First Bank employees and customers have joined the Daleville/Fincastle Lions Club to work in cooperation with the Botetourt County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to provide assistance to United States deployed military families in Atsugi, Japan.
Manufacturer’s Coupons are collected to send to the U.S. Naval Air Facility’s Family Service Center and Commissary in Atsugi. The coupons are clipped, tabulated, counted, weighed, and mailed to the facility.
Since this collection began in November 2013, the DAR chapter has sent over $4 million in coupons to Atsugi. The coupons are generously recognized by the manufacturers as good for up to six months after the U.S. expiration date. The most reliable source of these Manufacturer’s Coupons is from the Sunday morning newspaper.
Many organizations are already committed to collecting coupons for this purpose. Bank of Botetourt, Botetourt County Libraries, Botetourt Retired Educators, Botetourt Town & Country Women’s Club, Botetourt Kiwanis Club, Colonial Title & Settlement, Covenant Reformed Episcopal Church, Daleville Post Office, New Vision Pioneers (Verizon retirees), Roanoke Valley Chapter NSDAR, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, and The Glebe all support this mission.
If you have coupons you were intending to use but they have expired, please donate them to this cause because of the extended expiration date. Coupons may be dropped off at any First Bank branch, the Daleville Post Office or at any Botetourt County Library.
Why did the local DAR chapter choose to mail to the Commissary/Family Service Center in Atsugi? One of the DAR Chapter leaders was reared in a career Marine household; the wife of a retired career Marine, she has lived all over the world. Mindful of the high cost of living in Japan, she looked at the list of bases eager to receive coupons and recommended this base. Its Commissary/Family Service Center serves a nearby Army base as well as USN, Atsugi, and it is the largest commissary in the Pacific serving families of the Air Force, Marine, Navy and Department of Defense personnel. The Japanese cost of living is very high, and the DAR’s help with food and non-food coupon dollars is appreciated there.
DAR Is dedicated to Preservation, Education and Patriotism. Each Daughter has a proven ancestor who either fought in the Continental Army 1775-1783, served in the Continental government, or provided support/sustenance or materials to the Patriot cause. If you are interested or have questions about joining this organization, contact Membership Chair Emily Talbot-Guillote via email at eptg1019@gmail.com or Regent JoElla Hall John at jjohnregent@gmail.com. Visit the website at https://bocodar.wixsite.com/bocodar.