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“Ferocious About Getting the Job Done!” The Volunteers of America and Homeless Veterans
VoA Homeless Shelter in LansingWe drove down the street looking for the Volunteers of America (VoA) Michigan homeless shelter in Lansing. The GPS was right on the money but as I looked in the rear view mirror to change lanes and find a parking spot I had to change plans. Realizing I had an escort as the police officer pulled in behind me, my first thought was uh oh, what did I do? Then I saw the ambulance in front of the building we were looking for … Four hundred ambulance runs a year according to Dennis Neuner of VoA’s communications department. Deb and I had been on the road…
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How Did I Miss this Great Information Resource? The USAA Educational Foundation
What do you know about the USAA Educational Foundation? I have been a USAA member for over 40 years and have to admit that I knew little about this non profit resource provider! They are totally separate from USAA since USAA donated a one time gift to establish the foundation and have completely separate missions, leadership and absolutely no ties for products or services, etc. With an opportunity to talk to Barbara Gentry, the President and Steve Finley, the Director of the USAA Educational Foundation, I thought I could tell others about another resource for your challenging military lifestyle! I spoke briefly to Barbara about the mission of the education…
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“No Shame in Seeking Help” – Real Warriors Campaign DoD Blogger Roundtable
Staff Sgt. Meg KrauseStaff Sgt Meg Krause had her act together! Joining the Army in 2001 she served as a medical technician at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany and then found herself in Iraq. It was according to her a “life changing experience for me”. Something she did not expect! Leaving active duty in 2006 to attend college at Penn State she stayed part of the military with duty in the Army Reserve. Then the problems came: alcohol abuse, tardiness, poor class attendance, attitude changes, bad decisions and more! The unit leadership and peers noticed, family and friends too! But she failed to respond until her First Sergeant sat…
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Volunteers of America – Redux “There Are No Limits to Caring!”
Preparing for the program at the Stand Down for Homeless VeteransVolunteers of America (VoA) Michigan showed me how people cared about our homeless veterans last week! I wrote about The Home Depot Foundation and how many others jumped in to make the veterans’ lives easier with the VoA Stand Down which provided resources and information to the veterans in Lansing, MI. VoA has a long arm with organizations in 400 communities in the US while helping over 2 million folks in need! So I decided to draw a picture of the event with my camera to show their efforts! Words can be helpful but pictures make it real! These are…
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“On my Spring Vacation I rode the Metro” – How to handle Stress
My family spent part of our Spring Break in Washington DC, as I have mentioned a couple times now. It was a quick trip with only 2 1/2 days of touring. In fact, it was never even a full day as six year-old’s legs (in particular) get tired quickly. But we made the most of it! We visited Arlington Cemetery, The Smithsonian Air & Space as well as Natural History Museum. We found our way into a Smithsonian Outdoor Garden full of sculptures and fountains. (A hit for our boys after a very over-crowded Air & Space museum!) We took in the World War II memorial and the Vietnam Memorial as well…
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Financial Education for your Children
There is no one, perfect way to start teaching your children about finances. However, there is a wrong way and that wrong way is to ignore it and assume that they are too young, don’t need to be ‘taught’ or just feel as a parent that you aren’t up to the challenge. Start your children out on the right foot and help them learn to navigate the world of finances. You never know you might learn something along the way! Be a Role ModelHow do you pay for things? Do you buy ‘wants’ and then fuss and fret about not being able to pay for the ‘needs’? It is important to…
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Week in Review: March 13 – March 19, 2011 (Military News) #MilitaryMon
Popular Military Family Articles for the week of March 13th – 19th on MilitaryAvenue.com Willard: Assisting Japan is ‘Highest Priority’: U.S. forces in Japan are engaged in one of the biggest natural and manmade disasters of a lifetime, Navy Adm. Robert F. Willard said here tonight. Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, spoke over the phone from Hawaii to the Pentagon press corps about what the U.S. military is doing to help the Japanese Self-Defense Force respond to the disaster caused by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear emergency. … Emergency Preparedness: Disasters like Japan’s recent earthquake and then tsunamis are hard to shake. You may not…
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Military Saves Week: Ideas from our Community of Military Families and Friends
I enjoyed the tips that we got from Facebook Fans and MilitaryAvenue Partners and wanted to share them with you, our blogging community: Again, a big ‘Congrats’ to the winner in our “Penny Saved. Penny Earned.” Contest was Roxie. Her savings idea was: “Pack healthy snacks and drinks for the little ones in reusable containers and bpa free drink bottles. There’s nothing like hungry kids in the car to make you spend a lot of money for unhealthy, greasy drive-thru fast food out of desperation! Good for the environment, good for your kids, good for your wallet.:-)” … and here are some more great ideas … Master Craft Carpet and…
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Military Saves Week: That Wind in Our Hair
Fresh out of college. Brand new job. This was my former life. I worked for Hewitt Associates (HA), a benefits administration company, in their customer service department. Our clients’ employees called us to help with their health care benefits, 401(k) plans and pension plans. After a bit of time with HA I became ‘the manager’ you talked to if you had a problem with your 401(k). Yes, I knew the rules and regulations like the back of my hand. Fresh out of college. Brand new job. Disposable income. I bought a convertible. I /loved/ that convertible, a Mitsubishi Spyder. Wind in my hair. Feeling of Freedom. One of the big…
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The Power of Women in Afghanistan is Growing! – DoD Roundtable
Imagine female pilots in the Afghan military! How about an Afghan Army Officer Commissioning Class of 29 women! Or 35% of the population of students attending college at Kabul University! As we spoke with Dr Jack Kem, Deputy to the Commander, NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan this morning you could hear the excitement of his explanations of where the issues of “gender main streaming” were headed. Speaking primarily of military and police issues he was cautious about the progress but highlighted the successes and what they meant for the Afghan society as a whole. The Afghan constitution gives equal rights but a society impacted by illiteracy and fears is accepting…
