Military Spouse Magazine's Spouse of the Year Award
Military Spouse Magazine is currently accepting nominations for their Military Spouse of the Year (MSOY) Award. Nominations are submitted via their website at:
www.milspouse.com/msoy. This is not an NGB award; NGB does not have any information regarding this award. We know that the National Guard has many spouses doing great things and we don't want to miss this opportunity for recognition.
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Operation Military Kids (OMK) in PA: Eyes of a Military Child Creative Arts Contest
OMK in Pennsylvania knows our state has amazing military kids and we would like for them to share their story! We are teaming up with the American Legion Auxiliary #432 in Wheatland to look for creative, innovative military kids to submit artwork or poetry depicting the life of a military child. Selected submissions will be exhibited at the OMK Salute to the Military Child Family Fun Fair on March 25, 2012 at Penn State's Snider Agricultural Arena. Selected entries also have the potential to be used in other OMK and Penn State Extension outlets. Prizes will be
awarded as follows for each category: First Place: $25, Second Place: $15, and Third Place: $10. Contest guidelines and entry form can be found online at:
www.operationmilitarykids.org/public/statePOCNewsDetail.aspx?type=event&ID=3027. For more information, please contact the OMK State Project Coordinator at: (814) 865-2264 or email:
sjs52@psu.edu.
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United Through Reading
Do you have a unit within your state/territory being deployed? United through Reading is a non-profit that offers Guardsmen and their Families an opportunity to stay connected with their children through pre-recorded video book readings. Visit their website at:
www.unitedthroughreading.org.
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National Military Spouse Network (NMSN)
NMSN is a pre-eminent networking, mentoring and professional development organization committed to the education, empowerment and advancement of military spouses. For more information, visit their website at:
www.nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org/public/main.cfm.
NMSN held its first Military Spouse Employment Summit on Nov. 3-4, 2011, which included various speakers on topics, such as Leveraging the Internet and Social Media for Your Job Search, Maintaining Career Continuity as a Military Spouse, and Entrepreneurship and the Military Spouse. The summit also included a Military Spouse Employment Panel/Town Hall where spouses had the opportunity to ask questions to the Subject Matter Experts.
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Air National Guard Chaplain's Service
Offers confidential, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, counseling and assistance. Toll-free (800) 443-2985, select option 5.
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Vets4Warriors' support line connects veterans to community based services
The Vets4Warriors peer support line, toll-free (855) 838-8255 (855-VET-TALK), provides easy access to supportive, confidential conversations with trained veteran peers representing all branches of the military. This team of veteran peers has immediate access to behavioral
health clinicians to respond to potentially emergent issues and can offer referrals to local community services, military veteran centers, and military healthcare providers based upon the needs of the Service Member. A variety of services will be provided to include non-clinical (legal, financial) and referrals for clinical services (substance abuse, behavioral health).
This program is a component of a larger effort to promote individual resilience, risk reduction, and coping skills through peer support and referrals to community based services. Peer counseling is an effective method to acculturate these self-development skills without the potential stigma that some Service Members may associate with help-seeking behavior. The
program also improves awareness and access to local resources that are relevant to the issues communicated by the Service Member while the utilization data can help share and refine current support programs. For more information, visit the Vets4Warriors Website at:
www.vets4warriors.com.
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)
SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small businesses start, grow, and succeed nationwide.
SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and has been mentoring small business owners for more than forty years. Their website can be found at:
www.score.org. SCORE also has developed a military specific program which is free to veterans and their families. The military specific website is
www.vetsfastlaunch.org.
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iRelaunch, the Return-to-Work Experts™
iRelaunch produces career reentry programming, events, and content for employers, universities, organizations, and individuals. For more information, visit their website at:
www.irelaunch.org.
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United States Office of Personnel Management
The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has developed a website targeted to veterans and military spouses. Its Fed Hires Vets website is a one-stop resource for Federal veteran employment information. Visit the website at:
www.fedhiresvets.gov.
In addition to information about veteran employment, they have a Family Member section with information on preference. OPM has also has a spouse employment program that gives employers an option to hire spouses from a non-competitive list. For questions concerning their spouse program, visit their website at:
www.fedshirevets.gov/hire/hrp/ qaspouse/index.aspx.
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EANGUS partners with Grantham University to offer full scholarship
The full scholarship, named in honor of U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Virgil R. Williams, is valued at $36,000 and covers tuition costs, required textbooks, software, and fees for the recipient to earn an undergraduate or graduate degree at Grantham University. The deadline for interested applicants is
June 1, 2012.
Apply online at:
www.grantham.edu/alliances/eangus-scholarship. Interested applicants must be one of the following: EANGUS member, unmarried son or daughter of an EANGUS member, a spouse of an EANGUS member or an unmarried spouse or unmarried dependent son or daughter of a deceased EANGUS member (who was in good standing at the time of their death).
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Tutor.com
Effective Oct. 3, the Assistant Secretary of Defense announced an agreement with Tutor.com focused on the National Guard and Reserve Components. For information regarding resources that are available to all National Guard members and their dependents, visit their website:
www.tutor.com/military.
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Department of Education
The Department of Education has a newsletter that is targeted to Military Families. To read their most current newsletters, along with past editions, visit their website at:
www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/touchingbase. You can also subscribe, unsubscribe, or comment by contacting them via email at:
militarycontacts@ed.gov. You can view their Military Families and Veterans webpage for more information about Department of Education initiatives at:
www.ed.gov/veterans-and-military-families.