Feel Good Friday - Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation

Monday is Memorial Day in the United States, a holiday to honor U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. That’s why today’s Feel Good Friday organization is Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Virginia, the mission of Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation (Fallen Patriots) is “to provide college scholarships and educational counseling to military children who have lost a parent in the line of duty.”

As they explain on their website, “approximately 25,000 children have lost an active-duty parent in the military over the last 35 years. 97% of casualties are men, leaving behind single mothers to care for their families. Of those families, 60% report having trouble making ends meet.” 

This is where Fallen Patriots comes in. Their vision is to ensure these children receive all necessary college funding. They provide scholarships that fill the gap between benefits offered by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, other grants, and the total cost of college.

Fallen Patriots supports Gold Star families in all 51 states and territories, in all branches of the military. Scholarships include, but are not limited to room and board, tutoring, summer courses, study abroad courses, living expenses, books, and a one-time $1000 computer stipend. On average, students are eligible for up to $6,250 in scholarship assistance per academic year. If you know a student who would be eligible for one of these scholarships, they can fill out this enrollment form.

Since they began, Fallen Patriots has provided more than $75 million in support to over 3,200 students. This interactive map of graduates shows how widespread their impact has been and you can hear from the graduates themselves in this 2-minute video. Their website also has resources for scholars and a job board to help new graduates find work.

If you want help Fallen Patriots ensure that every child of a fallen patriot receives the funding they need to attend college, there are many ways you can support the mission. Shop for merch, donate your money and spread the world on social media. Follow Fallen Patriots on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Feel Good Friday - Hope for the Warriors

Tomorrow is Veterans Day in the United States and today is a great time to learn about an organization that serves veterans, Hope for the Warriors.

Hope for the Warriors was founded by military families in 2006. Headquartered in Virginia, they are a national organization that “provides comprehensive support programs for service members, veterans, and military families that are focused on transition, health and wellness, peer engagement, and connections to community resources.”

 

The team at Hope for the Warriors believes that “those touched by military service can succeed at home by restoring their sense of self, family, and hope.” Their holistic approach to well-being focuses on six domains: financial wellness, life roles, physical wellness, emotional wellness, social support, and community connection. Programs are available for service members, veterans, caregivers, and family members from all branches of the military, across all 50 states. 

Examples of financial wellness and life role programs include short term financial assistance, educational scholarships, job assistance and a driver rehabilitation program. Physical and emotional wellness programs include mental health services, a virtual course to learn resiliency and coping skills and endurance events for athletes. The final group of programming targets social support and community connection. There is a peer support network to mentor veterans and a grant program to fulfill the wishes of severely injured service members and families of the fallen.

In 2019, the most recent data available on the website, Hope for the Warriors served 4,756 clients, and brought their scholarship total to over $400,000 and their Warrior’s Wish grant total to over $1 million.

If you or someone you know can benefit by getting connected to any of these services, apply at this link. If you’d like to support Hope for the Warriors there are many ways to do so. Check this calendar for upcoming events in your area, volunteer your time, donate your money and amplify their work on social media. Follow Hope for the Warriors on their Facebook page and on Instagram @hope4warriors.

 

Feel Good Friday - Trees for Troops

In today’s Feel Good Friday, we invite you to take a break from trimming your Christmas tree and learn about Trees for Troops.

It starts with the Christmas Spirit Foundation, an organization whose mission is “to advance the Christmas Spirit for kids, families and the environment through programs and activities.” One of their major programs is Trees for Troops.

Since 2005, the Christmas Spirit Foundation has partnered with Christmas tree growers and FedEx to provide “free, farm-grown Christmas Trees to United States armed forces members in all branches of the military and their families, through donations, sponsorships, grants and the work of many volunteers.”

To date the Trees for Troops program has delivered more than 277,001 trees to military families in the U.S. and to troops stationed overseas in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Spain and Guam. This year they will pick up over 15,000 trees from 55 locations around the country and deliver them to 77 military bases.

Trees are donated by individual farms and lots, the collective efforts of state and regional Christmas Tree associations, local sponsoring groups, and the customers of participating locations. If there’s not a location near you, check the websites as some of these locations offer online purchase and donation of trees. 

Each year, hundreds of donors and volunteers participate to make Trees for Troops happen. Ilf you’d like to be one of them you can make a donation to Trees for Troops and amplify their message on social media. Like their Facebook page, and follow them onTwitter @Trees4Troops and on Instagram @treesfortroops. 

Feel Good Friday - Operation Christmas Spirit

With Christmas only one week away, today’s Feel Good Friday blog is all about spreading the Christmas spirit with… Operation Christmas Spirit. 

 

It’s starts with Operation Help a Hero, a non-profit dedicated to the well-being and care of American military members and their families. One of their signature programs is Operation Christmas Spirit (OCS).

 

Now in its 17^th year, OCS supports military families with holiday gratitude. This can take many forms including, “family "adoptions," single service member gifts, unit Christmas party support, volunteer opportunities, and toy collections for children of service members.”

 

The most important piece of this program is the family adoptions. In mid-November, families are vetted through unit nominations and/or applications for Christmas assistance. Once approved, they fill out a family wish list which is shared with the donors they are paired with. Gifts can be mailed, or collected at drive through pick up events, created for these socially distant times. 

The focus is on families living in Southern California, the DC Metro Area, North Carolina, San Antonio, Colorado and ​Tampa. A note on the website indicates that as of December 5^th, all the original families for this year have been adopted and the volunteers at OCS are now working their way through the waiting list and requesting online donations and gift cards. 

If you’ve got a soft spot in your heart for all the single service members, who often get called to serve on Christmas so families can be together, you can support them too. OCS delivers surprise gift packages to those on duty on and around Christmas. No wish list to follow, anything you buy will be a surprise and a delight. 

