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Books for Troops

Building the community, one check at a time

October 11, 2017 By B.C. Manion

After the race for the Lutz Guv’na wraps up every year, the money raised is doled out to local groups and causes.

Kori Rankin is the 2017 winner of the Lutz Guv’na’s race and she has the plaque to prove it. She’s shown here with Paul Vahue, emcee of a celebration held to pass out checks from the annual race’s proceeds. (B.C. Manion)

This year the race drew candidates Greg Gilbert of Beef O’ Brady’s Lutz, Jessica Sherman with Pinch A Penny, and Kori Rankin, of Kori Rankin Photography. Ultimately, Rankin won the Guv’na’s sash. Her stepmother, Jennifer Rankin, won the sash in 2015.

The 2017 campaign for the honorary title generated more than $7,000 in contributions and the checks to local groups were handed out in a ceremony on Oct. 3 at the Old Lutz School.

This year’s recipients included the Old Lutz School, the Lutz Chiefs, the Lutz Cemetery, Girl Scout Troop 2717, Boy Scout Troop 12, Books for Troops, the Lutz Patriots, the Little Woman of Lutz, The Lutz/Land O Lakes Women’s Club, Steinbrenner High School Student Ambassadors, and Martinez Middle School, Learning Gate Community School, and the North Tampa/Lutz Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol.

Suzin Carr, a two-time Lutz Guv’na, said the good that the funds help to generate goes beyond sheer dollars.

“All of these little nonprofits, we’re keeping them healthy and whole,” Carr said.

“A candidate gets to decide where 10 percent of their money goes,” she said.

“The Girl Scout Troop, for instance, this year they were recipients of Jessica Sherman’s 10

Paul Vahue hands a check to representative of the North Tampa/Lutz Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. The group received a portion of this year’s proceeds from the Lutz Guv’na’s race. (B.C. Manion)

percent,” she said.

“That group can also apply for more money,” Carr noted.

“That scout group is going to go for an overnight at NASA. That’s something they could not afford, if this had not happened,” she said.

“You don’t know the impact that that will have, even if it’s just on one of those girls, what their future could be as a result of that trip,” Carr added.

The Civil Air Patrol cadets were there and they talked about their mission, she said. When a disaster hits, they’re among the first people on the ground to analyze what’s needed in an area, she said.

“It’s a tremendous feeling to be able to watch the money come in one hand, and immediately within a matter of a month or two go right back to the community,” Carr said.

The night the funds were being distributed a group from Learning Gate Community School arrived early, Carr said. “They helped set it up.

“This is a night to celebrate them, and here they are setting up tables and chairs, bringing stuff in from the cars to get it ready for everyone else,” she said.

Published Oct. 11, 2017

Trouble at the ‘library’

July 20, 2016 By B.C. Manion

There’s been some trouble at the library.

OK, this library isn’t a lending library, it’s a giving library.

Books for Troops promotes literacy by giving reading materials to soldiers, veterans and their families. It ships them to far-off places and delivers them to local nursing homes.

More requests for books by Terry Brooks come into Books for Troops than the organization is able to fulfill. (Photos courtesy of Books for Troops)
More requests for books by Terry Brooks come into Books for Troops than the organization is able to fulfill.
(Photos courtesy of Books for Troops)

But, it has run into a bit of a problem, according to Patricia Murphy, the organization’s executive director.

Lately, it hasn’t been able to fulfill all of the requests it has been receiving for science fiction titles. And, it’s not the first time it has encountered such a shortage.

So, if there are any readers out there who would like to help out, the organization is in particular need of books by Terry Brooks; the books that Game of Thrones are based on by George R. R. Martin; and, the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

Most of the requests that Books for Troops receives come from Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan, but the organization ships reading materials around the world, and tries to fulfill the requests it receives, Murphy said, via email.

