Blue Star Stories
DEPLOY Fellow Aims to Ensure All Military Families are Financially Fit
Meet Brittney. She’s a Marine Corps spouse, mom of two, and the Financial Wellness DEPLOY Fellow for Blue Star Families, a position made possible by the support of J.P. Morgan Chase. Why financial wellness? Well, you may be surprised to learn that many military families experience a great deal of financial distress. In fact, 39%…
Read moreCraig Newmark New York Tri-State Chapter DEPLOY Fellow Encourages Volunteerism to Create Belonging
Meet Adriene. She’s an Army spouse, mom to two young girls, and recently started serving as the DEPLOY Fellow for Blue Star Families’ Craig Newmark New York Tri-State Chapter. Adriene and her husband have a long history with the military. The two were military dependents as kids, and Adriene comes from a dual military…
Read moreExceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) Families of Color Fight for Access to Quality Education
Military life comes with a unique set of challenges for all families—from deployments to frequent moves, time away for training, and the general unpredictability of not knowing what lies ahead, just to name a few. But what happens when your family is thrown an extra curveball? For example, when you have one or more loved…
Read moreBlue Star Summer is Heating Up!
While we’re in the height of summertime, the warm temperatures can have your family trying to find ways to chill out and avoid the hottest hours of the day. Luckily, Blue Star Families has plenty of cool ways to enjoy the dog days of summer! Blue Star Summer Camp It’s not summer without camp, and…
Read moreMore Opportunities for Military Families to Connect Through Reading in Tennessee
Did you know? According to the 2020 Military Family Lifestyle Survey, while 46% of active-duty service members feel a sense of belonging to their local civilian community, only 27% of active-duty families feel the same. The survey illustrated that, while military families feel supported and appreciated, that isn’t translating to belonging. That’s a major problem…
Read moreFinding Career Success through Fellowship
Black Lives Matter is opening the eyes of Americans across the nation to issues of systemic racism that have long corroded our republic and its values. Our military community is certainly familiar with these issues. Communities of color—especially African Americans—are chronically under-represented throughout the veteran and military family support space. In fact, according to Blue…
Read moreMacy’s sees you, and they salute you!
Being a military family comes with exciting adventures and wonderful benefits. But it can also be stressful. Deployments, long working hours, and additional time away for training are just a few of the difficult things military families have to navigate. As a result, those challenges, to name a few, affect the mental health and well-being…
Read moreHere’s How Macy’s is Empowering Military Families This Summer
Military families often struggle with time apart not just when service members are deployed or away for training. The day-to-day job demands and schedule can make it difficult for families to find time to connect. In fact, 47% of active-duty family respondents to the 2020 Military Family Lifestyle Survey reported “time away from family”…
Read moreNational Capital Region DEPLOY Fellow Focuses on Mentorship and Opportunities for Children
Meet Tonya. She’s a Navy spouse, mom to three school-aged boys, and recently started serving as the DEPLOY Fellow for Blue Star Families’ National Capital Region Chapter, a position made possible by Lockheed Martin. While Tonya found her lifelong partner in high school, middle school was not quite as fun. She struggled to fit in…
Read moreMilitary Moves Prove Stressful for Families with Children on IEPs
Did you know that 600,000 military and veteran families move with the military annually? While experiencing new locations is often cited as a highlight of military service, moving so often also presents real challenges, especially when you consider the family members who move with them. The reality is that today’s modern military is a…
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