Troops were thrilled to receive Under Armour shirts.
she says. “He helped me get grants, and
volunteers from Katz got it off the ground.
Within two months my desire to sustain [it]
as a bona fide 501c3 happened.”
Located at Century III Mall in West
Mifflin, OTA provides military units, from
squads to companies to battalions, “wish list”
items specifically requested by the troops in
the field. These wish-list items help to ease
the burden of deployment and are presented
to the troops as a token of appreciation,
support and encouragement.
“We make sure we are working with
multiple soldiers within a unit because we
want to lift the morale of everyone—not
just one or two lucky few,” says Querriera.
“Everything we send must be shared
equally.”
Since 2004, 98 percent of the funds
donated to the all-volunteer OTA have
benefited more than 130,000 U.S. troops all
over the globe.
There are countless stories of how
OTA has impacted the lives of soldiers.
GPS-enabled Garmin watches were sent
to a soldier from Castle Shannon and his
platoon. The watches saved their lives while
on a mission in Iraq.
Another story affected Querriera
personally. “A soldier contacted us to say
that he and his troop regularly saw kids
without clothes or shoes. He said it broke
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