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Yellow Ribbon
Proclamation
Dec. 14, 2011 | |
Proclaiming Chisholm, Hibbing, Pine City, Grand Rapids and Cliffs Natural Resources as Yellow Ribbon. |
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Yellow Ribbon
Proclamation
Dec. 16, 2011 | |
Proclaiming Thomson Reuters as Yellow Ribbon. |
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OMLT IV 60-day
Dec. 17, 2011
Metro Area | |
Reintegration event. |
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Christmas
Dec. 25, 2011 | |
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New Year's Day
Jan. 1, 2012 | |
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OMLT VI and
257th MP FPA
Jan. 7, 2012
St. Cloud Area | |
Family Preparation Academy. |
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B 2-211 and TMDE
30-day
Jan. 7, 2012
St. Cloud Area | |
Reintegration event. |
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Strong Bonds
Deployed Spouse
Retreat
Jan. 13-14, 2012
Metro Area | |
Register here. |
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Freedom Award Nominations Due
Jan. 16, 2012 | |
Learn how to nominate your employer here. |
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Strong Bonds
Couples Retreat
Feb. 10-12, 2012
Metro Area | |
Register here. |
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C 1-171, TUAS,
NTM-A and 45th BCT Augmentees FRA
Feb. 18, 2012
Metro Area | |
Family Readiness Academy. |
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B 2-211 60-day
Feb. 25, 2012
Location TBD | |
Reintegration event. |
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Strong Bonds
Couples Retreat
June 22-24, 2012
Metro Area | |
Register here. |
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Strong Bonds
Couples Retreat
July 27-29, 2012
Metro Area | |
Register here. |
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Strong Bonds
Couples Retreat
Aug. 24-26, 2012
Brainerd | |
Register here. |
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Strong Bonds
Single Soldier
Retreat
Sep. 7-9, 2012
Brainerd | |
Register here. |
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| Woodbury "Socks for Soldiers" campaign | |
 Last month, a story published by the Pioneer Press inspired several community members and one business to make a holiday push to send needed supplies to a 135-man unit of Marines stationed in Afghanistan. The story featured Joshua Hanson, a 21-year-old Woodbury resident, as he discussed the difficulties of his unit's deployment and a lack of needed supplies.
"The Helmand (River) breaks off and sends water for the crops throughout our patrolling area." Hanson said in the Pioneer Press article. "So in order to get from point A to B, you have to get wet." And all that water meant Marines were going through a lot of socks.
After reading the article, Woodbury native and Yellow Ribbon volunteer Gay Rous walked into the Woodbury Pack & Mail and shared the story with them. The store manager, Kathleen, insisted they do something to help, and now collections for the "Socks for Soldiers" campaign is well underway.
That story "had a pretty huge impact with people and businesses wanting to send high-need items over there," Rous said. The community "is doing what it can to donate."
Collections for Hanson's unit will be accepted over the next couple of weeks at the Woodbury Pack & Mail. High-demand items include baby wipes, liquid body wash, toothbrushes, undershirts (olive green), gum, Life Savers, mints and, of course, socks.
Read the full article about Hanson here. |  |
| Yellow Ribbon Network nationally recognized | |
 Two of Minnesota's Yellow Ribbon communities have received national recognition. Stillwater has been awarded the 2011 Sea of Goodwill Award for a medium-sized community and Hugo received honorable mention.
Stillwater City Councilmen Mike Polehna was thrilled to recieve the news of the award. "I credit this award to the work of the entire Stillwater community and especially the Stillwater Yellow Ribbon Network for their support to military families," he said.
Homeward Deployed gives out three awards nationwide; one large city, one medium city and one small city. This award is given to a local community that best demonstrates superior support in linking public, private and government support for Servicemembers, veterans, wounded warriors, military families and the immediate surviving family members of Servicemembers who have died in the line of duty.
Homeward Deployed's Chief Executive Officer, Gretchen Martens, was impressed by both Stillwater and Hugo. "We were particularly impressed with the dedication and thoughtfulness that they display every day," she said. "Their efforts in supporting Servicemembers, veterans and their families are greatly appreciated."
Other winners of the 2011 Sea of Goodwill Award are the Wyoming Valley Area, Pa. (large-sized community) and Red Lodge, Mo. (small community). Homeward Deployed is a nonprofit organization based in Springfield, Va. | |
| Nomination season has arrived | |
Nomination season is underway for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve's 2012 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.
Each year ESGR, a Department of Defense agency, encourages members of the Guard and Reserve to nominate employers who have provided exceptional support for their military service. Since the Freedom Award was instituted in 1996, 160 employers have been recognized with this prestigious award.
Last year 3M, based in St. Paul, Minn., was one of 15 employers nationwide honored to receive the Freedom Award.
"Of the 4,000 nominations ESGR received last year, only 15 were recognized with the Freedom Award," said Chris Campbell, Minnesota ESGR program support specialist. "We encourage people to include as much information about why their employer is deserving of the award in their nomination, so they can be recognized at the level they should be recognized at."
Additionally, Guard and Reserve members can nominate their employers for the Patriot Award. Employers qualify for recognition when they practice leadership and personnel policies that support employee participation in the Guard and Reserve.
