Dear Editor:I am writing on behalf of myself and Soroptimist International of Downey to express gratitude to all of the Downey community members who have graciously donated items to our Ladies of Liberty service project. We have sent numerous care packages along with letters and postcards overseas to our adopted troops since September. The tremendous show of support and the growing number of donation items from the community is absolutely amazing. Last week we received our first letter back from one of our adopted servicewomen and would like to share it. Her name is Rachelle Demons and she is currently working in an aviation unit in an undisclosed location. Rachelle wrote this later upon receiving some postcards that were written and collected from the City of Downey's 9/11 event at Furman Park: "Thank you so much for all that you and the Downey community do. I really appreciate it. It means a lot to me…to us. I also want to thank: Fernando Vasquez, the Fire Chief, Martha Sodentani, Debbie Perez, Diana Moshinrose, Troop 441, Emily Aubel, Alyssa Allen, Steven Warner, Debbie Bell, Sam Olivito, Sharon Olivito, Swartz and Buck, Lita Jackson, Elizabeth Buckley, Terry Gonzalez and Jaclyn Gasdia. There are others too that I could not read their names or they didn't include it but regardless thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you do. We never forget. Sincerely with love, Rachelle" Thank you Downey for helping us bring joy to our troops. We will continue to support our soldiers throughout their deployments and welcome any assistance. You can help by donating toiletries, blankets, scarves, snacks or writing letters or words of encouragement. For more information please contact myself at (310) 415-9406. -- Lindsey Louder, Soroptimist International of Downey

********** Published: November 10, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 30