PHOTOS: Giving Garden Opens for the Holiday Season

The Giving Garden at Liberty Tree Mall allows shoppers to buy an item listed on an ornament for someone is need.

The Giving Garden opened at Liberty Tree Mall on Monday, with five trees that are dedicated to support five different charities and organizations.  The organizations are Haven from Hunger, Operation Troop Support, Salvation Army, Toys for Tots and Hyundai Village of Danvers. Each tree contains ornaments of wishes specific to the organization. Shoppers can help bring a smile to someone in need by purchasing an item listed on the ornament. Alyse Barbash, executive director of Haven from Hunger; Rich Balest, general manager of Liberty Tree Mall; Lauren Dalis, marketing director of Liberty Tree Mall; Ashley Keating, marketing assistant of Liberty Tree Mall; Sarah Stiefel, community involvement director at Hyundai Village of Danvers and Capt. …

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Speliotis, OTS Behind New "Supporting Our Veterans" License Plates

The Disabled and Limbless Veterans organization unveiled their design for the new plates at the State House earlier this month.

Danvers-based Operation Troop Support and State Representative, Ted Speliotis (D-Danvers) were active in the unveiling of a new Massachuestts license plate for veterans awareness, during a ceremony earlier this month at the State House.  The “Supporting our Veterans” License plate will allow Disabled and Limbless Veterans to give financial support to organizations that assist Veterans and their families, including Danvers-based Operation Troop Support.  “Operation Troop Support wholeheartedly endorses the Supporting our Veterans license plate as it becomes a very visual reminder that those brave men and women who went into harm’s way to protect our freedoms deserve our thanks,”  said Lt. Col. Dick Moody, USAF (Ret.) the Founder and …

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Get Out

5 Local Events To Check out This Weekend

Not sure what to do this weekend? Here are our picks.

It's the weekend, Danvers! Not sure how you're going to spend it? Here are our picks for community events to check out. Click on each event link to find out more about what's happening. Support Danvers High Softball in Semi-Finals at Lowell Operation Troop Support Yard Sale Friends of Danvers Dog Park Car Wash Danvers Fire Department's 2012 Safety Spot Danvers High School Graduation Know of another event happening this weekend? Add it to our event calendar and let us know in the comments.

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PHOTOS: Sunny Skies for Danvers' Memorial Day Parade

Check our photos and add your own from the 2012 Memorial Day Parade in Danvers.

Here's a look at the 2012 Danvers Memorial Day Parade.  If you took pictures during the parade, we encourage you to add them to our gallery.  Check out these Memorial Day related articles:

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Obituary: Margaret Louise Gould

A longtime member of the Maple Street Congregational Church, Gould was an active volunteer with Operation Troop Support.

Whiz Kids

Youth Soccer Refs Volunteer for the Troops

Danvers Youth Soccer Youth Refs donated their weekend to officiate at the Saluting Soldiers Tournament, to benefit Operation Troop Support.

This week’s Whiz Kids are a group of seven Danvers youths who played an integral role in Danvers Youth Soccer’s sixth annual Saluting Soldiers Festival this past weekend, Saturday November 12 through Sunday November 13. Sam Chambers, Drew Larsen, Ethan Smith, all 16, Matt Kidney, 15, Patrick Duffill, 13 and 12-year-olds Max DiBiase and Emily Smith are all involved in the Danvers Youth Soccer Program, as players who also referee games. They are typically paid per diem, but in the spirit of the Festival, these youngsters donated their time and officiated the games for free, which will help provide shipping costs for Operation Troop Support care packages and gifts going overseas to our soldiers this holiday season. Ethan Smith, a junior at St…

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Ask The Local Expert

Ask The Local Experts: How Can We Support Our Troops?

Dick and Christine Moody of Operation Troop Support advise the best ways to help out our American Troops stationed overseas.

Each November 11, we offer our respectful remembrance and gratitude towards those who have fought for our freedoms, the American Veterans of all wars. Armistice Day was first observed in 1919 following the end of WWI, or The War To End All Wars. The official name was amended in 1954 to Veterans Day after WWII and the Korean War to further include and honor American veterans of all wars, for their courage, patriotism, and willingness to serve and to sacrifice. As we stop to honor those who have fought and fallen, there are ways we can offer support to our men and women in uniform today. There are approximately 49,000 troops in Iraq; and another 100,000 + troops currently stationed in Afghanistan. There are 10,000 American Military Personnel…

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Veterans Day Soccer Festival to Benefit the Troops

Danvers Youth Soccer collaborates with Operation Troop Support each year for a soccer tournament benefiting the troops.

Known to many simply as 'the Festival,' Danvers Youth Soccer will be hosting its sixth annual Saluting Soldiers Festival this weekend, with proceeds benefitting Danvers based Operation Troop Support. For Danvers Youth Soccer president Jeff Chambers, partnering with Operation Troop Support for a Veterans Day tournament was "a natural match." "Operation Troop Support was really beginning to hit its stride, receiving both local and national recognition, around the time we were seeking to run a small, "for fun" event catering to younger players on Veterans Day weekend," said Chambers. This year, more than 550 players are expected to compete in the festival, with 46 teams spanning from 17 different towns. Chambers said the festival over the …

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Whiz Kids

Troop Helps The Troops, and Others In Need

Danvers Girl Scouts Troop 60240 Are Paying It Forward to Operation Troop Support This Veteran's Day, And Hungry Families This Thanksgiving.

This week Danvers Patch is honoring the Girl Scout Troop 60240 for their outstanding dedication to the troops. These Whiz Kids are first time cadets in the Girl Scouts, working towards their Community Service Badges, and eventually their Silver Award. With Veteran's Day coming up this weekend, these young ladies are finding ways to ease the hardship of our troops stationed overseas. Most recently, they volunteered their time to help out longtime Operation Troop Support advocates Steve and Ellen Godzik, of Danvers. The Godzik's home has been used for years to store items donated to Operation Troop Support, set aside specifically for use in the troops care packages during the holidays. This year the Girl Scout Troop 60240 spent an afternoon …

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