>It looks like a new charity that supports the occupation is up and
>running. I found out about this on Cooper's blog, which urged everyone
>on the left to step up and put our money where our mouths were or 'shut
>up'.
Hm, a project of CyberCentury Forum, a rather creepy-sounding thing about which we learn <http://www.cybercenturyforum.org/events/index.htm>:
>Mission and Objectives
>The mission of Spirit of America is to expand the abilities of
>Americans serving abroad to improve the quality of life of people at
>the grass roots level. Our objectives are to:
>
>* Increase the reach, scale and impact of the informal
>humanitarian activities that take place on the front lines in
>troubled regions.
>* Contribute charitable goods that can have a positive,
>practical and timely impact in the local communities where American
>personnel are involved.
>* Improve foreign perceptions of the American people and our
>presence abroad.
>
>Overview
>Spirit of America is supported through private sector contributions
>and in-kind support. It is being launched under the auspices of the
>CYBER CENTURY FORUM, a 501c3 public foundation dedicated to
>supporting projects and initiatives involving information technology
>and services that promote sustainable development and quality of
>life. The Spirit of America initiative is designed to help Americans
>serving abroad improve the lives of people where they serve - places
>like post-war Iraq and Afghanistan. Through Spirit of America's
>extensive Internet and website capabilities, it will match up donors
>with requests submitted by U.S. servicemen and women, Foreign
>Service, USAID and other reconstruction and assistance personnel for
>things that will help the local people; e.g., sports equipment,
>clothing, tools, school supplies, toys and tools. The focus will be
>on items that established aid bureaucracies and the military are not
>designed to handle and that typically fall in the gaps between
>large-scale assistance programs. Utilizing the powerful tools of the
>Internet, Spirit of America provides facilitating networks of people
>and technology to enable requests from US personnel abroad to be met
>though an extensive network of donors in the United States. Donors
>select the specific requests that they wish to support. Spirit of
>America collects the donated funds and procures the goods, or
>secures the direct donation of the requested goods, and arranges
>shipment to the requestor. The requestor distributes the goods
>according to the terms outlined in their request.
>
>Background
>U.S. citizens serving abroad, civilian and military, have always
>been the strategic "face" of America. They are our country's front
>line representatives in the world's most troubled places.
>Increasingly, they are charged with maintaining and building peace
>in countries where the needs, and the challenges to stability, are
>enormous and, where America is often viewed negatively or
>suspiciously. The success of those serving America abroad depends,
>in part, on their ability to tangibly demonstrate American goodwill.
>Americans have a long history of personal generosity to others in
>need in far away lands. Moreover, thousands of Americans serving
>abroad have routinely contributed personal time and energy far
>beyond their job descriptions to help meet special needs in the
>communities they serve. It is indeed part of the "Spirit of
>America". Often these needs may be too small or unusual to be
>addressed by major government or NGO bureaucracies or planning
>cycles-yet can make an important difference. The activities of U.S.
>Special Forces Civil Affairs in Afghanistan provide a powerful
>example. After building a schoolhouse for a small village, a Special
>Forces team led by Sergeant Jay Smith went on to raise money from
>their families and friends back home to provide baseball equipment.
>Within a few weeks the village children had a league and were
>playing baseball regularly. The village's quality of life, and its
>perception of America, improved. Sergeant Smith met a small need but
>made a big impact. This is just one of hundreds of current examples
>of the voluntary work of American personnel abroad in identifying
>needs on the ground and taking the initiative to get help from home.
>The dozens of sewing machines, hundreds of baseballs and thousands
>of pencils and notebooks and other small items they have put in the
>hands of those in need have already made a difference.
>
>Spirit of America's initial priority will be to increase the scale
>and impact of the activities that are already being undertaken,
>primarily by American soldiers, in post-conflict areas. Following a
>short pilot project period, SOA plans to be fully operational by
>Fall 2003 including having in place a customized technological as
>well as non-bureaucratic human network to expand and replicate these
>successful and personalized efforts by some of America's most
>entrusted citizens - those who represent and serve the United States
>abroad.