National Newsletter | Issue #13
With recent world events affecting so many military families, I understand emotions can be hard to describe. We see you constantly juggling front-page news with your personal lives. We see you thinking about packing your lives, saying farewell. We also know you may be thinking about the Ukraine region and whether that means an unexpected deployment. And we see what COVID-19’s lingering effects mean as our National Guard families continue deploying to help with medical needs or even filling in as substitute teachers. We feel the pressure with and for you.
You may feel scared or uncertain about the status of your service member, your military family, and the implications for our country. I want you to know that our family–Blue Star Families–is here for you. It is more important than ever for us to stand together as a community of support. We’re grateful for the many community partners and resources we can quickly mobilize to extend support. If you’re up to it, I encourage you to take a moment to tell us how you’re feeling and how we can help during this uncertain time.
At Blue Star Families, in addition to supporting you through breaking news and headlines, we have our year-round initiatives, programming, and research. This month, we’re excited to release our BIG annual Military Family Lifestyle Survey findings. We’ll look at current trends in the military lifestyle and share the data with you later this month. We invite you to sit in and ask questions. We’re also proud to celebrate women during Women’s History Month – those serving on the homefront and those serving in uniform, both past and present.
I know you’re juggling world affairs and homelife, and I take my mission and my work seriously when thinking about ways for Blue Star Families to make your life a little less complicated and your community as welcoming as possible.
At Blue Star Families, we’ll continue to empower military and Veteran families to thrive – in every community, across the nation, and around the globe.
Wishing you peace and love today and all month long.
National Newsletter
Checking In - Tell Us How You’re Doing
The last six months have been incredibly challenging for military-connected families. That’s why we are offering you a safe space to share your thoughts and feelings about the end of the war in Afghanistan and current rotations to the Ukraine region.
Please consider taking our short and confidential Pulse Check poll today! When you use your voice, we can work with our partners in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to build the support you need during changing and challenging times. We’re here to listen, so please make your voice heard.
Coming Soon: Military Family Lifestyle Survey Report
Did you take our annual survey last spring? Thousands of military- and Veteran-connected families shared their voices so we could identify the unique challenges of military life. The much-anticipated report covers some familiarly relatable topics and it also branches out into new territory based on survey questions that had never been asked before. Be sure to visit our website on March 16th to download the report and related materials.
The Results Are (Almost) In!
Join us at our flagship event, The Military Family Experience 2022: Back to Basics, highlighting the foremost issues impacting military- and Veteran-connected families from the annual Military Family Lifestyle Survey results. On March 16th, hear discussions from our keynote speaker and panels, and March 17th brings the Data Deep Dive session. Reserve your spot today!
Thanks to our friends at USAA, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and CSX for supporting this initiative!
Bring on Spring and fill each day with outdoor play! Get outdoors with our March calendar from Tinkergarten! The Blue Star Outdoors program empowers you to experience tranquility, community, opportunity, and belonging in outdoor spaces everywhere. Thank you to Vista Outdoors for their outstanding support of our Blue Star Outdoors program!
Thank You, BSF Volunteers!
A huge thanks to all of our Blue Star Families Volunteers who participated in our Valentine's Day Project with Starbucks. With your help, we decorated Valentines in more than 20 states to brighten someone's day. Thank you!
Visit Spouseforce!
Join Spouseforce, our virtual Blue Star Careers community! It’s a great place to network with other military spouses, meet training partners and employers, and find the right resources for your career journey. Jobs opportunities announced weekly!
JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Veterans Jobs Mission
Have you heard about Veterans Jobs Mission? JPMorgan Chase is one of the founding members of the Veteran Jobs Mission, a coalition of more than 250 leading American companies that are committed to hiring one million Veterans. To date, Veterans Jobs Mission has hired over 750,000 Veterans since 2011. Its mission is to hire over 1 million Veterans. Will you be the next hired Veteran?
Vaccine Awareness
Feeling concerned about the pandemic's effect on readiness and the military's ability to defend our nation in a crisis? We are too. The best way to help is to share your concerns with people you know who are still waiting to get vaccinated. These are hard conversations to have, and there are nuances. Before speaking up about how we can all be a little safer, use our expert-vetter Toolkit for Military Communities.
Also, this video is powerful. Please take a minute to watch and share.
Thank you, REI Co-Op!
Thank you for your support, REI Co-Op! Because of your generous gift, Blue Star Families' new cohort of racially diverse leaders will be trained to bring the joy and healing powers of nature to veteran and military families from every background.
Thank You, Blue Star Partners!
We're so grateful for our corporate partners' support in helping strengthen military families and building stronger, more connected communities. Because of the generous gifts from Amazon, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Salesforce, and USAA, we employee Charo Bates, Applied Research & Social Impact DEPLOY Fellow; Quiana Abner, National Chapter DEPLOY Fellow; Leslie Wightman, Technology DEPLOY Fellow; Nicole Rawlinson, Blue Star Outdoors DEPLOY Fellow; and Kelley Klor, Amazon Food Insecurity DEPLOY Fellow. Their work makes lasting and positive impacts on the military- and Veteran-connected community. Our DEPLOY Fellows are an integral part of our team!
