Col. David Hunter (right), command chaplain of the 84th Training Command in Fort Knox, Ky., presents Strength for Service to God and Country to Chaplain Robert Lewis, deputy chaplain. The books were provided by World Wide Technology..
More than 10,000 people receive SFS books
NASHVILLE, Tenn.––A total of 10,094 Strength for Service (SFS) books have been given to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and first responders during the first nine months of 2017.
Books provided by World Wide Technology
Of the 2017 total, 1,874 copies of Strength for Service to God and Country were provided for military bases and VA hospitals by World Wide Technology (WWT), a St. Louis-based company with more than 4,000 professional employees stationed around the world.
Last year, 6,411 WWT books were given to military installations, VA hospitals, and police and fire stations. including 3,300 to Navy personnel on 88 ships in the Pacific Fleet.
- In 2017, First Lieutenant Amor Woolsey, chaplain of the 5th Regiment Armory, distributed 25 WWT books to members of the Maryland National Guard.
- Captain Jason Sperling, chaplain of 161st Field Artillery Regiment Military Unit in Hutchinson, Kans., distributed 25 WWT books to members of the Kansas Army National Guard.
- Chaplain George Vogel presented 48 WWT books to patients at the Theo Rubin VA Medical Center in Long Beach, Calif.
- Dan Ramsey, former president of the National Association of Conference Presidents of UM Men, delivered 192 WWT books to patients at the Michael Debakey VA Medical Center in Houston. The former police officer also presented 90 WWT books to James Marion a counselor of Camp Hope, a facility that cares for military personnel coping with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Communities also purchase books
Local groups also purchased SFS books for first responders, military installations and hospitals in their communities.
- Jim Jeffrey, a member of the SFS board, purchased 144 books for patients at the Theo Rubin VA Medical Center in Long Beach, Calif. In 2016, he purchased 52 copies of Strength for Service to God and Community for police officers and firefighters, and 198 copies of Strength for Service to God and Country for military bases.
- AJ Brian, another member of the SFS Board of Directors, distributed 650 copies of the books to fire fighters, police officers and EMT workers in Beaumont, Texas.
- A UM church in Murphy, N.C., presented 104 books to law enforcement officers.
- Men of First UMC in Waverly, Tenn., hosted a picnic for first responders, and they presented 100 books to the public servants of Humphreys County
- Members of Gulf Shores (Ala.) UMC presented books to fire fighters on May 4, National Firefighters Day.
- Keith Anderson, a member of Wayland (Mich.) UMC, raised funds to provide 26 books for local EMS workers and firefighters.
- Members of Northwest Hills UMC in San Antonio presented books to police officers and firefighters on the National Day of Prayer.
- Community of Hope Church gave 200 books to first responders in Mansfield, Texas.
- Men from five churches in the Vicksburg, Miss., area gave 300 books to first responders.
- Otterbein UMC purchased 52 books for the Harrisonburg Police Department.
- St. John’s UMC presented 104 books to first responders in Aiken, S.C.
Books ready for emergency workers following hurricanes
The Nashville-based ministry is developing plans to deliver SFS books to first responders following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
They previously sent books following a tornados in Oklahoma and South Carolina; a mudslide in Osa, Wash.; an explosion in West Texas; and flooding in Louisiana and West Virginia.