Giving back to soldiers and their families

Day 2 of the break has been even better than the first. Started the day off with some time with Christen (sister-in-law) and the boys. In case you haven’t noticed, I adore our nephews and they light up my world. After that I headed to a long anticipated meeting with Army Community Services (ACS) on Ft Belvoir.

In October I decided that I wanted to volunteer for a cause that impacted soldiers and their families. They give so much of themselves and I wish I had taken this step sooner. I wrote/called ACS and the USO and ACS sent an enthusiastic response, but our schedules conflicted until now for the intake interview. It was worth the wait. I am so impressed by the magnitude of programs that they have to offer and at their interest in connecting me to a project I will enjoy.

Today I met the Family Advocacy Program Director and five other staff members who are more than interested in my coming on board. Possible projects for me include leading life groups for soldiers in AIT on Belvoir (the course after basic training), working with a moms group where the husbands are deployed, and giving briefings/trainings on domestic violence, child abuse, and/or sexual abuse. I am definitely going to be getting involved in a program they work with the Chaplain on called Hearts Apart, for spouses of deployed soldiers. I will be one in a few months, but regardless they need people with counseling skills and a spiritual background to be active in the group and I happy to step up to the plate. One thing that others could help with if you are interested is creating a welcoming environment through greeting and mingling at Warriors in Transition meetings. I will keep you posted once I know the dates of some of those.

So after meeting the wonderful staff and feeling really blessed by their enthusiasm about my background and skills, I am going to have to figure out where I should focus my time and resources. They are also going to try to figure this out and will get back to me shortly to get it all started. So far I suggested that an average of 4-8 hours a week would be plenty and I am hoping that I will be able to stand firm on my boundaries of time as I commit to spending more quality time with my family and to taking care of myself through a regular exercise routine. That said…it’s off to a family dinner at Diana and Jason’s to see their wonderful kitchen post-remodeling.