Joining Forces Blog

  • 14,000,000 Hours and Counting: Operation Honor Card Inspires Americans to Serve Military Families and Veterans

    Posted by Brad Cooper on December 9, 2011 at 4:51 PM EDT

    Operation Honor Card has successfully collected 14,000,000 pledged hours of service from Americans who want to honor military families and veterans through acts of kindness, big and small, showing appreciation for their sacrifice. 

    With more than 5,740,000 hours already served, Operation Honor Card has inspired communities across the nation to come together in a grassroots effort to proudly honor military families and veterans.  

    A joint project of Blue Star Families, American Red Cross, Points of Light Institute, ServiceNation, and the Corporation for National and Community Service, Operation Honor Cards is part of First Lady's Joining Forces initiative for military families, which aims to create an atmosphere of shared service and a WWII sense of 'all give some' by encouraging Americans to perform service in honor of military families and veterans. 

    The town of Independence, Kansas has stepped up, rallying around the cause of serving military families and veterans. In partnership with Blue Star Families, RSVP volunteers in Independence collected more than 25,000 pledged hours of service. With a population of 9,400, every resident donated nearly three hours of their time to help a military family or veteran.   

    In Montana, what started as a small service project expanded into a statewide effort, where Senior Corps volunteers have collected pledges totaling more than 300,000 hours, pushing the grand total of pledged hours for Operation Honor Card over 14,000,000. The drive culminated on Veterans Day, with the pledges displayed on a Wall of Service at Montana State University.

    The impact of these Senior Corps volunteers in Kansas and Montana is truly inspiring, showing how a little kindness can blossom into a movement to help military families and veterans. 

    With the momentum now on our side, reaching 15,000,000 hours is in sight. Let’s show our military families, veterans and service members how much we appreciate them by honoring their service with ours by visiting www.honorcards.org.

    Learn more about

  • Recognizing Our Extraordinary Military Spouses

    Posted by Brad Cooper on December 2, 2011 at 10:50 AM EDT

    Woodrow Wilson once said, “You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world.”

    President Wilson’s statement could well be the registered mantra of U.S. military spouses. Generations of military spouses have served as the bedrock for our military service members, at war and in peacetime. They are the consummate volunteers, the tenacious neighbors who never give up, the do-it-all sort of people that keep things together in the wake of separation, moving, constant change and the unknown.

    Maybe you know a military spouse. Perhaps you know several.  Maybe your life has been touched by a military spouse. If it has, we invite you to recognize them. Take a moment to nominate one of these amazing men or women for The Military Spouse of the Year Award. 

    The Military Spouse of the Year Award is a national award program that recognizes the 1.1 million military spouses worldwide and celebrates their work and sacrifices. Through online public voting, a winner will be chosen for each military branch of service. These winners will compete for the national award. The winner will be announced on May 10, 2012 at a ceremony hosted by Mrs. Bonnie Amos, the wife of the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

    Take a moment, share your experiences about a military spouse in your life and help us share their story. Please submit nominations at www.milspouse.com/msoy

    Learn more about Veterans, Women

  • Thank a Hero

    Posted by Katelyn Sabochik on November 24, 2011 at 9:16 AM EDT

    Earlier this week, First Lady Michelle Obama made a surprise phone call to Jessica Allen, the wife of an Army veteran who was deployed in Afghanistan earlier this year, to thank her and her family for their service and sacrifice. Check out the video their conversation. 

    Download Video: mp4 (95MB) | ()
    Watch The First Lady make a surprise phone call, here.
     
    There’s no better time than the holidays to let our servicemembers know how grateful we are for everything that they do. That's why Joining Forces has partnered with the USO to create a nationwide interactive thank you card. Just fill out a note and it will be added to a map along with messages from people all over the country, showing our troops and their families just how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice. If we each do our part, our veterans and their families will get the recognition they deserve this holiday season.