"The Patriot Award is a good-will gesture, and symbolic of the Servicemember's appreciation for their employer's flexibility and understanding of them being a member of the Guard or Reserve," said Minnesota ESGR Executive Director Jim Sullivan.
Nominate your employer for the Freedom Award here, or the Patriot Award here. | |
| Honoring the healer | |
 When a loved one deploys, the whole family deploys. During deployment, military families and their young children face many hardships and strains because of the extended separation from their Servicemember.
To help strengthen the resilience of those left behind, ZERO TO THREE has designed the Coming Together Around Military Families, or CTAMF, with its core component, the Duty to Care training series.
The latest Duty to Care training will focus on the needs of the early childhood professional and how they can improve self-care, find solutions to manage compassion, fatigue and burnout and improve professional well-being.
"Caregivers put others in front of themselves," said Laura Groeneweg, youth programs coordinator for Beyond the Yellow Ribbon. "They need to remember to take care of themselves as well."
The spouses of deployed Servicemembers will also benefit from the training.
"During deployment, families go from a team effort to a single parent raising the kids," Groeneweg said. "It's important those parents understand they need make time for themselves and manage their well-being."
On Jan. 10, 2012, caregivers, military child care professionals and family support professionals are invited to attend the "Duty to Care II: Honoring the Healer" conference at the Double Tree Hotel in Minneapolis. Find out more about this event here.
ZERO TO THREE is a national nonprofit organization that informs, trains and supports professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers. Learn more about ZERO TO THREE's CTAMF program here. | |
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| A community gives back | |
Guest columnist Karen Underhill from the Yellow Ribbon Alliance Lower St. Croix Valley
World War II, Vietnam and the War on Terror we are all too familiar with. Behind the many wars are people - people who live in our communities, silently serving our country and holding the memories of that serving in their hearts and bodies. These people are the reason why we have come together as a Yellow Ribbon Alliance in the Lower St. Croix Valley.
On Veterans Day 2011, more than 50 local veterans, Servicemembers and their families were honored with a free dinner - the first of what will be an annual event. All were surprised as a color guard proudly marched through the door, Dan Rumsey led the national anthem and Pastor Steve Kramer gave a special prayer to start the event. The night was filled with great food, music by Michael Mahan and various donated prizes.
Most of all the veterans, Servicemembers and their families gained a new awareness of how much appreciation the communities of the Lower St. Croix Valley have towards them for their service to our country.
An outpouring of local business and volunteer support made it all possible. Search for us on Facebook (YRALSCV) for more information. | |
| South St. Paul warming up veterans | |
The South St. Paul Yellow Ribbon Network partnered with Sportman's Guide and Memorial Lutheran Church to collect more than 1,000 winter clothing items in their annual coat drive.
"When something needs to be done, it gets done," said Marilyn Rothecker of the South St. Paul network.
Sportman's Guide accepted donations of coats, mittens, gloves and boots for a month, with the drive ending on Veterans Day. The items were then transported to Memorial Lutheran Church, where volunteers sorted them.
"The first time we did this coat drive, we set a goal of 500 items, and we got over 1,000," said Rothecker. "This time we again received over 1,000."
More than 30 pairs of winter boots were distributed to Soldiers at Holman Field in St. Paul on Dec. 6. The other items were taken to the Veterans Home in Hastings.
This Yellow Ribbon network says in their motto, "We are not afraid to roll up our sleeves, dig in and get the job done." And thanks to their hard work, winter will be a little warmer for some veterans this year. | |
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Woodbury Lutheran won't sit down | |
As a leader of the Woodbury Lutheran Military Support Group, Ernie Ginn can share countless ways that members of a community can help Servicemembers and their families during a deployment. As a father of two sons currently serving in the military, Ginn knows how much that support and kindness means to the families of Servicemembers.
Less than seven years ago, the Woodbury Lutheran Church didn't have a support network in place when a mother of a deploying Soldier came to the pastor in tears, asking for support.
"Sometimes families can't get the help they need," Ginn said. "All it takes is one person that has the connections to help the families. That's me."
Ginn recalled a story about a mother, whose husband was deployed with the Army Reserves, when her van broke down. Ginn contacted the church's Salvation Army group and the next day the van was fixed. The Salvation Army and Woodbury Lutheran Church split the maintenance costs, taking the burden off of the family.
"I just want Servicemembers to know we have their families taken care of," said Ginn. "They should think, 'I just need to focus on my job and not worry about my family having troubles. Somebody will be there to help them out.'"
The motto of the church's Military Support Group is: "We're not sitting down until the last Servicemember is on American soil."
"It doesn't matter where they're at," Ginn said. "In other words, we're not gonna shut it down."
Ginn has devoted much of his time to this mission, because he believes that it's the right thing to do
"See, what I try to remind people is that when a Servicemember is deployed for one year, he loses one year of society," said Ginn. "He loses one year of his personal life. He loses one year of his marriage and family life. They lose one year of their children growing up. They can never get that back.
"They sacrificed all of this," Ginn continued. "Why shouldn't we help them? It doesn't hurt us to give up one of our days to help their family."
The Woodbury Lutheran Military Support Group welcomes anyone to attend their meetings, every third Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. They try to have a guest speaker at every meeting, and child care and food is usally provided.
Contact the Woodbury Lutheran Military Family Support Group by phone, 651-398-0921, or e-mail. |
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