Help for Troops	Help for Families
Help for Educators	Help for Others

Hundreds of thousands of men and women from all over America are serving in our armed forces and away from their homes. While they serve our country, those of us “on the homefront” can be making a difference too.

Many Americans are looking for ways to support members of the military and their families. The following are some of the ways you can express your support for our troops, give time and care to their families, and help strengthen their communities.

Help for Troops

• Through Operation Dear Abby, send e-mail messages to deployed troops of any Service from your home state.
• Through Defend America, sign an online thank you card to troops.
• Through Operation USO Care Package, contribute to the purchase of a care package of items requested by troops such as sunscreen, disposable cameras, prepaid calling cards, and toiletries.
• Through Operation Uplink, contribute to the purchase of phone cards that will be distributed to military personnel and hospitalized veterans.
• Through AMVETS Voices From Home™ contribute to the purchase of instant voice email packages so military families can send voice emails to the troops in remote locations.

Help for Families

• Offer your time and resources as an individual, organization, or business to give families of deployed troops help with activities such as household repairs, spring cleanings, and yard work or specialized skills such as financial planning or legal advice. Volunteer by contacting a local chapter of any of the following organizations: American Legion, American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, BPO Elks of the USA, Camp Fire USA, National 4-H Headquarters, National Fraternal Congress of America, Rebuilding Together, The Salvation Army, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Volunteer Center National Network, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and YMCA of the USA. For additional information about these groups, click here.
• Volunteer with one of the youth serving organizations helping to tutor or take care of children while a parent or caregiver is stationed away from home. Some of these organizations include the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Camp Fire USA, National 4-H Headquarters, and YMCA of the USA.
• If you want to donate money, there are many organizations that help military families. Each of the branches of the armed services has a military relief society that offer low interest loans and other emergency financial assistance to military families: Army Emergency Relief, Navy/Marine Relief Society, Air Force Aid Society and Coast Guard Mutual Assistance.

Help for Educators

• Teachers can find new resources on the U.S. Department of Education web site meant to help them work with students with a parent or other relative deployed in the military. The web site also offers information on effectively working with students generally who may have questions or ideas about war.

Help for Others

• Think about sharing your time and compassion with a veteran at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital or other facility.
• Search for a way to help in your community through the USA Freedom Corps Volunteer Network.