Wheat Ridge – Because of one Marine’s mother, several soldiers will be better protected as they fight overseas.
Gaye Lowe-Kaplan, 60, organized the Bake Sale for Body Armor at Applejack Wine and Spirits in Wheat Ridge this weekend to raise money for armor that will be sent directly to American troops.
“For about a year and a half, I was just twiddling my thumbs and crying, and then I found these ladies,” Lowe-Kaplan said. “Now we’re on a roll.”
On Friday, Lowe-Kaplan and her small crew of bakers raised $1,200, enough to send shoulder and ribcage protection to four soldiers. When they started selling baked goods on Saturday, they raised between $700 and $800 in the first hour.
The shoulder protection costs $400 and the ribcage armor costs $230 to $500, depending on the size of the soldier, Lowe-Kaplan said.
Bake Sales for Body Armor is a nonprofit started by Tammara Rosenleaf of Montana, a woman married to a soldier in Iraq. The organization has raised $3,900 since its start in February.
In January, the New York Times reported that a Pentagon study found that as many as 80 percent of Marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper body could have survived if they had worn extra body armor.
Lowe-Kaplan’s goal was to send money so 12 troops, about the size of a Marine squad, could have body armor, she said.
“This is incredibly empowering,” Lowe-Kaplan said. “Just finding out how wonderful people are, it’s overwhelming.”
Anna Lee, 20, of Lakewood, a friend of Lowe-Kaplan’s son, Lance Cpl. Andy Kaplan, 21, said she thinks the bake sale is a great way to support the troops without bringing politics into it.
“Everyone on both sides wants the soldiers to be safe,” Lee said. “You feel like you’re doing something that’s helping.”
People can make online donations by visiting www.bakesalesforbodyarmor.org.
Staff writer Katherine Crowell can be reached at kcrowell@denverpost.com.
