Blue Star Stories

Welcome to our blog where you'll find the stories from the lives of our Blue Star Families.

Blue Star Parks DEPLOY Fellow Welcomes All Military Families to See Themselves in New Roles and Places

November 23, 2021

Blue Star Parks DEPLOY Fellow Welcomes All Military Families to See Themselves in New Roles and Places Meet Nicole. She’s a Navy spouse, mom of two, and the Blue Star Parks program DEPLOY Fellow for Blue Star Families. As a degreed librarian, Nicole is passionate about being a steward of information and resources and advocating…

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Coming Full Circle: When Combating Food Insecurity Hits Home

November 18, 2021

Coming Full Circle: When Combating Food Insecurity Hits Home As a former military child, Army Veteran, Army spouse, and now caregiver to a wounded warrior, Tosombra “Tai” Kimes knows a thing or two about the unique experiences and challenges military-connected families face on a daily basis. She’s seen the good—traveling, learning about the world, and…

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Staying Ahead of Holiday Stress

November 18, 2021

Staying Ahead of Holiday Stress By Kelley Klor, Amazon Food Insecurity DEPLOY Fellow   As we roll into the final stretch of the year, and plans are made for holiday meals and festivities, it’s normal to experience feelings of anxiety, grief, and seasonal depression. For many, myself included, November and December are definitely not the…

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Foreign Military Spouses Face Unique Challenges; Blue Star Families Aims to Help

November 18, 2021

Foreign Military Spouses Face Unique Challenges; Blue Star Families Aims to Help Meet Anicia. She’s a Navy spouse and, thanks to the partnership with the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Blue Star Families’ Chicagoland DEPLOY fellow. We know that military families struggle to build new relationships after each move. In fact,  from the 2020 Military Family…

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National Chapter DEPLOY Fellow Aims to Celebrate People and Create Connections

November 17, 2021

National Chapter DEPLOY Fellow Aims to Celebrate People and Create Connections Meet Quiana. She’s a Veteran Navy spouse, mom of three, and Blue Star Families’ National Chapter DEPLOY Fellow, a position made possible by USAA. With her husband having served 24 years in the Navy, Quiana is intimately aware of the sacrifices military families make…

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Opening Up Opportunity: Technology Careers for #MilSpouses

November 12, 2021

Opening Up Opportunity: Technology Careers for #MilSpouses Meet Leslie. She’s a Navy spouse, mom of four, and, thanks to a partnership with Salesforce, she joined Blue Star Families’ team as the Technology DEPLOY Fellow. When Leslie met her active-duty Navy husband and they started their family, she decided to take a step back from her…

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Tackling Food Insecurity: A Mission that Hits Home

November 12, 2021

Tackling Food Insecurity: A Mission that Hits Home Meet Kelley. She’s an Air Force spouse, mom of two, and just joined the Blue Star Families team as the Food Insecurity DEPLOY Fellow, thanks to the support of Amazon. With 13 years of service in the military, Kelley has seen the struggles military families face when…

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Blue Star Community Changemaker: Meet Jamie

November 10, 2021

Blue Star Community Changemaker: Meet Jamie Delivered by CSX Pride in Service When the draft ended in 1973, women represented 8% of officers and just 2% of enlisted service members. Since then, the makeup of the military has become increasingly diverse. Now, 16.5%(1) of all active-duty service members are women. With continued policy changes opening…

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Honor National Veterans Small Business Week with Blue Star Families

November 3, 2021

Honor National Veterans Small Business Week with Blue Star Families Written By: JPMorgan Chase & Co. DEPLOY Fellow Brittney Aladetohun According to the 2020 Annual Business Survey, nearly 6% of U.S businesses are Veteran-owned, and the majority are small businesses. While this makes up a notable share of the economy, Veterans still face challenges when…

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