BSF Blog: Moms & Dads | Blue Star Families

Operation Appreciation: Thank A Military Mom for Mother's Day | Post date: 03/25/2010 - 01:20

Mother's Day is approaching and advertising is out in force to remind us to thank our moms on the big day. While you're celebrating your mom, don't forget to thank the mothers all around you as well, particularly the military moms.

Being a mother isn't easy, but raising a child is quite possibly the most rewarding accomplishment most of us will ever have. When you become a mother, it brings the world into perspective. You realize what it is to love a person so much that you will do anything, anything to keep him safe.

As mothers we deal with tantrums, exhaustion, first steps, first words, and first loves. We haul our children to school, soccer, football and dance lessons. We are cheerleaders, teachers, coachs, pastors and mothers all rolled into one. But sometimes, as military moms, we have to be dad as well. We can pack up an entire house, three children, 2 cats, a dog and a half dead gold fish and move them across an ocean.

By ourselves.

Or, we watch our sons and daughters proudly march off to war. We say "I love you" and let them walk away.

Welcome to the life of a military mom.

This Mother's Day, why not do something nice, not just for your mom, but for a military mom. Say thank you with Operation Appreciation.

We're all familiar with letter for the troops. Of course, those letters are always appreciated and needed. But through Operation Appreciation, you can send a card or a letter of thanks to a service member, parent, child or spouse of a service member. For Mother's Day, this is your chance to let America's military mothers know how much you appreciate all that they have sacrificed in order to keep our country safe.

See our Operation Appreciation page for more information or email programs@bluestarfam.org for a detailed instructional packet.

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How Can BSF Help Military Families? Tell Us. | Post date: 02/05/2010 - 01:07
Blue Star Families needs your help. We want to know how we can make BSF better for you. We want to hear your ideas for helping military families.

And we're going to enter you into a drawing for helping us! Between now and April 1st, everyone who signs up for our mailing list will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate.

Even if you've already signed up on our website, you can enter here again. In fact, we encourage you to do so.

Blue Star Families Gift Card Giveaway

Blue Star Families is giving away a $50 Target or iTunes gift card! To enter, fill out the form below and tell us how we can make BSF work for you.
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Terms: The BSF Gift Card Giveaway is sponsored by Blue Star Families, Inc. Only one entry per person is allowed. Contest ends April 1, 2010. The prize will be awarded before April 8, 2010. Only residents of the Unites States may enter. You must be 18 or older to enter. No purchase is necessary and you may enter the drawing without filling out the online form by sending a 3x5 card labeled with "BSF Giveaway" to Blue Star Families, PO Box 6811, 7676 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria, VA 22306. You must include your full name, date of birth and a contact phone number or email on the 3x5 card. Questions? Email NewMedia@BlueStarFam.org. Void where prohibited.
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This Emotional Life on PBS | Post date: 01/04/2010 - 21:14

Blue Star Families members,

Tune in tonight to watch the first installment of "This Emotional Life" on your local PBS station. Blue Star Families is an advisor to the project and has worked closely with production team on military family outreach. Check out BSF's listing under resources: http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/resource-finder

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Behind the Scenes with Operation Appreciation | Post date: 12/01/2009 - 01:54

BSF members in the Tidewater region of Virginia - Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake - have been working hard on Operation Appreciation. We thought we'd give you a sneak peak of what happens behind the scenes to get your letters of appreciation out to service members, veterans, parents, military spouses and children.

Remember, if you'd like to send thanks to a military family, we'd love to hear from you. If you're part of a military family and would like to receive letters, sign up as a BSF member! If you are already a BSF member and are interested in helping out or distributing correspondence to military families in your area, please contact us at members@bluestarfam.org. Check out the Operation Appreciation page for more information.

Boxes and boxes of cuteness! This drawing and letter is from a 2nd grader in Baltimore County, MD.

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BSF Celebrates Veterans Day with Michelle Obama and Dr. Biden | Post date: 11/12/2009 - 22:47

On Wednesday, Blue Star Families joined with Service Nation to celebrate Veterans Day, write letters for BSF's Operation Appreciation, and pack hundreds of thank you care packages for the families of deployed service members.

Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden were on hand to help launch Mission Serve, a network of 36 initiatives partnering military and civilian service organizations to support the needs of our troops, veterans and military families.

Here are the remarks of BSF founder, Kathy Roth-Douquet, explaining more about the Veterans Day event:

Two months ago today, on 9/11, I sent my husband to Afghanistan for a year. It’s the fourth combat deployment of my daughter Sophie’s eleven years. She’s seen seven schools during her daddy’s absences too – hers is the life of a military child. She - and I - are a different kind of veterans of today’s war. We’re unspeakably proud of my husband, but there’s no hiding that its hard too. The group I’m involved with – Blue Star Families, and all these groups here, are about solutions for the hard parts of military life. In Blue Star Families we believe as Service Nation does that solutions come in part from our own action, and it comes from the help of the larger community. Many of you here today have helped us with that – packing our ThxBox to the families of deployed servicemembers – these today will go to Kansas National Guard, Virginian individual augmentees, and to North Carolina regular families. The Operation Appreciation letters you all are writing today will go around the country, including to the shaken community of Fort Hood. MissionServe has shown wonderful leadership in helping groups like mine connect to those who care in the larger community – in ways that makes us all activists, all agents in our own solutions. Its terribly fitting that we celebrate those partnerships today, on Veterans Day, a day that recognizes Americans – veterans – who serve so selflessly. Here’s just a smattering of the partnerships engendered by the leadership of Be The Change:

Blue Star Families is partnering with PBS to create reintegration toolkits for families, ones we packed in the ThxBoxes today, and to connecting Greater DC Cares to the National Guard community around the Capitol region. Student Veterans of America are joining with Big Brothers Big Sisters to mentor youth. American Legion Auxiliary is engaging with Operation Homefront’s adopt a military family for the holidays programs. Sierra Club is partnering both with the National Military Family Association’s Operation Purple® to offer a free week of summer camp fun for military kids with parents who have been, are currently, or will be deployed, and with Armed Services YMCA to provide post-deployment family reintegration camping trips. MCEC and America’s Promise Alliance are working with military-connected schools to ensure their kids are adequately represented in the Gallup Student Poll, a nationwide survey of 5th through 12th graders measuring hope, engagement, and well-being.

