The Florida Panthers will be hosting "Bunkers in Baghdad Night "at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida on March 20, 2010 when the Panthers play the Buffalo Sabres. We truly appreciate the Panthers' generosity and commitment to our soldiers.  If you're in the area, please come out and support us, we'd love to see you at the game.

 

Every one of us at Bunkers would personally like to thank all of our generous donors and sponsors who continue to make financial contributions during these tough economic times towards the cost of shipping all of the donated golf equipment to our brave soldiers and wounded warriors across the globe. With your help, Bunkers has distributed golf equipment to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 8 countries worldwide (Iraq, Afghanistan, Italy, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Kuwait, and Turkey).

 

After receiving our largest single donation of 2010 from Erie, Pennsylvania of 33,000 golf balls - Bunkers has officially topped the 900,000 golf balls plateau... The countdown is on to 1,000,000!!!

 

At the start of this year - Bunkers set out to work with the United States Embassy in Iraq to help build a driving range for our soldiers and their familes stationed in and around Baghdad. With the help of Callaway, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Colorado Avalanche, King Par Golf, Madewell Products, Goldberg Segalla LLP, IKON, and Transit Middle School - Bunkers has sent over 18,000 golf balls, 550 golf clubs, driving range nets, bag shags, golf towels, Bunkers in Baghdad Banners, and cards and drawing from the students to build a driving range at our US Embassy.

 

We would like to thank Baseball Hall of Fame Great and Detriot Tiger superstar Al Kaline and the rest of the fine folks at Oakland Hills Country Club for donating several hundred golf clubs and 2,000 golf balls to Bunkers in Baghdad.

 

With the help of our friends at Transit Middle School we are sending a shipment of 5,000 golf balls, golf nets and golf ball retrievers to our brave soldiers in Iraq to kick off the first of many large shipments in 2010.

 

Bunkers is proud to announce our new partnership with Callaway Golf. Callaway has donated over 75,000 golf balls and 900 golf clubs  that will be shipped to our brave men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and to Wounded Warriors across the United States.  We are truly amazed by their generous contribution.  We are also thrilled that Callaway has introduced us to the San Diego Metro Schools so we can continue to expand our Bunkers Buddies program.  Thank you Callaway Golf and welcome to the team!

 

 

 

Today marks a special day for Bunkers in Baghdad. With holiday shipments of golf balls and clubs to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (formerly Ft. Dix) in New Jersey and the 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) at Ft. Knox in Kentucky, Bunkers has now made donations to wounded warrior and veterans programs in all 50 States!!!  None of this would have been possible without the incredible generosity of our supporters and partners.  Thank you all! 

Now that we've covered the entire country in 2009, let's see what we can accomplish together in 2010...

 

 

Bunkers would like to thank our friends at the Bob Hope Classic for donating over 4,000 golf balls to us. We are sure that the tournament's namesake would be very proud of all that Bunkers has done to help our soldiers serving our great country and our Wounded Warriors. The 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer will be held in La Quinta, California from January 18, 2010 to January 24, 2010.

 

Bunkers would like to thank all of our supporters and contributors who have helped us go over the 800,000 golf ball and 22,000 golf club plateau!  With your generous support, we will soon reach One Million golf balls!  It is our privilege and honor to help as many soldiers and veterans as we can.

 

When we expanded the Bunkers' mission to include veterans' and Wounded Warriors' programs here at home it became our goal to make a donation to at least one program in each of the 50 states.  We have now shipped donations to 49 out of 50!  This past week, next shipments went out to the following programs:

Sheridan VA Medical Center (Sheridan, Wyoming)

Idaho Veterans Home (Boise, Idaho)

George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Billings Vet Center (Billings, Montana)

Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

U. S. Army Wounded Warrior Program St. Louis VA Medical Center, Jefferson Barracks Division (St. Louis, Missouri)

Sierra Nevada VA (Reno, Nevada)

 

Bunkers owes a special thank you to the Chicago Blackhawks, Patrick Kane and King Par Golf for their recent Bunkers in Baghdad fundraiser. Through the hardwork and dedication of the Blackhawks and King Par - and the generosity of fans in Chicago - we received a large donation of brand new golf clubs and other golf products to send to our soldiers.

