Aid For The Deployee's Family
If you are deploying, check out the resources below to help you and your family.
United Through Reading, a San Diego-based nonprofit organization, allows a military person to read a book to his or her child via a DVD recording while they are separated. The program allows the units or their United Service Organization partners, both at home and abroad, to host places to record. A selection of books from a lending library is usually available at the location, or Soldiers can bring a personal book to read. At USO-hosted locations, Soldiers are able to send the DVD, as well as the book, to their children. The recording process is easy. For more information on United Through Reading and to view a list of the program's sites throughout the world, visit the United Through Reading website.
More info is also available at the USO's United Through Reading® Military Program.
Help for Children During Deployments
Letting children know that they can talk about their fears and worries when preparing for a deployment helps them prepare for stressful situations in the future. Children can learn from that open dialogue because it sets up a problem-solving model, says Dr. Kristy Hagar, a child psychologist. Children can pick up on their parent's emotions and stress, even when the parent is saying "everything is going to be fine," she said. For more information on helping children deal with deployments, contact your base Family Readiness Center, visit Military OneSource, and Sesame Street Talk, Listen, Connect.
HeartsApart.org was created to keep families connected while our military men and women are serving abroad. Through the efforts of our community's finest photographers, HeartsApart.org provides our soon to be deployed servicemen and women with pictures of their spouses and children. The photographs are printed on waterproof and durable bi-folded cards, which fit securely in their uniform pocket.
HeartsApart.org believes that our military personnel deserve and need the memory of their families to carry them through the difficult times that lie ahead.
Founded in North Carolina, home to Pope AFB, Seymour Johnson AFB, Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, MCAS Cherry Point and MCAS New River, we have begun our volunteer efforts in our own backyard but hope to organize and mobilize photographers across the country. The goal of HeartsApart.org is simple. As long as servicemen and women are in harm's way and separated from their families, we will be taking pictures.
There is no end to the project - just a commitment to continue to serve our Armed Forces while they continue to serve us.
