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Copyright © 2005 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee | June /July 2005 |
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 At
right, Renee Warren, a Red Cross volunteer, and her husband, Capt. Joel
Warren, a chaplain at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, stand
outside the Clothing Closet, which they and other chaplains and volunteers
operate as a service to wounded soldiers who are airlifted here from Afghanistan
and Iraq. The facility stocks donated clothing and personal items.
East Tennesseans invited to assist wounded soldiers As one of the nine chaplains on staff at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Air Force Capt. Joel Warren helps run the Clothing Closet, which provides clothing and comfort items to the wounded service people who are airlifted from Afghanistan and Iraq. Allied forces include 37 nations, and soldiers from around the world spend two to four days in this facility undergoing initial treatment before being shipped home. It’s no surprise that the wounded soldiers had little time to gather personal belongings before being flown here, so the chaplains and Red Cross volunteers – including Warren’s wife, Renee – accept, organize and distribute needed items free of charge. Jane Pickering, a parishioner at Grace, Chattanooga, recently gathered and delivered to Landstuhl several boxes of books, magazines, cards, notepads and games collected at her church, as well as letters written by the children of St. Paul, Chattanooga. She said parishioners at St. Luke, Cleveland, also have sent packages. While visiting her daughter, SSgt. Elizabeth Tschoepe – who is a member of St. Paul’s – Pickering toured the facility and learned more about the Clothing Closet. She and her daughter were told that space is a critical issue. The little shop has one “showroom,” and a hallway bookcase contains magazines, books and other amusements to help soldiers pass the time. Two small closets store additional goods. The chaplains indicated that while they appreciate generous donations from corporations and individuals, the shipments don’t always contain needed items, and storage and organizational challenges can be immense. They can use only new merchandise, not secondhand, because hospital sanitation rules apply. Inexpensive clothing that can be torn to accommodate wound care is best. Travel-sized toiletries are practical for typically short stays. And because of the limited storage, the chaplains appreciate a frequent trickle of items instead of a single deluge. Pickering said organizing donations also helps: One idea is to assemble gym bags that contain needed articles. Each soft gym bag or backpack might supply sleep pants and T-shirts, boxer shorts, a fleece shirt and jacket, a wind suit, a lap blanket, socks and a pair of athletic shoes – men’s sizes 9 to 15 or women’s sizes 6 to 9 – and a kit of toiletry essentials including shower shoes and disposable razors. A book, playing cards, a phone card and a personal note are welcome additions. Bags should be marked or tagged for gender and size (L and XL preferred) and may be mailed to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Pastoral Services Dept., US Hospital, CMR 402, APO AE 09180. Also appreciated are funds in the form of checks payable to IMA-E CTOF-WW with the notation “Wounded Warrier Sub-Account.” Wounded soldiers enter the facility through a lobby with a floor mosaic that reads, “Selfless Service.” It applies not only to the fighting men and women who are treated there but also to the staff. “The work at Landstuhl is noble,” Pickering says, and chaplains’ work through the Clothing Closet “is most definitely selfless. Our help is needed.” For more information, contact Jane Pickering,
sweetaddaline@yahoo.com;
make “Landstuhl’ your subject line. |