|
MarineParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share™ | |
|
Support Our Marines! |
|
Team Marine Parents™
Show your support of our Marines and their families at home! Participate in one of the MarineParents.com Outreach Programs today! Our Marines need YOU! |
| Support for You:
a Place to
Connect & Share™ |
|
|
| Learning Center:
Operations Security |
|
NOTE: When communicating online, your Marine's privacy is as important as Operations Security. Please respect YOUR Marine's privacy! |
| Learning Center:
About Deployment |
|
(from your Marine, with the USMC, and with other families)
(tips, tricks and money savers for mailing to YOUR Marine)
(bills, taxes, legal issues, injuries, notification from the Marine Corps)
|
|
Learning Center:
About Homecoming |
|
(Tip: While in our store, check in your Marine's unit store for more homecoming shirts!) |
| Learning Center:
Bootcamp |
|
|
| Local Support Groups in Your Area |
|
NEWEST SUPPORT GOUPS:
Vancouver, WA
(Clark County Area)
For a list of all support groups in our database or to find one in your area, see:
If you are interested in starting a local support group in your area, please visit the "Support Groups" section of our website:
|
| Marine Corps Spirit
T-shirts, Gifts & More |
|
Show your Marine Corps spirit and pride! Proceeds from sales support MarineParents.com, an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity.
|
|
Graduation Announcements! |
|
Graduation Announcements are now available for your Soon-To-Graduate recruit! Use the coupon at the bottom of the newsletter to save $5!
|
| Thank You to This Week's Newsletter Contributors |
|
A special thank you to:
Charis Cranford
Volunteer
Linda Crooms
Director of Outreach Services
Tracy Della Vecchia
Executive Director Barbara Gemmell
Manager of Operation PAL™ Rachael Heffner
Staff
Jackie Parker
Support Groups Manager
Wanda Schmitt Director of Community Relations |
| Sign Up for the Newsletter |
 | |
|
Dear Marine Families,
If this is the first edition of the MarineParents.com Newsletter you have received, WELCOME! If you are a returning reader we are glad you have joined us.
It's time once again to ship Girl Scout Cookies to the Marines in Iraq. We have 1,000 donated cases this year and we need your help! To learn more, click here.
Conference registrations are rolling in. We want to remind you that the hotel deadline for reservations is March 18. Also, you do not have to register for the full conference this year. The USMC Tours on Friday are purchased independently of the conference. Those not attending the conference who would like to attend the benefit dinner only on Saturday evening may purchase tickets online as well. (See www.MarineConference.com.)
If you are planning to send Easter or St. Patrick's day cards to Operation PAL™ Marines, please get them in the mail to our Jacksonville, Florida office by March 1. For more information, please visit the web site:
|
| New Shipping Box Discounted! |
|
The new, bigger flat rate box for Priority Mail will be discounted for shipping to APO/FPO mailing addresses!
 January 17, 2008WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Postal Service announced January 17, 2007 a new, larger Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box enabling customers to ship 50 percent more than with the current box. It will be offered at a discount to overseas military addresses, a postal first for the armed forces. The new boxes will be available March 3, 2008.
To order the new flat rate boxes visit our "Care Package Tips" web site for direct links to the USPS, phone numbers and additional information: Click here...
For full press release from the USPS, see:
|
|
Chat with Dr. Bridget Cantrell |
|
| Wednesday Evening, February 27: Expert Discusses Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Warrior Transitioning
 This Wednesday, February 27, 2008 from 8:15 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (central time), we invite you to chat online with Dr. Bridget Cantrell, author and expert on homecomings, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and combat recovery.
The chat will be held in the online chat room of MarineParents.com. It is free and open to the public.
Dr. Cantrell is co-author of the critically acclaimed Downrange to Iraq and Back, and the new Once a Warrior: Wired for Life.
To learn more about the chat with Dr. Cantrell, to access the chat room, or to read transcripts of previous chat nights, use the link below.
|
| '08 Marine Parents Conference |
|
| Join us in Washington, DC for the 3rd Annual Conference and Benefit Dinner April 18-20! (Pre-Conference April 17-18.)
 The 3rd Annual Marine Parents Conference will be held in the Washington, DC area, April 18-20, 2008 at the beautiful Doubletree Hotel, located across from the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The pre-conference will be held April 17-18, 2008.
The Marine Corps is rich in history and our Nation's Capital is an extraordinary place to celebrate that history. The Pre-Conference All-Day Tour on Friday will take you through years of the Marine Corps, from the amazing National Museum of the Marine Corps, to the famous 8th & I Marine Corps Barracks, Iwo Jima, and an exhibition of our own Marines making history today: the Silent Drill Platoon.
