Earlier this week, Congressman Bill Owens joined Blue Star Families in celebrating Armed Forces Day by hosting a book donation event benefiting local military families. Books on Bases, Smiles on Faces brings the joy of reading to military children by donating new books to military-impacted libraries and schools, and providing individual kids with books of their own. Books donated free of charge by Owens came from the Library of Congress and were considered surplus.

Military families around the country are experiencing the heavy burdens of multiple deployments. The goal of Books on Bases, Smiles on Faces is to give military kids creative outlets to dream and learn that will also help them cope with the challenges faced by military families. The goal of this program is to have a positive impact on children from military families through book donation.

“Our military families are the unsung heroes of our nation’s defense, and no one is more deserving of our support than children whose mother or father are overseas, fighting to keep us safe,” said Owens. “I thank Blue Star families for their tireless effort in organizing this event to benefit our friends at Fort Drum and their families.”

Congressman Owens joined with Fort Drum’s chapter of Blue Star Families to create a new Congressional Edition of Blue Star’s Books on Bases, Smiles on Faces program. The Congressional Edition would expand Blue Star Families’ program by encouraging Members of Congress to secure and deliver free surplus children’s books from the Library of Congress for libraries on military bases across the country. In addition, the Congressional Edition encourages members of Congress to perform a “celebrity book reading” to children at on-post libraries. Books on Bases is a successful nationwide program to bring the joy of reading to military children by encouraging donations of new books to military-impacted libraries and schools, and providing individual kids with books of their own. The program has donated over 25,000 books to military libraries, schools and children in the last year. Blue Star Families is hoping to replicate this event with members of congress across the country.

“Congressman Owens’ generosity brings a new level of excitement to Books on Bases” said Laura Dempsey, Vice-Chairman of Blue Star Families whose husband is also stationed at Fort Drum. “We hope other members of Congress will join him in his commitment to bring this fun and much-needed program to more military kids across the country.”

The stress of military family life that children bear has emerged as an important issue recently. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, military children bear “a complex psychosocial burden.” The Academy has stated that children of parents who are deployed during wartime “experience ambiguous loss and stress, often beyond normative levels, that may become toxic if not detected and addressed in a timely manner.” Also of note is a recent report which found that children of service members sought outpatient mental health care 2 million times last year, double the number when the war in Iraq began more than six years ago.