Group supports military families
FORT DRUM — Even with a multitude of groups and programs aimed at supporting military service members and their families, Army wife Laura A. Dempsey saw gaps — instances where programs to help military families weren't reaching their targets, and opportunities for a civilian organization to offer support in ways official military groups could not.
Ms. Dempsey, an attorney and wife of 3rd Brigade Combat Team operations officer Maj. Jason K. Dempsey, wasn't alone, and in 2009, she and Kathy Roth-Douquet, a Marine Corps wife and author based in Parris Island, S.C., founded Blue Star Families, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization aimed at filling some of those gaps.
A year later, the organization has a presence on about 70 military bases across the country and has established several programs to offer support to military family members. Its Web site, www.bluestarfam.org, includes blogs, information on chapters and programs, and essays written by military family members for military family members, on subjects like adjusting to the lifestyle, raising children in a military family and similar topics. A Blue Star Families chapter at Fort Drum is just coming together.
The organization aims to provide a framework for connecting military family members across units, branches and ranks, offering a broader social networking forum for family members than those provided through official military channels.
The group also aims to "use this social network to help civilian leaders talk to military families directly," Ms. Dempsey said. The group jumped into that role quickly, garnering national attention with a survey it conducted last winter with the help of other organizations that work with military families.
The survey found military families did not feel understood or appreciated by the civilian community. That finding led to an invitation for members of the group, including Ms. Dempsey, to testify last year before the Congressional Women's Caucus and the White House Council on Women and Girls as part of a military family roundtable.
The group's founders bring substantial professional power to Blue Star Families. Ms. Dempsey, a child and family advocate for a decade, has become a vocal advocate for military families, with her work appearing in the Washington Post, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Huffington Post. Ms. Roth-Douquet, a former Clinton White House and Pentagon appointee, has authored books on military service and civic engagement.
In addition to creating a broad social forum for military families, the group hopes to provide another link between military families and existing services — not replacing, but bolstering the work of other groups that provide support and assistance.
Blue Star Families also offers an avenue for civilian businesses and groups who want to show support or make donations to the families of military service members, Ms. Dempsey said.
Official military support systems are limited in the kinds and quantities of donations they can accept, and it can be confusing for donors interested in supporting military families to navigate making contributions or offering programs through official military channels. Blue Star Families offers a direct link between the civilian community and families of service members to facilitate those connections.
