahy, Senator Gregg’s Project Director. I shared with Matt my Project idea and brought with me my book, CD and the Gift of Comfort Box. I hand delivered to him a letter for Senator Gregg detailing the Project. Matt was very positive and supportive and told me that he would share the information with the Senator. Shortly after that meeting I received a personal letter from Senator Gregg stating “Dear Yvonne, Thank you for taking the time to meet with my Project Director Matt Leahy. I appreciate hearing about your interest in working with the families of military members who have died in service to our country. Your concern and commitment to them is exemplary and I will be happy to work with you on the project you described in your letter to me. As soon as I receive information from the Armed Forces, I will be back in touch with you. In the meantime, please let me know if I can be helpful with other issues or questions you have.” 
Sincerely,
Judd Gregg, U.S. Senator

Shortly after receiving this letter I was contacted by Matt Leahy. He provided me with the name of Lisa Lindskog, Transitional Assistance Advisor of New Hampshire’s Armed Forces, as the person to speak with about this project. We coordinated the meeting so that he was in attendance. Lisa was very supportive and felt that there was a great need for this project to be done for the families of our Soldiers. She offered to develop a plan to help make this project happen. We met, emailed, and kept in contact over the telephone; Lisa was working diligently on her end and I on my end. I received a telephone call from Lisa letting me know that I needed to be at a meeting with her in Washington DC on April 19th to present the Project to the National Cemetery Administration. I came prepared. I had contacted manufacturers and businesses and came with a detailed plan. I had arranged for everything accept the funding. I had manufacturers and businesses agree to provide the boxes and contents at cost, understanding that this was a not for profit project. They had agreed to provide the products at cost, as a way of showing their support to Veteran’s families as a business. I had arranged for an assembly plant to receive all of the items and assemble the boxes along with shipping directly from the plant with UPS. I had contacted UPS to obtain the costs for shipping the boxes. I met with a local bank to oversee and coordinate the smooth transition of dollars from the US government for funding of the project. 


April 19th at 3:00 pm meeting at the Department of Veteran Affairs
National Cemetery Administration
David K. Shettler
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Office 412
Washington, DC 20420ou

Those Who Attended the Meeting: David Shettler, Director, National Cemetery Administration Communications Management Services, Richard A. Wannamaker, Jr., Deputy Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs, Kerry Gehring, Transition Assistance Advisor (Annapolis, MD), Lisa Lindskog, CIV NGNH, Transitional Assistance Advisor of NH, Linda Heusmann, Office of the Colonel, and Yvonne C. Ametller Dunetz, MSW, Presenter of “The Gift of Comfort” 

Those Who Planned to Attend but were Absent: Ken Galbreath, Arrowpoint Corporation, Senior Consultant and Bonnie Carolle, TAPS

At this meeting I presented the Project to Remember the Families of Our Fallen Soldiers. I showed them the box and its contents. I provided all of the information including the costs, the information about the collaboration with the manufacturers and businesses, the banking information, etc. I was told that this was “a wonderful idea, a great idea”. I was informed however, that if the U.S government were to take on this project, it would have to bid out every one of the items a number of times and that it would never come close to the price that I was able to get that included shipping, nor would they be able to do it as quickly as I was able to. In addition, the U.S. government operates on a “Pay as you go” basis, which means that in order for the Veterans Administration to take on another project that required funding they would have to do away with a project that they currently had, or garner the funds from other projects or programs. I learned that $585 million dollars are spent each year on headstones, markers and perpetual care. I also learned that 680,000 Veterans are dying every year. And that the US Government has been building additional cemeteries in order to accommodate the Veterans that choose to be buried in National Cemeteries. In conclusion, the outcome of the meeting was that funding for this Project could not come from the Veterans Administration funds or the National Cemetery Funds at this time. We would have to find funding on our own. Dick Wannamaker and David Schettler agreed to write a letter of Endorsement for the project. In addition they would provide Lisa Lindskog with names, telephone numbers of connections, and resources for a network of funding and support. They would also provide Lisa with the list of deceased Soldiers names and addresses, along with contact information for the soldiers’ next of kin. It was agreed that New Hampshire would begin the project. 

