Blue Star Stories
Air Force Veteran Continues to Serve the Community She Loves with the Support of Blue Star Families
Air Force Veteran Continues to Serve the Community She Loves with the Support of Blue Star Families Meet Cassie, a member of Blue Star Families’ Dayton Chapter and Advisory Board President. She’s an Air Force veteran who served over 20 years. Throughout her career, Cassie understood the importance of being confident—confident in having a seat…
Read moreDayton-Area Military Veteran and Softball Coach Steps Up to Bat to Show Young Girls What’s Possible
Dayton-Area Military Veteran and Softball Coach Steps Up to Bat to Show Young Girls What’s Possible 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…
Read morePregnancy Illuminates the Challenges and Isolation of Military Life: Your Friendship Can Make a Difference
Pregnancy Illuminates the Challenges and Isolation of Military Life: Your Friendship Can Make a Difference Military life can pull you away from a lot – family and friends and all the special events that come with them, to name a few. It can be hard to swallow, but military families do their best to be…
Read moreYou’ve Got a Friend in Me: Military Families Count on Local Communities for Friendship and Support
You’ve Got a Friend in Me: Military Families Count on Local Communities for Friendship and Support Military families struggle to belong. So much so that only one in four (27%) active-duty family respondents reported feeling a sense of belonging to their local civilian community on our 2020 Military Family Lifestyle Survey (MFLS). It’s no wonder…
Read moreLean on Me: Military Families are Struggling to Find Friendship and Belonging
Lean on Me: Military Families are Struggling to Find Friendship and Belonging Did you know that only one in five (21%) active-duty family respondents to the 2020 Military Family Lifestyle Survey (MFLS) agreed that the civilians in their community truly understand the sacrifices made by local service members, Veterans, and their families? That’s a problem.…
Read moreBelonging Matters: You Can Help
Belonging Matters: You Can Help Did you know that most active-duty military families don’t feel a sense of belonging to their local civilian communities? In fact, over one-third (39%) of respondents to our 2019 Military Family Lifestyle Survey (MFLS) told us they don’t know anyone well enough to even ask a favor. With “belonging” so…
Read moreMeal Planning Tips for Military Families
Meal Planning Tips for Military Families At the end of a busy day, one of the most dreaded questions that comes up is, “So what’s for dinner?” The mental load of getting through the day gets compounded when you also have to think about what to cook, whether you have all of the ingredients, how…
Read moreUnpacking Emotional Baggage: Why #MilSpouses and #MilKids Need Mental Health Care Support
Unpacking Emotional Baggage: Why #MilSpouses and #MilKids Need Mental Health Care Support Life as a military family has many benefits, but it also creates unique emotional debts that can result in mental health concerns. Most military spouses and families bravely forge ahead, which can lead to burying any trauma and pain experienced along the way.…
Read moreMilitary Communities and the Little Free Pantries Movement
Military Communities and the Little Free Pantries Movement “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King Honoring the legacy of Coretta Scott King’s late husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with volunteerism and the forging of strong communities is an everyday goal…
Read moreBlue Star Welcome Week Helps Empower a #MilKid Blue Star Volunteer
Blue Star Welcome Week Helps Empower a #MilKid Blue Star Volunteer Belonging is a basic human need. And without a sense of belonging, we humans can quickly experience isolation and a host of other negative outcomes including loneliness, depression and, in some cases, even suicide. Our military families often feel a lack of belonging and…
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