    Today, First Lady Michelle Obama encourage all Americans to send a message of Thanks From Everywhere in a message to the White House email list.  If you didn't get the email, be sure to sign up.

    Every Thanksgiving, Barack sits down to call some of our troops and thank them for their service.

    When he tells me about these conversations, it always reminds me of how blessed we are to live in a country where men and women will stand up to protect our freedoms and preserve our way of life.  And whenever I've had the chance to meet with these heroes and their families, I've always walked away inspired by their courage and in awe of their strength.

    I can't think of any better way to spend Thanksgiving than letting our servicemembers know how grateful we are for everything that they do. So this year, we're making it easy to do just that.

    We've partnered with the USO to create a program called Thanks From Everywhere. To get involved, simply visit JoiningForces.gov/Thanks and write a quick note that troops and veterans all over the world will be able to see.

    Add your message to Thanks From Everywhere.

    read the rest
    Learn more about Service, Veterans

  • Give Thanks to Our Troops

    Posted by Megan Slack on November 24, 2011 at 7:00 AM EDT

    Joining Forces has partnered with the USO to create an interactive thank you note that lets people all over the country tell our service members all over the country how grateful we are for everything they do.

    Help build a nationwide wave of support by adding your note to the card. If we each do our part, our veterans and their families will get the recognition they deserve this holiday season.

    And, don't miss this video of First Lady Michelle Obama making a suprise phone call to thank one military spouse.

    Learn more about Veterans

  • A Great Day in America -- NASCAR teams with Joining Forces for Military Families

    Posted by Brad Cooper on November 21, 2011 at 3:55 PM EDT

    First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr Jill Biden and military family at NASCAR event

    First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden are joined by the Berry family as they serve as Grand Marshals for the NASCAR Sprint Cup finale, Ford 400 race in Miami, Fla., and offer the most famous words in racing: “Gentlemen, start your engines,” Nov. 20, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

    Yesterday, I had the great privilege of accompanying First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden to the final NASCAR race of the year -- the Ford 400 in Homestead, Florida. 

    The day was rich with excitement as the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion would be crowned after this race. The stands were packed with tens of thousands of fans there for the "big race." 

    And it was a very special day for veterans and military families. The Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County's economic development organization, and about a dozen private companies from around this nation, committed to hire 10,000 veterans and military spouses by the end of 2013. The Beacon Council’s commitment is the largest regional commitment to hire our nation’s heroes and their families since the First Lady and Dr. Biden launched Joining Forces earlier this year. 

    Were that not enough -- NASCAR went "above and beyond" by inviting an incredible 5,000 veterans, service members and their families to attend the race as part of their support for Joining Forces. 

    read the rest
    Learn more about Defense, Veterans

  • Caring for Families of Returning Soldiers

    Posted by Brad Cooper on November 18, 2011 at 12:55 PM EDT

    In another great example of organizations partnering to deliver care and services to our military service members and their families, Georgia Southwestern State University’s Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) – named for the former First Lady – has teamed with Johnson & Johnson to initiate a unique program designed to help families of returning soldiers cope with health issues such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and physical disability related to combat.

    Echoing the Joining Forces vision to ensure veterans and military families have the opportunities, resources, and support they have earned, this program will address a great need in the lives and homes of veteran families. The Georgia Army National Guard is partnering with the RCI to assist in recruiting individuals caring for their veteran family members to implement an in-home, tailored, caregiver support plan. Other supportive partners include the Veterans Administration and the National Military Family Association.

    Dr. Leisa Easom, executive director of the RCI said, “This project targets improving the utilization of problem-solving skills to lower depression, decrease health complaints, and reduce burden in the family caregiver. The National Guard and Reserve forces represent a significant portion of our deployed troops. Yet, once their job is finished, guard and reserve service members return to civilian life instead of a military base. This new partnership will help us better address the needs of our National Guard and Reserve forces, as well as their families.”

    Learn more about Defense, Veterans, Working Families