Stuff to Blog About and More: Pizzas 4 Patriots

Thank you for visiting Illinois!: Pizzas 4 Patriots

Pizzas 4 Patriots

Photo courtesy of Daily Herald
Mark Evans and his son, Kent, put their heads together to start a fundraising drive to send 300 Lou Malnati's pizzas to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Evans says he and his 16-year-old son Kent came up with the idea while eating pizza. At first Evans planned on sending 300 pizzas overseas. But he says when a local newspaper reported on his operation pizza, many offers of help came in. He now hopes to send the troops 3,000 pizzas. Evans, a retired Air Force master sergeant, had sent 50 of his favorite Chicago-style pizzas to troops in Bosnia in the 1990s.

Mark Evans has already had earned the money to send 300 pizzas for a Fourth of July re-enlistment ceremony. That was his original goal, but now he hopes to push that number up to 600 pizzas. DHL Global volunteered to donate its services to ship the pizzas.They will be frozen and packed in dry ice before heading to the Middle East.

Anyone interested in contributing to the "Pizzas 4 Patriots" project can write Mark Evans at sgtevans@sbcglobal.net.

FTC: Your Rights: Credit Reporting

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has prepared a brochure, Your Access to Free Credit Reports, explaining your rights under the FCRA and how to order a free annual credit report.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

How do I order my free report?

You can order your free annual credit report online at annualcreditreport.com, by calling 1-877-322-8228, or by completing the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

When you order, you need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may need to provide some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

A Warning About "Imposter" Sites

The FTC advises consumers who order their free annual credit reports online to be sure to correctly spell annualcreditreport.com, or link to it from the FTC's website to avoid being misdirected to other websites that offer supposedly free reports,but only with the purchase of other products. While consumers may be offered additional products or services while on the authorized website, they are not required to make a purchase to receive their free annual credit reports.

For more information on free annual credit reports, read Your Access to Free Credit Reports.