Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
NBC
September 3, 2008 What Works
NBC Nightly News, 7:00 PM
BRIAN WILLIAMS: A big theme of this GOP gathering is service, and as we look at what works tonight, one organization that has found a way to give families of U.S. servicemembers one less thing to worry about. Our report from NBC's Michelle Franzen.
MICHELLE FRANZEN: In Bloomington, Minnesota, Ann Colburn teaches 15-year-old daughter Allie how to drive.
ANN COLBURN: Put on the brake.
ALLIE COLBURN: Which one is the brake?
FRANZEN: One of the many duties she takes on alone while husband Patrick serves in Iraq. From big family moments to the smallest of chores at home, including yard work.
ANN COLBURN: This is our backyard.
FRANZEN: Ann finds sometimes she can't do it all.
ANN COLBURN: It's a very challenging yard to mow and take care of and it was just more than I could really handle.
FRANZEN: Now she has help. A nationwide program called GreenCare For Troops matches volunteers with military families who need help in the yard. Steve Hartwig mows the Colburn yard for free, a way to give back to the troops.
STEVE HARTWIG: They're making a sacrifice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I can do something for an hour or two a week. That's small in comparison.
FRANZEN: A small gesture that goes a long way.
ANN COLBURN: It means a lot to us.
FRANZEN: In three years, GreenCare For Troops has grown into a network of 1,600 volunteers helping 6,000 military families. The motto: "Serving them while they serve us."
JOY WESTENBERG, GREENCARE FOR TROOPS MANAGER: The backbone of our soldiers are our military families at home. Without their care, their support, their love, our soldiers have a very difficult job doing their jobs for us.
FRANZEN: In Queens, new mom Camille Terrona and6-month-old son Brandon are adjusting to her husband's recent deployment to Iraq.
CAMILLE TERRONA: It's tough. I'm pretty much a single parent for a year.
FRANZEN: In a matter of hours, volunteers from a local landscaping company turned her overgrown yard and garden into a showcase. Details Camille shared long distance with her husband Juan.
VOLUNTEER: Who's on the phone?
TERRONA: My husband. He said he really appreciated it.
VOLUNTEER: You don't have to worry about anything.
FRANZEN: A support system for Camille and Ann.
ANN COLBURN: I hope Daddy calls today.
FRANZEN: Taking root while their families are apart. Michelle Franzen, NBC News, Bloomington, Minnesota.
September 3, 2008 What Works
NBC Nightly News, 7:00 PM
BRIAN WILLIAMS: A big theme of this GOP gathering is service, and as we look at what works tonight, one organization that has found a way to give families of U.S. servicemembers one less thing to worry about. Our report from NBC's Michelle Franzen.
MICHELLE FRANZEN: In Bloomington, Minnesota, Ann Colburn teaches 15-year-old daughter Allie how to drive.
ANN COLBURN: Put on the brake.
ALLIE COLBURN: Which one is the brake?
FRANZEN: One of the many duties she takes on alone while husband Patrick serves in Iraq. From big family moments to the smallest of chores at home, including yard work.
ANN COLBURN: This is our backyard.
FRANZEN: Ann finds sometimes she can't do it all.
ANN COLBURN: It's a very challenging yard to mow and take care of and it was just more than I could really handle.
FRANZEN: Now she has help. A nationwide program called GreenCare For Troops matches volunteers with military families who need help in the yard. Steve Hartwig mows the Colburn yard for free, a way to give back to the troops.
STEVE HARTWIG: They're making a sacrifice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I can do something for an hour or two a week. That's small in comparison.
FRANZEN: A small gesture that goes a long way.
ANN COLBURN: It means a lot to us.
FRANZEN: In three years, GreenCare For Troops has grown into a network of 1,600 volunteers helping 6,000 military families. The motto: "Serving them while they serve us."
JOY WESTENBERG, GREENCARE FOR TROOPS MANAGER: The backbone of our soldiers are our military families at home. Without their care, their support, their love, our soldiers have a very difficult job doing their jobs for us.
FRANZEN: In Queens, new mom Camille Terrona and6-month-old son Brandon are adjusting to her husband's recent deployment to Iraq.
CAMILLE TERRONA: It's tough. I'm pretty much a single parent for a year.
FRANZEN: In a matter of hours, volunteers from a local landscaping company turned her overgrown yard and garden into a showcase. Details Camille shared long distance with her husband Juan.
VOLUNTEER: Who's on the phone?
TERRONA: My husband. He said he really appreciated it.
VOLUNTEER: You don't have to worry about anything.
FRANZEN: A support system for Camille and Ann.
ANN COLBURN: I hope Daddy calls today.
FRANZEN: Taking root while their families are apart. Michelle Franzen, NBC News, Bloomington, Minnesota.