 

Other ways to get involved include hosting a toy drive or gift card collection. While toys are great for the kids, often families prefer gift cards they can use to buy gas, groceries, clothing and household goods. You can also volunteer or make a straight up donation and let the volunteers at OCS do the shopping for you.

 

Help spread the word of the good work being done by the volunteers at Operation Christmas Spirit by following Operation Help a Hero on social media. Like their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter @OHHVolunteer.

Feel Good Friday - Military Mama Network

It's the Feel Good Friday before Veterans Day and I want to highlight an organization that is supporting veterans, the Military Mama Network.

Founded in 2013 by five people sending care packages to the troops in 2013, the Military Mama Network now has over 20,000 volunteers who support their mission of "sending love to our troops and their families at home and overseas."

As explained on their website, "we support our veterans and their families, whether by food donations or visits on behalf of far off family member, cards or a warm scarf for the winter." They also have a page for veterans which includes links to resources such as chiropractic care, guitar lessons to help cope with PTSD and support while transitioning from military to civilian life.

Work with currently deployed troops and their families includes sending care packages, cards and a tradition called Fallen Fridays where people are encouraged to tell the story of a loved one who has died in the past week and perform and act of service in their honor. You can read about all the Military Mama Network missions here.

If you'd like to support the work of the Military Mama Network you can make a donation, shop for merchandise or get involved by joining a local chapter or joining their Facebook group. Stay current by following them on Twitter @MiliraryMamaNet.

Happy Veterans Day!

Feel Good Friday - Soldier's Angels

How was your Halloween? If you've got leftover candy that you would rather donate than eat, I've got a Feel Good Friday recommendation for you... Soldiers' Angels.

As explained on their website "Soldiers' Angels provides aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and their families." It was founded in 2003 by Patti Patton-Bader, after she realized other soldiers serving in the Army alongside her son would appreciate care packages like the ones she was sending him.

In the early days, a small team assembled and sent care packages to the troops. Today, Soldiers' Angels has teams that operate internationally. Their programs are broken into categories based on the populations they serve: veterans, deployed, wounded and families.

Examples include visiting patients in VA hospitals, writing cards and letters to deployed soldiers, providing adaptive laptops for the severely wounded or injured, adopting and supporting a family during the Christmas holiday and sending sympathy and remembrance cards to families who lose a loved one in the line of duty.

Finally, there's the Treats for Troops Halloween candy collection program. Local businesses, often dental offices, accept donations of Halloween candy from kids in exchange for buyback prizes. Soldiers' Angels takes that candy and adds it to care packages for deployed service members.

Details of all the programs can be found at this link and if you want to register for services you can do that here.

In 2018 alone, Soldiers' Angels supported over 500,000 service members, veterans and family members. Since their founding they've sent over 850,000 care packages, over 6,000 voice-controlled/adaptive laptops and sent 1.8 million cards and letters!

If you want to support the work being done by Soldiers' Angels, you can look for a candy drop-off location, make a monetary donation, become an Angel volunteer, and support them on social media by liking their Facebook page and following them Twitter @soldiersangels.

Feel Good Friday - American Red Cross

This week California has been devastated by the Camp fire in the north and Woolsey fire in the south. Providing disaster relief services to people affected in both ends of the state is the American Red Cross. That's why they are today's Feel Good Friday organization.

Founded by Clara Barton in 1881, the American Red Cross "prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors."

With 21,000 employees and 300,000 volunteers in the U.S., the American Red Cross responds to approximately 64,000 disasters each year. In California, they've up set up evacuation centers for people displaced by the fires as well as shelters for animals. They're also operating a free public reunification tool, the Safe and Well website, where you can post your status as safe and search for loved ones.

While the American Red Cross may be most well known for their disaster relief efforts and blood drives that mobilize 2.8 million volunteer blood donors annually, those are just two areas of focus. Each year, the American Red Cross provides first aid, caregiving and water safety skills training to 5.9 million students. That's a lot of CPR!

They also provide services for military families including emergency communications and financial assistance and partner with a global network of 200 Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to administer vaccinations, reconnect families and provide relief for millions of international disaster survivors. With over 17 million volunteers worldwide, Red Cross and Red Crescent societies help 1 in 25 people around the world each year. You can watch an overview of their work in this video, "We Are the American Red Cross".

Exploring their website will give you many opportunities of ways to get involved including getting CPR certified, hosting a blood drive, and educating yourself on emergency preparedness and what belongs in your survival kit.

There are also the usual ways to support the American Red Cross: become a volunteer, donate money directed to the California wildfires and show your love on social media by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @redcross.

Feel Good Friday - Operation Gratitude

Veterans Day is Monday and Feel Good Friday wants YOU!

Wants you to do what? How about getting involved sending a care package and a letter of appreciation to someone in the military? 



10 years ago, Carolyn Blashek founded Operation Gratitude. As they explain on their website, "Operation Gratitude seeks to lift morale in the Military Community by sending care packages addressed to individual Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines deployed overseas, to their children left behind, and to Veterans, First Responders, Wounded Warriors and their Care Givers.  Operation Gratitude Care Packages contain food, hygiene products, entertainment and handmade items, plus personal letters of appreciation, all wrapped with good wishes of love and support."

Their current program is focused on sending the troops all that excess Halloween candy you have laying around - unless you already ate it - and care packages for the holidays will be next on the list. To date, they've sent out 989,147 packages!

You can see Operation Gratitude in action in this 4 minute CBS video, follow Carolyn Blashek on the Huffington Post where she is a regular blogger and like their Facebook page to stay in the loop.