Thank you all for being here today, for caring, and serving.

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Weekly News Round-Up for October 27, 2009 | Post date: 10/27/2009 - 21:55

Weekly News Round-Up

All the Latest in Everything Blue Star Families

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

HEADLINES - Welcome to our newest Board Member Connie Milstein! iParticipate is out with a new Public Service Announcement featuring Matthew McConaughey thanking military families for their service. Check out all the Freebies and Discounts for military families below!

Remember, if you want BSF info and links to articles and events more than once a week, join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and check out our Blue Star Families Blog.

If you received our Weekly News Round-Up from a friend or co-worker, please join us today. Blue Star Families is an exciting new way for military family members from all ranks and services (and our supporters!) to Connect, Support, and Empower one another. Just go to the JOIN US page on our site BlueStarFam.org.

There's a lot of excitement about Blue Star Families and the best way to make sure you are in the middle of it all is to join your local chapter. Just shoot Vivian a note at members@bluestarfam.org, and she'll get you connected.

Enjoy! Heidi & the Blue Star Families Team

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Weekly News Round-Up for October 13, 2009 | Post date: 10/14/2009 - 05:00

Weekly News Round-Up Oct. 13

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Welcome to our new Advisory Board members Deborah Mullen and Babette Maxwell! Deborah Mullen is the wife of Adm. Michael Mullen who is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Babette Maxwell is one of the founders and the Executive Editor of Military Spouse magazine.

Remember, if you want BSF info and links to articles and events more than once a week, join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and check out our Blue Star Families Blog.

If you received our Weekly News Round-Up from a friend or co-worker, please join us today. Blue Star Families is an exciting new way for military family members from all ranks and services (and our supporters!) to Connect, Support, and Empower one another. Just go to the JOIN US page on our site BlueStarFam.org.

There's a lot of excitement about Blue Star Families and the best way to make sure you are in the middle of it all is to join your local chapter. Just shoot Vivian a note at members@bluestarfam.org, and she'll get you connected.

Enjoy! Heidi & the Blue Star Families Team

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Suicide Prevention Month: Preventing the Greatest Loss | Post date: 10/01/2009 - 21:58

By Jessica Maxwell, FORSCOM Public Affairs

"In suffering, we either find ourselves or we destroy ourselves."

Quoting from Oswald Chambers’ devotional, Maj. Gen. Mark Graham, U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, told the story of his family’s personal experience with suicide and tragedy, and how they now share their past to help others.

Graham and his wife, Carol, agreed to share their personal story as a closing to Army Suicide Prevention Month, having lost their son Kevin to suicide in June 2003. Seven months later, the Grahams lost their other son Jeffrey, who was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Khaldiyah, Iraq.

During his introduction of Graham, Gil Gilleland, FORSCOM deputy director of personnel, said he is proud to call Graham a mentor and a friend. “When Maj. Gen. Graham found out I had a personal history of a family member who committed suicide, he reached out to me and my sister,” Gilleland said. “He knows you learn to accept it but you never forget. You never get over it.”

Following a moment of silence to remember the Soldiers killed and wounded, Graham encouraged the audience of more than 300 to honestly acknowledge the effect suicide has on the Army and to raise awareness of untreated depression. “As an Army and as a Nation, we must get in front of suicide,” Graham said. Graham emphasized that in the past fear and ignorance created a stigma of suicide, one that has prevented recognition of the warning signs of depression. He added that just saying the word “suicide” invokes negative perceptions and judgment, and that these feelings need to change.

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Being an Army Mom Changes Everything | Post date: 09/15/2009 - 02:31

Hi everyone! I thought that since this is my first post here, I would introduce myself.

My name is Patty Gale and am an Army mom and former Army spouse ('83 - '88). Both of my sons are currently deployed to the Middle East. At the time of this writing, they've been gone just a month. They've been active duty for just about 18 months and this is the first time we're experiencing deployment in our family.

I have to say, being an Army mom now is a very different perspective than being an Army spouse back in the 1980's.

I am also the founder and ceo of ArmyCrossroads.com. We teach and mentor military families how to start and succeed at running a home business. I left my corporate career, in financial services back in 2001, to start my own business so that I could be home with my newborn daughter. That newborn is now 8 years old.

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Gold Star Mother Inducted into the Energizer Keep Going Hall of Fame! | Post date: 09/08/2009 - 21:09

by Jan Zabel

BSF Parent Programming Coordinator

UPDATE: After we originally ran this post in July of this year, Dee Mills was inducted into the Energizer Keep Goin Hall of Fame! Check out her appearances with Cal Ripken in St. Louis earlier this month and see video below the fold.

Thank you for all of your votes for this deserving woman and her great organization, Lea's Prayers and Postage.

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