Lisa and I then developed a strategy for next steps. We knew that we were going to need to reach out to the citizens of the United States. We also met with Matt Leahy to update him and the Senator about our recent meeting in Washington, D.C. While Lisa was busy following up with her contacts and colleagues, I was doing the paper work to establish a Non profit organization with the assistance of Attorney Valerie C. Raudonis. In addition I had to reconnect with the manufacturers and businesses to make ordering, delivery and assembly arrangements. A website designer was contacted for a website to be designed and launched. 

William M. Gardner, Secretary of State of the State of New Hampshire certified that AMERICA CARES – FOR THE FAMILIES OF OUR FALLEN SOLDIERS AND VETERANS is a nonprofit corporation formed May 29, 2007. The Articles of Agreement as a Nonprofit Corporation were officially filed and registered on May 29, 2007.

On May 29, 2007, The Application for a Federal Tax ID/Employer Identification Number for the Nonprofit Corporation was submitted. We received the Number on May 30th.
A Business Account for the Nonprofit Corporation was opened at Citizens Bank Titled: “For The Families of Our Fallen Soldiers and Veterans” on June 4, 2007.

The Paypal account for this project was established on June 5, 2007.

The Endorsement letter from the National Cemetery Administration along with the State of New Hampshire Department of State Certificate can be viewed below.

 Click Here For State of New Hampshire Department of State Certificate

 Click Here For National Cemetery Administration Endorsement Letter
 
The Corporate By-Laws and the application for the 501 (c) (3) statuses are in process. The website will be updated as to the progress. 

The Web Site is live and we can now start receiving orders for the Gift Boxes. A special thank you to Michael Harkins and Stephen Bechard for their computer expertise, support and compassion, they were the ones that made this website happen. 

So here we are, reaching out to our fellow Americans asking you to join with us. This project is all about sending love and caring from one family to another. Please help us spread the word. Thank you for caring and helping to make a difference one heart at a time. 

At the end of every email that Lisa Lindskog writes is a quote it states:
“There are moments when one person makes a special difference that no one else can make” 

Lisa Lindskog you have made a special difference. Thank you!
And to all of the following people and businesses, I personally extend my heartfelt thanks to each one of you. Thank you for your compassion and willingness to work with us to Remember and Honor the Families of Our Fallen Soldiers and Veterans.
With Warm Regards, Yvonne Ametller Dunetz

For Additional Information or Questions Email:
FortheFamiliesofOurFallen@gmail.com

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING 
PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES

Matt Leahy, Project Director, Southern and Western New Hampshire for Senator Judd Gregg’s Office
125 North Main Street
Concord, NJ 03301
603-225-7115

Senator Judd Gregg

Lisa A. Lindskog, Transitional Assistance Advisor of NH
Lisa.lindskog@us.army.mil
Website https://www.nh.ngb.army.mil/fp/state_benefits.htm
Tel: 603-225-1309

David K. Schettler, Director
National Cemetery Administration Communications Management Services
Department of Veteran Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue
Washington, DC 20420
202-273-5175

Richard A. Wannemacher, Jr.
Deputy Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs
Department of Veteran Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue. NW (41)
Washington, DC 20420
202-273-5153

Cynthia L. Boyce
Branch Manager/Officer
Citizens Bank
Coliseum Office
Nashua, NH 03063 

Scott Briggs, Business Banking Officer and Nicole Poirier, Banker 
Citizens Bank

New England Fleece Company
147 Plymouth Avenue
Fall River, MA 02721
www.northeastfleece.com
President, Peter Mouibayed and General Manager, Marco Belhumeur

The Cozy Tea Cart
40 Mountain Rd. Brookline, N.H. 03033
www.thecozyteacart.com
Danielle Beaudette, Owner, Certified Tea Specialist

Stephen Gould of New England, Inc.
30 Commerce Way
Tewksbury, MA 01876
www.stephengould.com
Mathew LoPiano and Terry Steadman 

UPS Customer Center Professional Shipping Station

Almond Tree Press
1 Prospect Street
Nashua, New Hampshire 03060
www.almondtreepress.com

LHH&F, Inc.
2638 Route 23, Hillsdale, New York 12529
Principals: Robert E. Launey and Deborah Fineout-Launey
www.TheHumanityBracelet.com

Valerie C. Raudonis, Esq.
Raudonis Law Office
7 Auburn Street
Nashua, New Hampshire 

Michael Harkins, Website
Personal Donation

Stephen Bechard, Website Updates
Personal Donation

For Additional Information or Questions Email:
FortheFamiliesofOurFallen@gmail.com