 

Thank you to Madewell Products for donating 30 Bag Shags to send to our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The Bag Shags were recently sent overseas in several shipments for the holidays. 

 

Bunkers would also like to thank Femco Steel Technology (FST) shaft company for donating 150 shafts and several hats and visors that were sent to Iraq and Afghanistan to our brave men and women serving overseas. The shafts were sent with golf heads donated by Prince Golf. The soldiers will now have the opportunity to construct their own golf clubs during their spare time. So far, the feedback we’ve heard has been great.

 

A special thank you to Kim Styka and all of our Bunkers Buddies at Transit Middle School who have been working extra hard these past two month packing and coordinating several large shipments to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. We hear that your homemade cards and letters are even more popular with the troops than the golf equipment! We're extremely lucky to have you all on the team.

 

We were able to keep up the pace in November.  Thanks to all of your donations, Bunkers was able to keep shipping to wounded warrior and veterans programs across the country. In the past few weeks, shipments were sent out to:

 

John D. Dingell VA Medical Center- Wounded Warrior Program (Detroit, Michigan)

 

VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System- Wounded Warrior Battalion (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

 

Fort Sill Warrior Transition Unit (Fort Sill, Oklahoma)

 

Manchester VA Medical Center (Manchester, New Hampshire

 

Tennessee Valley Healthcare System Wounded Warrior Project (Tennessee)

 

Dover Air Force Base Youth Program (Dover, Delaware)

 

St. Louis VA Medical Center - Jefferson Barracks Division (St. Louis, Missouri)

 

Fort Rucker U.S. Army Warrior Transition Command (Alabama)

 

Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center Wounded Warrior Program (Saginaw, Michigan)

 

Omaha VA Medical Center Wounded Warrior Program (Omaha, Nebraska)

 

Indianapolis VA Medical Center Wounded Warrior Program (Indianapolis, Indiana)

 

Ft. Polk US Army Wounded Warrior Program (Ft. Polk, Louisiana)

 

Naval Air Station Brunswick MWRF (Brunswick, Maine)

 

VA Pittsburgh Heath Care System Wounded Warrior Program (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

 

Warrior Transition Command Boston VA Medical Center (Boston, Massachusetts)

 

Fort McCoy Morale, Welfare and Recreation (Fort McCoy, Wisconsin)

 

Wounded Warrior Program- VA Connecticut- Newington Campus (Newington, Connecticut)

 

VA Medical and Regional Center (Fargo, North Dakota)

 

Wounded Warrior Transition Unit (Vermont)

 

Des Moines VA Medical Clinic- Wounded Warrior Program (Des Moines, Iowa)

 

Wounded Warrior Transition Unit (Rhode Island)

 

AS ALWAYS, AS LONG AS THE DONATIONS KEEP ROLLING IN, THE SHIPMENTS WILL KEEP ROLLING OUT...

 

 

We are proud to announce that this past October was Bunkers' busiest month ever for shipping.  In addition to sending out 8 new shipments to units in Iraq and Afghanistan, we were also able to ship donations out to several new programs across the country:

Minneapolis VA Medical Center Fisher House (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center Fisher House (Fort Gordon, Georgia

Louis A. Johnson VMAC Wounded Warrior Program (Clarksburg, West Virginia)

Portland VA Medical Center United States Army Wounded Warrior Program (Portland, Oregon)

Wounded Warrior Transition Battalion-Alaska (Fort Richardson, Alaska)

Tripler Army Medical Center Fisher Houses (Honolulu, Hawaii)

VA Puget Sound Fisher House (Seattle, Washington)

Fisher House at Denver VA Medical Center (Aurora, Colorado)

Fisher House Keesler Air Force Base Medical Center (Biloxi, Mississippi)

Fort Campbell Fisher House (Fort Campbell, Kentucky)

As it gets closer to the end of the year, we are gearing up for holiday shipments.  Keep sending in your stuff and we'll keep sending it out!

