February 12, 2015

In This Issue:

Join Official Marine Parents Facebook Groups

February is Black History Month

2015 "Souper Hero" Campaign

Marine Parents Teams Up With US Army

Meet us in DC

Do You Know a Federal Employee?

Greetings!

Thank you for joining us for this issue of Marine Parents News. If this is your first time receiving the newsletter, welcome aboard, we're excited for you to be here!

In January of this year, we launched our official Facebbok groups and the initial response has been better than we could have hoped for. Learn how to connect and share in a whole new way in our first article.

February is Black History month. Learn more in our second article.

Finally, check out our remaining articles to see what else is new with the organization. We hope you enjoy!

Thank you for joining us and especially for your continued support of our brave men and women in uniform.

Semper Fi Marine Families!

Tracy Della Vecchia

Founder and Executive Director
MarineParents.com, Inc.

Join us on Facebook!

Connect and Share In a Whole New Way!

In January 2015, MarineParents.com launched our official Marine Parents and official Recruit Parents Facebook groups. In roughly one month of being active, we already have close to 2,000 members connecting and sharing!

Marine Parents

We're extending our service and support to Facebook! If you're a Facebook user, we'd like you to have a Place to Connect & Share in a state-specific group for your family members. It's another way to bond with other Marine parents, family and friends. We encourage you to join your state group to meet up with other Marine families in your areas. Semper Family!

Click here to find your State Group.

Lawrence "Larry" Diggs holding a replica of the certificate he was awarded upon receiving the Congressional Gold

Medal in 2012.

February is Black History Month

Lawrence "Larry" Diggs: A Look Back

In honor of Black History Month, we would like to take the opportunity to recognize the achievements of the Montford Point Marines, a remarkable group of men who overcame every challenge thrown their way in their quest to become America's first African-American Marines.

Here at Marine Parents, we're honored to have had the opportunity to work with a Montford Point Marine in the past, Lawrence "Larry" Diggs. Mr. Diggs, born in Mississippi and raised in Chicago, was one of approximately 20,000 African-American Marines to go through Camp Montford Point between 1942 and 1949.

Mr. Diggs, 90 and now living in Missouri near our corporate office, was a guest of honor at the 2014 Columbia, MO airshow. Upon learning he was being honored at the airshow, Mr. Diggs contacted Marine Parents to see if we could assist with the preparations, and of course we said yes! After securing permission for Mr. Diggs to wear a World War II-era USMC uniform, we ordered one for him and our Corporate Secretary, Marilyn, brought in her sewing machine, to make a few small alterations so it fit better, and Mr. Diggs had a great time at the airshow. It was truly an honor to be able to assist an American hero!

To learn more about the Montford Point Marines, please click here...

2015 "Souper Hero" Campaign

Keep Marines Warm This Winter

On Saturday, January 24, volunteers from across the country converged on our corporate office in Columbia, Missouri, to pack 500 care packages for Marines in Afghanistan. It's bitterly cold in Afghanistan at this time of the year, so we wanted to include a can of soup, a balaclava, and a pair of hand-warmers for our heroes in each box.

To send these packages overseas, we set a goal of raising $7,000. We didn't quite get there, but we are happy to announce that we did raise more than $6,500 to help ship these packages.

If you were unable to donate to our 2015 "Souper Hero" Campaign but are still interested in donating to the Care Package Project, don't forget that you can always sponsor a care package for just $22.

Click here to learn more...

Marine Parents Teams Up With US Army

Almost 300 Packages Sent to Soldiers in Afghanistan

A couple of months ago, a US Army unit contacted us to see if the EGA Shop could make some shirts for them, and we were happy to oblige! Due to the recent draw-down of Marines in Afghanistan, we also asked this Army unit if we could send them some care packages on our January 24 pack day. The unit was as happy to receive them as we were to send them, and almost 300 of the approximately 550 packages we sent went to this unit! Remember, the Care Package Project is not branch-specific, so if any of your friends or loved ones are deployed in any branch of the service and you'd like them to receive a care package, we can make that happen.

Also, if you, or anyone you know, is needing unit shirts, for a reunion or just because, we can make that happen like we did for this Army unit. Please contact the EGA Shop at shop@marineparents.com to get started.

For examples of shirts we have done in the past click here...

Meet us in DC!

Three Years and Counting

For the third year in a row, Team Marine Parents will be in Washington, DC and Arlington, VA for the Marine Corps Marathon! This year, the marathon weekend lasts from October 23 - October 25, 2015, and we want you to meet us in DC! Hang out with us all entire weekend or join us for one or two events. Volunteer your time, just relax and enjoy the company, or run 26.2 miles. You choose!

Click here to learn how you can meet us in DC!

Do You Know a Federal Employee?

Help Spread the Word!

In the spirit of giving back to others, we invite you to support us this year as we join in the world's largest and most successful annual workplace charity campaign, the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), and help us give back to the Marines who sacrifice so much on our behalf.

The CFC is comprised of almost 200 charity campaigns throughout the country and overseas. All Federal civilian, postal, and military employees have an opportunity to choose from the CFC charities and pledge donations to the cause/s that matter most to them. In 2013 Federal employees contributed over $200 million dollars to CFC charities. While not all of you are Federal employees, each and every one of you can
help this campaign succeed!

Click here to learn how you can help today!

MarineParents.com, Inc. is an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) public charity founded on January 21, 2003 to provide support, information, and services to Marines and their family members, and to create opportunities for individuals to support our troops. In over 12 years of service, Marine Parents has made a huge impact in support of Marines, military personnel, and their family members.

Marine family members are encouraged to support one another through activities and networking provided by the organization and guided by trained volunteers. Outreach to injured troops is volunteer-centered with in-person contact. Additional troop-support centered programs are designed to actively engage individuals and communities across the United States while maintaining the privacy of military personnel. All services are offered free to family members, Marines and military personnel.

In 12 years of service, MarineParents.com has:

Invested over $6 million delivering direct support to Marines, their families and other military personnel.
Provided information and a Place to Connect & Share� to more than 311,000 family members through a network of communities and educational websites.
Collected materials and shipped over 39,000 care packages to Marines and military personnel in combat zones.
Involved thousands of Americans in sending over 93,000 cards and letters to injured troops.
Served over 40,000 meals to injured troops and their families at military medical facilities on the east and west coasts.
Planned and carried out recreational events for hundreds of injured troops and their families.
Delivered materials and resources to aid in the recovery process to hundreds of family members of injured troops.
Provided support and networking to hundreds of Gold Star families.

Tracy Della Vecchia, Founder and Executive Director, leads the operations from the corporate office in Columbia, Missouri with staff, volunteers, and a volunteer Board of Directors. In addition to the moderated, OPSEC-compliant Marine Family Network (MFN), chat rooms and informative websites, several outreach programs to support Marines and families before, during and after the Marine Corps are provided by the organization. Funding for the programs is through donations, grants, fundraising and store sales. In 2009, the 15-item online store began expansion, eventually becoming the EGA Shop. In 2010, the production facility was established on-site to design and develop custom product, dramatically boosting sales and providing additional funding for the outreach programs. The organization is an official Marine Corps Trademark licensee.

Statistics updated January, 2015.