Returning from Combat
She Suits up in Combat Boots to Support the Boot Campaign
Nashville, TN – May 5, 2011 – TODAY co-host Kathie Lee Gifford hopes her voice – and feet – will help Americans appreciate the cost of freedom. She has donned a pair of combat boots to show support for U.S. Servicemen and women coming home from war.
The boots are part of a national initiative called the Boot Campaign. The Campaign’s motto is, “When They Come Back, We Give Back.” Proceeds from every pair of boots sold through the Boot Campaign go to charities that help military members and their families cope with physical injuries and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Boot Campaign’s goal is to see one million Americans sporting a pair of “Give Back” boots to represent the 1.4 million Americans serving in the armed forces.
“What a wonderful way to give back,” Gifford says of the Boot Campaign.
In addition to her Today show co-host duties, Gifford is an accomplished singer, songwriter and actress. She is perhaps best known for her 15 year run as co-host of the nationally syndicated morning talk show, Live with Regis & Kathie Lee, for which she received 11 Emmy nominations. She has released several albums, appeared in dozens of TV sitcoms and has even appeared on Broadway. In the late 1990s, Gifford contributed original songs to Hats. She also wrote and produced Under the Bridge, a play based on the children’s book, The Family Under the Bridge.
Gifford’s career began in the 1970s as a singer on the television game show, Name That Tune. In 1978, she joined the cast of Hee Haw Honeys, a spin-off of the legendary CBS variety show, Hee Haw. In the 1980s, Gifford also appeared in television commercials for Carnival Cruise Lines. She was a special correspondent for the syndicated entertainment show, The Insider, from 2005 to 2008.
Five Texas women, known as the Boot Girls, launched the Boot Campaign in 2009 after reading a book called The Lone Survivor. The book chronicles the story of Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell who was the lone survivor of a mission to capture a Taliban leader in the mountains of Afghanistan. In 2010, Luttrell started The Lone Survivor Foundation, now one of the charities that benefits from the Boot Campaign.
Gifford is equally known for her charitable work. She helped establish two New York City shelters for babies born with HIV or a congenital crack cocaine addiction. Those shelters are called Cassidy’s Place and Cody’s House in honor of her children.
In 2001, ChildHelp USA presented Gifford its Heart of Compassion award for her commitment to children’s charities and causes.
About The Boot Campaign
The Boot Campaign is a grassroots initiative started by five ambitious Texas women, the Boot Girls, who felt called to action after reading the story of a former Navy SEAL. They started the campaign in order to provide a tangible way for people to show their support for the troops, and now Americans everywhere are purchasing combat boots. Proceeds from boot sales are donated to partner charities, including the Lone Survivor Foundation, which assist returning veterans dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and varying degrees of physical injuries.
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