 

 

Bunkers can now officially take donations over the web through PayPal.  Please visit the "Donate" page for more info and click the PayPal button to make a donation!

 

 

A big THANK YOU to everyone for coming out to the Bunkers Happy Hour on September 25, 2009 at The Steer.  We had a great time raising money for a great cause. The money we raised is going towards shipping over 6,000 golf balls and 20 sets of clubs to the 16th Military Police Brigade in Afghanistan. The unit is based out of Fort Bragg. Their mission includes oversight of detention operations conducted at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility, located at Bagram Airfield and field detention sites located throughout Afghanistan. They assumed their mission on August 15th, 2009, marking the first time a Military Police Brigade Headquarters has deployed to Afghanistan. Service members from the United States Army, Navy, and Air Force serve under Task Force Protector, providing expertise and skills from specialties across the military.

 

 

Bunkers in Baghdad is partnering with Northport VA Medical Center in Northport, New York to provide golf balls and golf clubs to the Wounded Warrior Unit located at the hospital. Several donations have been made by individuals in and around the Long Island area to Goldberg Segalla's Long Island office. My colleague Paul Devine has been gracious enough to help collect, sort through, store and deliver over 2,000 golf balls and 40 sets of clubs. The clubs were recently delivered to the Northport VA where they will be used for the Adaptive Golf Program that will help work with veterans's on their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional skills. The golf equipment will also be used at the Northport Golf Course at the VA Medical Center for the veterans's recreational use.

 

Bunkers recently teamed up with Crosswoods Indoor Golf (2 great locations- Chandler, Arizona and Gilbert, Arizona) to collect golf balls and golf clubs for our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and our Wounded Warriors here at home. Crosswoods did a phenomenal job of collecting over 3,000 golf clubs and 18,000 golf balls. The golf equipment was distributed to the Arizona National Guard's 3666th Maintenance Company- who were recently deploying to Iraq. The next stage of our partnership between Crosswoods and Bunkers is that we are going to send additional golf clubs and balls to other soldiers with ties to the state of Arizona so they can have some forms of enjoyment during their downtime. Many thanks goes out to Bev and Brad Lefebvre for all of their hard work and dedication to our brave men and women- both here at home and abroad!

 

Bunkers is proud to support the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary Roll of Honor #120 ("DAVA") and the important work they do in providing support to our disabled veterans.  DAVA will be holding a charity golf outing on July 27, 2009 at Batavia Country Club with proceeds to go to VA WNY Healthcare System, Voluntary Services.  Please check out our calendar for all the details.  To participate, please contact Kathy Tedesco at 716-691-3071.

 

WNY Heroes is a group that assist Veterans and current military personnel and their families.  We're proud to partner with WNY Heroes and to be able to supply their WNY Heroes Golf Outing with golf balls donated by you.  The Golf Outing will be July 25, 2009 at the Niagara County Golf Course.  Check out the calendar for more details.  To participate, call Stephanie Thurston at 716-536-3940.

 

On July 2, 2009, thanks to your generosity, Bunkers will be sending a large shipment out to our friends serving in Iraq - they enjoyed their first shipment so much, they emailed us and asked for more to share!

 

Bunkers in Baghdad is honored that we have been invited to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange this Friday, June 26, 2009.  Joe and the rest of the Bunkers' crew will be on the podium to raise awareness for our mission and for all the other groups out there that serve our troops and their families.  Check back for photos and video from the event.

 

On June 8, 2009, Joe had the privilege of visiting with some of our injured soldiers who have returned home from their service overseas at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. He then had the opportunity to speak with some of the families staying at one of the Fisher House locations on the Brooke Army Medical Center campus.   Bunkers was proud to be able to supply the Fisher House with golf balls and clubs that you so generously donated.

"The Fisher House program is a unique private-public partnership that supports America's military in their time of need. The program recognizes the special sacrifices of our men and women in uniform and the hardships of military service by meeting a humanitarian need beyond that normally provided by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs."

 

We would like to thank the Genesee Valley Pennysaver for their fundraising efforts on behalf of Bunkers in Baghdad. The Pennysaver and its generous readers were instrumental in raising money for the charity and collecting several hundred golf clubs and thousands of golf balls.

