HeroToHero.US and Hero To Hero Team Canada are international partners in a Troop Morale Campaign which sees first responders giving the shirts off their backs to U.S. and Canadian troops deployed around the world.

Liz will tell you that she was born of the uniform, wore the uniform, wed the uniform and bore the uniform. She has spent the last 6 years dedicating herself full time to this program in honour of their young cousin, US Army Stryker, Sgt Jake Herring who was KIA in Iraq in 2004.

Kevin has been a Firefighter with Sarnia Fire Rescue Services in Sarnia, Ontario, for the past 28 years. He has been involved with HeroToHero.US since September 2005.

There are many other volunteers involved with this program. Click this hyperlink to meet the other members of the international Core Team www.herotohero.us/MeetTheTeam.html.

The success of the Hero To Hero Troop Morale Campaign has been due in great part to 'word of mouth" endorsements from first responders across North America. If we can just reach one individual in each Dept. who has the time to look after this program within their own Dept. then we are very happy. That individual will look after collecting t-shirts/hats from their Dept. and forwarding them directly to Hero To Hero Team Canada where they will be mixed with shirts from other Depts and sent to our troops.

We encourage first responders to tell their brothers and sisters across the country to participate in our program. This can be done by directing them to our website. They can then contact us directly for additional information and support.

What we discourage is individuals making cold calls at Depts. other than their own on behalf of Hero To Hero Team Canada and physically collecting shirts.

Due to the actions of a couple low life individuals in past years who tried to undermine the U.S. side of the program for their own benefit, we are very cautious of who we allow to represent us outside of their own Depts.

In the past one individual used Hero To Hero to get his foot in the doors of firehalls and then proceeded to attempt to sell rescue equipment. He also collected shirts but failed to turn them over to our program until threatened with legal action.

In Canada the only individuals authorized to physically collect shirts on behalf of Hero To Hero Team Canada are the members of the Core Team and the following two members of our Canadian Support Team. They have both been issued letters of introduction which they will present when representing our program.

If you have any concerns about anyone who approaches your Dept. claiming to represent Hero To Hero Team Canada feel free to contact the Canadian Director Kevin McHarg at 519-464-2644 (cell) immediately.

In the fall of 2008 i received an e-mail from Tammy Gould from Otterville, Ontario.

Tammy was looking for a way to show support for our troops and she happened upon the HeroToHero.US website.

She had previously worked as a 911 dispatcher for 28 years with the Tillsonburg Police Service (which later became the Oxford O.P.P. detatchment).

Tammy knew right away she had something to contribute to our troop morale campaign.

Tammy has been very busy contacting all the first responders in Oxford County (S.W. Ontario) and has so far recruited six Police and Fire Depts., including the O.P.P. Golden Helmets Precision Motorcycle Team, to support our troops through Hero To Hero.

Tammy is presently working for the Woodstock Credit Bureau but her passion is photography.

For the last 8 years she has run a successful photography business "Tammy Gould Photography".

In November Tammy called and asked me if i thought the military families who have a deployed family member would be interested in having a Christmas photo taken to send to their deployed loved ones.

We put her in touch with Bev Robbins at the London Military Family Resource Centre (LMFRC) in London, Ontario. Bev arranged for Tammy to photograph the families of over 40 deployed troops from S.W. Ontario.Tammy travelled to Windsor, London, Cambridge and Hamilton to photograph the families at the MFRC's in each city.

I travelled to Windsor to meet Tammy and take some pictures of her taking the family portraits.

I wanted to tell her story.

Maybe someone else will see this and run with Tammy's idea in other parts of the country.

Even though the LMFRC offered to help with the travel costs,Tammy paid all her own expenses and donated the pictures to all the families.

This was something she wanted to contribute to the troops and their families.

I know the families were very appreciative of Tammy's efforts.

Many of the families have made a point of inviting Tammy to their events, including troop homecomings.

I know that means a lot to her.

To see the photo's of Tammy taking her portraits, click on our photo gallery.

All the photo's are used with the families permission.

Keep in mind the majority of these photos are my behind the scenes snapshots.

The last 10 pictures are a sampling of Tammy's finished pictures which the families received.

One of the things Tammy did was have the family members hold a glass globe while gazing into it. Tammy then took a photo of the deployed troop that was provided by the family and she photo shopped the troops photo into the globe.

Tammy has worked tirelessly to promote Hero To Hero and generate shirts for our troops.

We can't thank Tammy enough for all that she has done and continues to do to support our troops through Hero To Hero.

Kelli was a volunteer firefighter with the Fort Erie, Ontario Fire Department and now works in the alarm room of the St. Catharines, Ontario Fire Department. She has been with St. Catharines for the past two years.

Kelli has offered to visit first responders in the Niagara Region, Hamilton Wentworth and Haldimand Counties. I don't know what it is about Hero To Hero that attracts photographers but Kelli has her own Professional Photography business as well. You can expect to be asked to pose for the Hero To Hero badass shot when Kelli visits.

"Troops Don't Choose Their Battles Any More Than Firefighters Or Police" ~HeroToHero.US