OFM Merchant & Retailer Donation Boxes

If you are a merchant or retailer you can help build the Operation Freedom Memorial in downtown Wichita, KS by helping us collect donations for the memorial.

OFM has two programs you can choose from to help us collect donations:

• High customer volume - OFM will provide you with a small steel donation lock box (below) to collect donations. Optional sample granite paver (right, 6"x10"x2") for display with OFM flyers.
• Smaller merchants can choose to download printable OFM Donation labels to paste on pickle jars or some other object to make your own donation jars.

Your participation in this program will allow you to:

• Help us honor and remember the 82 Kansas fallen who have lost their lives in the war on terrorism.
• Contribute to the development of Veterans Memorial Park in Wichita, KS.
• Have your business placed on our Sponsor web page.
• Receive a tax donation for the cash donations you collect for OFM.

For more information contact one of the following OFM officers:

• Anita Dixon - 316-648-6481 - anita@ofm-ks.com
• King Dixon - 316-516-0237 - king@ofm-ks.com
• John Wilson - 817-840-3291 - john@ofm-ks.com

OFM Donation Lock Boxes

Large - 3 inches high, 9 inches wide, 12 inches long

Small - 3 inches high, 7 inches wide, 9 inches long

Printable Donation Box Labels – Download from OFM website here

Operation Freedom Memorial Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization (501C-3) established to plan, design, fund and construct the Operation Freedom Memorial in Veterans Memorial Park, Wichita, KS. All board members are volunteers and 100% of donations go toward building the memorial.

Operation Freedom Memorial founder Anita Dixon commercial

Operation Freedom Memorial founder Anita Dixon commercial

Senator Bob Dole endorses Operation Freedom Memorial Foundation, Inc.

Senator Bob Dole endorses Operation Freedom Memorial Foundation, Inc.

Representative Todd Tiahrt endorses OFM

Representative Todd Tiahrt endorses Operation Freedom Memorial Foundation, Inc.

A Wichita-area soldier, is the latest Kansas casualty in the war on terror

A 21-year-old Army soldier from the Wichita area died this week in Afghanistan.

SPC James Burnett Jr. attended Clearwater High School and joined the Army after graduating in 2009. His mother, Rebecca Metcalf, lives in Wichita with her husband, John Rogers.

Note: SPC James Burnett Jr. is the 82nd Kansas casualty in the war against terrorism, for a complete list of the Kansas Kia visit our complete database on our home website here Kansas KIA.

The Department of Defense said Burnett and Pfc. Matthew C. Colin, 22, of Navarre, Fla., died Wednesday in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Burnett’s family said an improvised explosive device struck a Jeep in which he was riding in a convoy.

Burnett and Collins were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

James Burnett Sr., the soldier’s father, and his stepmother, Cherie Burnett, live in Brownwood, Mo. They told the Daily Statesman in Dexter, Mo., they’d talked to their son just a few weeks ago.

“I’m in a bad place. Pray for me,” they remembered him saying.

Spc. Burnett was deployed in April with the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment from Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

Burnett, who turned 21 in September, had recently gotten engaged to Amy Keeler of Wichita.

“Miss an(d) love everyone so very much ... including you, Amy. Tell my dogs ill be home soon enough,” Burnett posted on his Facebook page Tuesday.

"He always went out of his way for everybody. When anyone needed anything, he was there for them. It didn't matter what they did to him," explains Burnett's mother, Rebecca Metcalf.

She and her husband John say they are incredibly proud of their son and say he died a hero.

"It was always a great sense of pride with what he chose to do with his life," said John.

Burnett first joined the Army Reserves when he graduated high school in 2009. He joined active duty about a year later.

His family says he had been serving in Afghanistan since April.

"That big smile, that's what I think about when I think of James," said Amy Keeler, Burnett's fiance.

"He didn't think with his head, he thought with his heart. He had the biggest heart I've ever seen," adds Kyle Clark, Burnett's friend.

Chris Leon raising funds at the Wichita Veterans Parade

Anita,

Sorry you had to work and couldn't make the parade. Chris manned a table while I went into the crowd waiting for the parade to start. We raised $150.19 for Operation Freedom Memorial.

Representative Mike Pompano came over to see what Chris was doing. He said he was familiar with Operation Freedom Memorial, asked how the fundraising was going, and told me to pass along to you to let him know if you need anything.

I took these pictures with my phone so they're not very good - but they give you an idea of what we did.

Thanks,

Pat

p.s. Chris presented OFM with almost $600 that he has raised last weekend at the WWII Memorial dedication in Veterans Memorial Park.

Chris Leon (above). Chris Leon & Mike Pompano (below)