A special thank you goes out to Lynne Standish for heading up the drive. Also, a special welcome home to her husband Russ who will be returning home from service in Iraq in order to attend his daughter's high school graduation. Thank you for your brave service to this country.

 

Bunkers in Baghdad is proud to announce its new partnership with Operation Welcome Home and Recovery and Veterans Outreach Center, Inc. Bunkers will play an integral role in partnering with with the Canandaigua/Rochester VA Medical Centers and Operation Welcome Home and Recovery to launch a new project: "VET REC." This will be recreational therapy available to servicemembers, veterans and their families. Bunkers will initially donate 40 sets of golf clubs and 5,000 golf balls to kick the program off.

 

Bunkers in Baghdad is pleased to announce that we are teaming up with Crosswoods Indoor Golf in Arizona.  Crosswoods is holding a special "Golf for our Troops" event on June 27th at their Chandler, Arizona location to benefit Bunkers in Baghdad and other military charities.  Please check out the calendar page for more information.

 

On Saturday, June 27th and Sunday, June 28th, Bunkers in Baghdad will be at the Boulevard Mall from 11:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m. each day collecting golf equipment and raising funds to send more equipment out to the troops.  We'll be stationed near Sears, please come by and see us!

 

The IRS has declared that Bunkers in Baghdad is now officially a 501(c)(3) public charity with tax exempt status.

 

Thanks to your support and donations, Bunkers was able to send two large shipments of golf balls and clubs off to soldiers in Iraq this week.  We were also able to deliver 20 sets of golf clubs and over 2,000 golf balls to Ft. Bragg (thanks to our loyal volunteer who made the drive down to North Carolina).   The shipment to Ft. Bragg will be distributed with their next deployment.

 

Thanks to everyone who came out to play at the the first ever "Hold'em For Our Heroes" charity poker tournament on April 24, 2009.  Because of you, the tournament was a big hit and the money we raised will enable Bunkers to keep shipping equipment out.  A big shipment just went out to Iraq this week, thanks to you.

 

 

 

Bunkers is at it again. Today we sent out over 2,000 golf balls and 750 golf clubs to our brave men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. To date, we have sent over 47,000 golf balls and 2,000 golf clubs to our soldiers overseas.

 

 

Here at home, we recently sent a large shipment of golf balls and golf clubs to a disabled veteran's association called Sgt. Golf located in St. Petersburg, Florida. Sadly, in December 2008, Sgt. Golf's storage facility was robbed. The thieves stole everything that this veteran's organization had collected. After Walter Reed Army Medical Center contacted us regarding this situation, we decided to reach out to this organization. This past Saturday, the organization hosted a golf tournament for disabled/amputee veterans and was able to distribute the balls and clubs we sent them to these fine men and women.

 

We collected over 50,000 golf balls and 1,500 golf clubs at the Rochester Golf Show over the weekend. This now puts our total number of golf balls collected to over 120,000! 

Special thanks to The Rochester District Golf Association, Jon and Jen Beck, Operations Director Sal El Medawar, Kim Styka, Chris Belter, and the star of the show - Christopher Belter - for all of their hard work in making the show a success. Christopher Belter (Board Member Chris Belter's 8 year old son) worked unbelievably hard in the collection and packing of all of the balls we received on Saturday. 

Thank you to the Upstate NY Golf Shows for inviting us to participate in their show and to all of the Rochester area golfers who visited our booth and generously donated their golf balls and golf clubs to Bunkers in Baghdad.

 

 

On February 16, 2009, Bunkers President Joe Hanna made the trip to Albany, NY to deliver 200 golf clubs and 4,000 golf balls to STRIDE.

STRIDE is a great organization that partners with the Wounded Warriors Disabled Sports Project and Bunkers in Baghdad is proud to join with them in their efforts to give back to our special heroes. 

 

Bunkers in Baghdad has our own group on Facebook.  Join us for a quick and easy way to keep updated on what’s happening with Bunkers.

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the official website of Bunkers in Baghdad.

We’re currently in the process of updating our site so please check back often for updates.