Military men and women are returning home after spending months overseas. While being deployed, they have been isolated from loved ones and a life they once knew. Returning home after a service deployment can often be difficult for both the individual and their loved ones. Often, men and women return a little different than how their loved ones knew them previously.
These men and women need our help to make their transition back to daily life more manageable! You can help these men and women by volunteering as little or as much time as you can give!
Sound appealing, but you are not sure how to get involved? Check out these great military resources below to give back to those who have given us so much!
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Community Blueprint: The Community Blueprint Network brings together community leaders, individuals, government agencies and
nonprofits to bring collaborative, integrated solutions to address the most common challenges facing veterans and military families, from unemployment to education to behavioral health, housing, and reintegration. Volunteers, including veterans themselves, are the power behind the Blueprint. The Community Blueprint is the only national, scalable approach developed by a coalition of over 55 veteran and military-serving organizations nonprofits and government agencies focused on serving our nation’s military men and women and their families. To learn more check out our Community Blueprint web page!
- Mom’s Time Away, Kids Get to Play: Military spouses and children often suffer from high levels of anxiety. A great way to help support families with returning or still deployed spouses and parents is to offer daycare services for young children. Military spouses are often forced to take over the burden of the household and daily needs associated with childcare. Allow military spouses to run errands or have time to their selves by offering free daycare services to their children. Your services will be greatly appreciated! Check out our playbook to learn more!
- Joining Forces: Created by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Biden Joining forces engages all sectors of society to meet our military’s needs. Joining Forces highlights the issues of employment, education, and wellness to better serve our returning military and families. To learn more about their resources and to learn how you can get involved check out their .
- Blue Star Families: Empowers military families through connecting them to elected officials and top nonprofits through social networking. They have launched extensive research projects with findings geared toward better serving military families. They have also launched service projects to better serve our military communities. Check out their website to get more information.
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Give an Hour: Strives to provide free mental healthcare to military servicemen and families affected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They ask therapists to give an hour of free therapy once a week to those who need it. Individuals who receive their services have an opportunity to give an hour back to their communities in return. To learn how you can get involved check out their website.
- Got Your 6: An awareness campaign led by the entertainment industry. Got Your 6 means to literally have another person’s back. They bring attention to the areas of jobs, education, housing, health, family, and leadership. To see how you can get involved with your own 6 check out their website.
- Volunteer: The best way to just go out and help our military is to interact with them through service. Whether you just hang out with a military veteran, write a card for someone overseas, or visit a war memorial; it is most important to observe the dedication to service that these men and women have given our country!
How are you better serving our military? We would love to hear your comments and stories in the section below!
Honor fallen heroes by volunteering at a veterans’ cemetery on Memorial Day or any time of year. Volunteers can give cemetery tours, help with maintenance, raise and lower flags and more. Use the 
volunteers is working to bring floral beauty to the graves at this Memorial Day. This Monday, May 28, more than 100 volunteers from Memorial Day Flowers will hand out more than 50,000 roses at the cemetery. Visitors are given two roses, one to place on a grave, and one to take home in remembrance. All of the flowers are donated by farmers throughout Ecuador. The idea was initiated by Ramiro Peñaherrera of 
Visit a hospitalized veteran or a veteran living in a veteran’s home! Why wouldn’t a veteran appreciate someone taking the time out of their day to come and visit them in the hospital to remind them that they are grateful for their service to our country!
