Here are several ideas on how you and your family can show your pride for the military, both locally and directly to our heroes in uniform overseas:

* Organize a letter campaign:
If you have children in school, ask the classroom to create homemade cards and letters for the military. Creativity is appreciated, as are the messages and stories children can share about their school, what they’re studying and the activities they enjoy. If you don’t have children, ask some of your family members, friends and coworkers to join you in creating cards. Even if you don’t personally know anyone who is currently serving, you can contact your local Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion or Red Cross chapters, or the person leading a Family Readiness Group in your community to find out where to mail the letters.

* Show your pride:
Demonstrate your loyalty to our men and women in uniform and their families. Tie yellow ribbons on the trees in your yard, hang the American flag in front of your house and use products displaying military emblems and logos to remind people of those serving overseas. For example, Bank of America offers military-themed banking products such as check cards, credit cards and checks so customers can show their pride for the military and demonstrate their appreciation of the sacrifices veterans and active duty military personnel have made. Find out more at www.BankofAmerica.com/MilitaryBanking.

For over 85 years, Bank of America has supported the military community, most recently with the Intrepid Foundation. The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund assists wounded warriors with traumatic brain injury, and the Fisher House Foundation provides family members with homes on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. Bank of America provides specialized financial services to military personnel as well, including special rates, products and services for all active duty, retired or former military members and their dependents. Through a contract with the Department of Defense, Bank of America manages about 100 banking centers in 11 foreign countries to help provide members of the military and their families with banking services while they’re serving abroad.

* Plan a package packing party:
Men and women serving overseas really appreciate care packages containing everything from food to games to items that remind them of home. Invite all your friends over for a care package packing party. Ask each person to contribute an item for 20 packages. Some suggested items to include are magazines and books; toiletries like deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, unscented baby wipes, hair brushes and packaged food items that are not pressurized and not susceptible to heat or cold.

* Care for those at home:
If a local unit has been deployed from your area, find out if any of the families need meals delivered or if you can meet with them for a social visit. You can invite families over for dinner at your house, take them out for a social activity, or simply prepare a meal and drop it off.

These are just a few of the ways you can show your pride and appreciation here at home for our men and women in uniform.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Related posts:

1. Hope campaign stimulates positive messages

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Event goers send cards from a HOPE WALL at a community festival in Phoenix, revealing the word "HOPE" as cards are selected. The wall is part of the HOPE Is In The Cards campaign, a grassroots movement across the nation encouraging people to send positive messages.

(ARA) – According to the American Psychological Association, eight out of 10 people polled in October said that the economy is a significant cause of stress, up from 66 percent polled six months earlier. The main causes for stress and worry for both men and women were money, the economy, job stability, housing costs and health problems affecting the family.

A small business owner in Arizona was one of those stressed people. But instead of being frustrated by the state of the economy and negative news, he was inspired to start a positive movement to reenergize the American spirit. That movement is called Hope Is In The Cards.

“If every adult in America sends one card of thanks or encouragement — about anything to anyone — consider the impact of that one action,” says Russ Haan of Phoenix, founder of Hope Is In The Cards. “Then multiply that by everyone in the country. What would happen if there were that many messages of hope and support circulating, right now?”

If each person in America mailed just one positive note, or wrote the word “hope” on the back of one envelope before dropping it into the mail for a friend, relative, co-worker or acquaintance, more than 300 million positive messages would be arriving in mailboxes nationwide.

The simplicity of the campaign is its greatest strength. Anyone can participate by sending a positive card to a family member or friend. You can also write the word “hope” on the back of any piece of mail — including bills.

Other ways this idea can be put into practice:

Community clubs can collect cards or postcards with a positive message and distribute them to hospital patients, nursing home residents or at a community gathering.

Business owners might be interested in including a positive message on corporate greeting cards, in a promotional mailing or even on a statement. By keeping the card’s envelope blank, the recipient can then forward it on to a loved one or friend.

While this grassroots campaign is relatively new — Haan created the concept just after the presidential inauguration — it has grown to include partnerships with corporations, associations, retailers and individuals across the country. There is also a Wall Of Hope — a large wall covered with donated cards — set to tour eight American cities this summer, kicking off in New York in late June. Passing individuals are invited to choose one card and add a personal message. Once they fill out the card and address the envelope, the postage will be complimentary. When all the cards are removed from the wall, they reveal the word “hope.”

The campaign’s Web site, www.hopeisinthecards.org, is interactive with links to blogs, Twitter and Facebook accounts and ways for people to record their personal testimonials and efforts to spread the message of hope.

“When you send hope, you create hope — it’s what our country needs right now,” Haan says. “This small act has the potential to create a large movement, and it’s something that everyone can do.”

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Related posts:

1. Show your pride for veterans and soldiers
2. Three Ways to Save Money With Coupons

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Corporate downsizing and increased unemployment can take a heavy toll on everyone. And the impact is more than economic. Difficult economic times also produce increased incidence of depression as well as a dread of dealing with personal finances.

Tough, even scary, news about our country’s worsening financial condition continues to bombard us from television and radio broadcasts, printed pages and the Internet. To compound the problem, many Americans without jobs have too much time to dwell on their misfortunes and seemingly bleak futures. A downward mental spiral can lead to a range of feelings from a general uneasiness to serious depression.

Clinical psychologist Mary Gresham says, “This is a scary time even for those who are not in an immediate crisis,” on the American Psychological Association’s Web site.

“Many people,” Gresham adds, “mistakenly believe that money stress can only be reduced by money itself … the more you think about money and how not to lose more of it, the more anxious you will become and the less likely you’ll be able to solve problems.”

This certainly seems to be sensible advice, but it provokes an obvious question: How do you stop thinking about money problems? And that query prompts a simple response: Think about something else.

Thinking about something else may be accomplished best by thinking about someone else. Focusing on how you can make even a tiny effort to help another human being will immediately present a new perspective. Volunteering offers all kinds of benefits, some of them particularly important as we struggle to maintain our financial composure.

Research by the Corporation for National & Community Service has found that volunteering leads to greater life satisfaction, lower rates of depression and improved physical and mental health. It reported that “when patients with chronic or serious illness volunteer, they receive benefits beyond what can be achieved through medical care.”

American companies have taken this kind of research to heart and some even encourage employees to volunteer, offering them paid time off and company-supported volunteer opportunities. During the current economic downswing, this approach is more important than ever.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a member-based financial services company in Minneapolis, Minn., has gone so far as to form an alliance with Habitat for Humanity International called Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity. The company committed $125 million over four years to assist with and help administer the construction of hundreds of Habitat homes each year.

It then reached out to members and employees, encouraging them to volunteer on Thrivent Builds construction sites in the United States and abroad. One form of encouragement was to subsidize 50 percent of a limited number of days to volunteer through its “shared release time” policy. Another was to provide special discounts to members who wished to volunteer on Thrivent Builds sites in other countries. In providing these special benefits, Thrivent Financial was recognizing the importance of volunteering to the health and well-being of employees and members.

“We understand the life benefits that volunteering engenders,” says Brad Hewitt, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Thrivent Financial. “And our alliance with Habitat for Humanity also aligns well with our company’s values. We are committed to offering our members programs that engage their hearts, impact communities and demonstrate the value of their membership.”

“We’ve heard time and time again from member and employee volunteers just how delighted they are in their volunteer experiences,” adds Hewitt.

Another “D” word with a decidedly different spin.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.