THURSDAY: March 29th, 2012 NO Dough Dinner is on the Menu!!!!
Below is a recap from a past effort and review by the USO, Thank You for allowing us to Support the Mission!
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USO Messenger Volume 3, Issue 1 February 2009 Page 5
USO of Illinois www.uso.org/illinois
USO No-Dough Stat: 400 Glasses of Lemonade consumed in 30 minutes
Counting calories is not on the menu. The line is out the door. The mood is jovial and the appetites, voracious. Forks are flying into plates piled high with hot chicken, biscuits, gravy and all the fixings. The demure may dub it a “feeding frenzy,” but for the throng of Sailors that have arrived with their appetites in tow, it’s No-Dough Dinner night at USO Great Lakes and everyone’s ready for a good time.
By the time the last meal has been served, 450 pieces of fried chicken will have been consumed; 225 pieces of pie will have disappeared and 400 glasses of lemonade will have washed it all down—in thirty minutes, flat.
No-Dough Dinners are a unique feature of USO Great Lakes and are offered twice a month on the night before payday, when funds for many young service members typically run short. It’s a time for fellowship and a familiar taste of home.
On this particular night, the meal was funded by the Military Order of the Purple Heart, a congressionally chartered Veteran service organization. Present was Commander Daniel T. Finn and his wife Christina Finn. Both also happen to be co-founders of the Patriotic Pillow Project, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting our Troops through the creation and distribution of special pillows. Each pillow is hand crafted, quilted replica of our Nation’s Flag and is given to wounded Veterans to help bring comfort and extend a compassionate gesture of thanks and respect. To date 9,000 pillows have been delivered to wounded Veterans and their families.
What inspired their support of the USO?
“We wanted to do something to help as a Veterans organization…it makes me feel proud to still serve,” says Daniel Finn.
Christina continues, “ They are our sons and daughters. It’s very comforting for me because I feel like I’m with family.” In fact, Christina and Daniel currently have a son serving in the Army in Afghanistan in his second tour of duty. They volunteered at USO Midway during last season’s annual Holiday Mass Exodus.
“I can’t say enough about this organization,” says Christina. “When we have traveled and had the good fortune to visit a USO, it truly is a “home away from home.”
If their smiling faces were any indication, the Sailors visitng USO Great Lakes for No Dough Dinner that night shared those exact sentiments.
Seaman Apprentice Gallagher from Huntington Beach, CA Finished with Boot Camp…3 weeks into Corpsman school…his first time at a No-Dough Dinner…how does it stack up? “…very good…beats galley food, no doubt about it. I’ve visited the USO before and it really does everything it can to help us —and we all greatly appreciate it!”
To learn more about: Military Order of the Purple Heart: www.moph-il.org
Patriotic Pillow Project: http://thepillowmom.com/ *Since the printing of this article we have Now Delivered more than 19,000 “Patriotic Pillows!” More than doubling our deliveries in three years.
Members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart present their support to USO Great Lakes for No-Dough Dinner.
(L>R) Paula Reinier LAMOPH Unit # 323 President, Dan Finn State of IL Commander, Christina Finn State of IL LAMOPH Secretary, Richard Coombe, Ms Reinier, Commander Chapter #323 Frank Reinier, State Adjutant John Kapior, Patriot Robert Toberg
- Chapter # 323 Lake County & The Department of IL USO No Dough Dinner