In Support Of Our Troops - The Woodcraft Pen Project

I wanted to write a post today about a charitable event I participated in last weekend.  This one was a lot of fun and it was for a great cause, Our American soldiers overseas.  It was sponsored by Woodcraft, a company with  over 80 retail stores nationwide.

This event was all about making some handmade wooden pens as Christmas gifts for our troops.  Woodcraft supplied all the materials.  All the volunteers had to do was show up and donate a few hours.  Anyone that wanted to be a part of this was welcomed with open arms, regardless of their skill level.  There was plenty to do.  Not only did the wood have to be cut, it also had to be turned on the lathe, finished, assembled by hand, and then packaged.  The picture at the top right shows 2 wooden blanks being turned on a lathe.

  Several lathes were operating at the same time.  Below is a shot of some of the activity, with a local student doing some pen assembly in the foreground.

Here is a close-up of her using a "pen-press" to put one of the pens together.

Along with each pen someone made a hand-written note to say thank you to the soldier that was to receive it.

The store I volunteered at was Woodcraft Store #560, in Greenville, South Carolina.  All together our group made a total of 352 pens.  I do not know the count of pens made nationwide at all the stores but up to this year, Woodcraft has helped out to tune of over 62,000 of them.

Here is one I made.  I inlaid this particular one with tiny bits of turquoise gem stones.  I used turquoise because it is sometimes thought to be a symbol of protection from negative energy. 
 

I don't know how many of you have ever been in a Woodcraft store, but I would invite you to take a look.  This is not a "big box" store.  They are wood specialists who are friendly and willing to go out of their way to help you.  They are also incredibly knowledgeable.  Please stop by and thank them for the hard work they put into this pen project if you have time.  We need more businesses like them.

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