Besides shipping books overseas, it delivers locally to:

  • James A. Haley Veterans Hospital
  • Tampa Vets Center
  • VA Mental Health Outpatient Clinic
  • MacDill Air Force Base
  • C. W. Bill Young Veterans Hospital at Bay Pines
  • USO Welcome Center at Tampa International

Books for Troops began in May 2010, when Murphy was delivering magazines to the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa.

While there, Murphy was approached by a young man in a wheelchair, who was had lost his leg in the war. He was about 20.

He told her the magazines helped him “keep my mind off everything.”

bft logoAs they were chatting, he told Murphy he wished he had had an outlet, like reading, while deployed.

He wasn’t living on base when he was deployed. He was living in a tent, on the outskirts of a small village in Iraq.

The exchange moved Murphy so much that, as she stepped into the elevator, she burst into tears, she recounts.

When she got home, she decided to help meet that need, and that was the beginning of Books for Troops.

Since then, more than 30,000 books have been shipped to troops around the world, and more than 2,000 books have been delivered locally.

Anyone who would like to help is invited to donate books that are in good condition — in the kind of shape you’d want a book to be in if you received it as a gift.

The books can be dropped off, during business hours, to Simply Self Storage, 22831 Preakness Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes, behind Sonic.

For more information, go to BooksForTroops.org.

Published July 20, 2016

Books for Troops offers peaceful respite during challenging times

October 23, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Patricia Murphy was delivering magazines to the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, when a young man in a wheelchair approached her.

The man, who had lost his leg in the war, couldn’t have been more than 20 years old, she recalled. But here he was, thanking her for magazines.

The young veteran told her that reading the magazines at the hospital was helping him through a tough time, and he told her he wished he could have had something to read while he was deployed.

He wasn’t living at a base, he explained. He was living in a tent on the outskirts of Iraq. Having something to read, he told her, would have made a difference.

Murphy said she thanked the young man for his service, stepped into the elevator and burst into tears.

The experience inspired the Land O’ Lakes woman to launch Books for Troops. Now, in its third year, the organization has shipped more than 15,000 books to troops overseas and delivered 5,000 books to local veterans.

It has an annual drive in October to collect the books that it sends out all year.

“We are accepting action adventure, suspense, mystery, comedy and comic books,” Murphy said. “The most important thing is that they are in very good condition.”

Besides shipping books to military personnel overseas, some books are delivered to hospitals and nursing homes.

Because of military regulations, the organization cannot accept books about religion, the apocalypse or pornographic materials, Murphy said.

The effort is aided by an army of helpers, Murphy said, noting this year three Girl Scout troops from Land O’ Lakes are helping with the collection drive, and four scout troops from Lutz are helping, too.

“The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts come and they clean them and sort them by genre,” Murphy said.

Local civic groups and businesses also play a huge role in the effort. Many businesses help by putting out collection boxes. Wesley Chapel Kia, she noted, has been there from the beginning.

The storage unit for Books for Troop is at the 54 U Store in Lutz, which is a year-round collection site, Murphy added.

“All of the paperbacks get shipped to the troops,” she said. The hardbacks are delivered to nursing homes.

Any books that can’t be shipped or delivered because of their condition are recycled, so nothing is wasted.

Murphy has been amazed by people’s generosity.

“The first time I did it, I thought maybe I’d get 100 or 200 books,” she said. “But no, I ended up with over 5,000 at the first book drive.”

Murphy said the donation of books has outpaced her ability to raise money to ship them.

It costs $15 to ship a box of 30 books, said Murphy, noting her husband’s company, Psychological Assessment Resources, donates the shipping boxes.

While she can get enough books to satisfy requests, she can’t raise enough money to ship them.

Murphy thinks the books provide an excellent diversion for troops, when they have some down time.

“It is a really good way to get their mind off the heat, the bugs,” she said. When they’re staying in remote places, she added, “they don’t have television.”

The books go to war zones, but she’s also shipped them to such places as Japan, Germany and China. They also go to hospitals all over the country.

If anyone would like to volunteer, host a collection box, or make a tax-deductible donation, email Murphy at .

2013 Books for Troops Collection Sites
Carrollwood
Book Swap at13144 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa.

Land O’ Lakes
Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex at 3032 Collier Parkway
Stagecoach Clubhouse at 3632 Mossy Oak Circle
Ballantrae Clubhouse at 17611 Mentmore Blvd.
Oakstead Clubhouse at 3038 Oakstead Blvd.

Wesley Chapel
Country Walk Clubhouse at 30400 Country Point Blvd.
Lexington Oaks at 26133 Lexington Oaks Blvd.
Meadow Pointe III Clubhouse at 1500 Meadow Pointe Blvd.
Precision Kia Wesley Chapel at 28555 State Road 54
Saddlebrook Resort Clubhouse at 5700 Saddlebrook Way
Seven Oaks Clubhouse on Ancient Oaks Boulevard in the Seven Oaks subdivision

New Tampa
Grand Hampton Clubhouse at 8301 Dunham Station Drive in Tampa

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05/28/2022 – Memorial Day Concert

The “Let’s Do Good Memorial Day Concert” is scheduled for May 28 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., to benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Tunnel to Towers provides mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children, and builds custom-designed smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. The foundation is committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and aiding the victims of major U.S. disasters. The event will include vendors, gifts, a Forget-Me-Not Garden, and more. Entertainment will be provided by Fred Chandler, Charles Goodwin, Cruz Er Mac, Mike Henderson, and Travis White. Special guests include Congressman Gus Bilirakis and State Sen. Danny Burgess. Rain date is Sept. 10. … [Read More...] about 05/28/2022 – Memorial Day Concert

05/28/2022 – Pet supply drive

Munchies Natural Pet Foods, 1722 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, will host a Pet Supply Drive on May 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to benefit the Pet Peace of Mind Program at Gulfside Hospice. Gulfside team members will be on site to offer information about the program and to collect donated supplies, such as pet food, cat litter, treats, basic supplies and other items. The donations will be distributed to hospice patients, to help provide care for their pets. For information about the Peace of Mind program, visit Gulfside.org, or call 727-845-5707. … [Read More...] about 05/28/2022 – Pet supply drive

05/28/2022 – Seafood Festival-CANCELLED

The North Tampa Bay Chamber’s Summer Seafood Festival is scheduled for May 28 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Tampa Premium Outlets, 2300 Grand Cypress Drive in Lutz, between the outlets and At Home. There will be seafood, crab races, a kids zone, live bands, craft beer, a local market, a Nautical Art Show, and a crab claw-eating contest. For information, call 727-674-1464. … [Read More...] about 05/28/2022 – Seafood Festival-CANCELLED

05/30/2022 – Memorial Day Ceremony

Lexington Oaks Community Center, 26304 Lexington Oaks Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, will host a Memorial Day Ceremony on May 30 from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., in front of the big flag. There will be patriotic songs and readings, and the playing of "Taps."  The event is weather permitting. … [Read More...] about 05/30/2022 – Memorial Day Ceremony

05/30/2022 – Memorial Day closings

The Pasco County Tax Collector’s five offices will be closed for Memorial Day on May 28 and May 30. These offices will be closed on May 30: Pasco County Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources, recreation complexes and community centers; GoPasco public transportation; all Pasco County libraries; Pasco County Animal Services administration office, adoption center, intake/reclaim shelter, and field services; and the Pasco County Resource Recovery Facility. … [Read More...] about 05/30/2022 – Memorial Day closings

05/31/2022 – All about oceans

The New River Library, 34043 State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel, will host Summer Reading Story Times: Oceans on May 31, for toddlers at 10:15 a.m., and for preschoolers at 11 a.m. The story times will be repeated on June 1, at the same times. For information, call 813-788-6375. To register, visit PascoLibraries.org. … [Read More...] about 05/31/2022 – All about oceans

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