Colonel Matthew Bogdanos, the lead investigator into the looting of Baghdad's Iraq Museum in 2003, will open a new window of historical perspective for you during the richly illustrated keynote at Saturday's Benefit Dinner. Colonel Bogdanos is a spit-and-polish Marine, a competitive boxer, a classics scholar, and an assistant DA in Manhattan. It is truly an honor to host Colonel Bogdanos as our keynote speaker this year.
General Session topics and speakers on Saturday will include Veterans' Ombudsman Pat Rowe Kerr delivering the morning general session on Veteran's Benefits. Immediately following will be a panel led by Colonel Bryan P. McCoy for the combat deployment session. That afternoon, Dr. Bridget Cantrell will present a discussion panel on Traumatic Stress Injury and Warrior Transitioning.
Learn more about the conference, make your hotel reservations, and register online at the conference web site:
|
| St. Patrick's Day and the USMC |
|
 USMC T-Shirt Designs Go Green for St. Pats!
Your friends will be green with envy! Now you've got a USMC t-shirt to wear on St. Patrick's day. Features USMC in block letters in front of Irish-green shamrocks. Luck o' the Irish to ya' Marine!
Proceeds from shirt sales benefit MarineParents.com, Inc., an IRS approved public chartity.
|
|
Share Your Homepage or Photos |
|
| NEW! Now members of the message board communities can share their homepage of photos with others!
 You've been asking, and we've been listening! Families have asked to share their own homepages with photos on the message board communities, and now you can do just that! Using any of our message board communities, you can now enter your homepage web site address (URL) in your member profile. Your homepage may be a social web site such as "facebook" or "myspace", a blog, or just a link to share your photos.
To add your homepage to your message board profile, click the "profile" link on the message board web page. You'll see some new fields including a place to paste the "url" of your web site. To view another member's homepage, click the user name for their profile on the message boards.
|
|
1000 Cases of Girl Scout Cookies |
|
|
We need your help shipping Girl Scout Cookies to Marines in Iraq!
 This is our fourth year shipping Girl Scout CookiesŪ to the Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, and this is the biggest shipment ever!
We have 1,000 cases of Girl Scout CookiesŪ (that's 12,000 boxes!) arriving in our warehouse in March. We'll ship these cookies to Marines deployed to Iraq in addition to our regularly scheduled care packages. That means we need to raise 100% of the funds ($10,950) to ship the cookies and we need your help.
Every year the girl scout troops in Connecticut donate the cookies to the MarineParents.com Care Package Project™. The brownies and girl scouts work hard to make sure our combat deployed Marines are included in this time-honored American tradition and a true taste of home.
Let your friends and neighbors know we need their help shipping the cookies overseas. To donate, mail a check or money order to:
MarineParents.com, Inc.
Attn: Girl Scout Cookie Shipping
PO Box 1115
Columbia, MO 65205
You can also donate online using any major credit card. Click here to donate online...
To learn more and see some great motivational videos, sound files, photos and thank-you notes from Marines, visit the web site and share this page with your friends, co-workers, and neighbors:
|
| Matching Gift Donations |
|
| Does your employer offer matching gift donations to charitable organizations?
 Many companies offer incentive programs for employees who provide financial support or volunteer time to non-profit organizations. A Matching Gift Program allows the company to match an employee's contribution to a non-profit organization. A Volunteer Incentive Program allows the company to make a contribution to an organization of the employee's choice in exchange for volunteer time at the organization.
If you are an employer or employee of a company that offers matching gift contributions to non-profit organizations, please consider registering MarineParents.com, Inc. as a benefactor for your next contribution. To obtain more information regarding these programs, please contact your Human Resources Manager for details.
We would like to thank the following employers and employees for working together to establish matching gift contributions to MarineParents.com, Inc. and our Outreach Programs:
For a partial list of companies that have Matching Gifts Programs and/or Volunteer Incentive Programs click here. If you work for a company that offers one or both of these programs and they are not listed here, please let us know so we can get them added. Visit our contact us page for more information.
|
| 2007 Tax Year for Your Marine |
|
| Answers to Questions for Deployed Marines Filing Taxes
Your deployed Marine has 180 days (approximately 6 months) after returning stateside to complete his/her tax return. He/she will not pay a penalty if additional taxes are due as long as they file within 180 days.
Your Marine is also entitled to the "Combat Pay Exemption" which states that he/she will not pay taxes on income earned while deployed to a combat zone. Afghanistan and Iraq (including Kuwait or any other country if it is in direct support of operations OIF and OEF) are considered combat zones.
For those who are not deployed, your Marine will be given an opportunity to have a military accountant on a military installation assist with taxes upon return stateside. In most instances there is no charge for this service.
|
| Board of Directors |
|
|
New Board Members Appointed at the Annual Meeting in Arlington Heights, IL
 The Board of Directors for MarineParents.com, Inc. held the annual board of directors meeting in Illinois the weekend of February 15-18. The board brought on two new members and retired two long-time members.
Retired board members, after serving two consecutive two-year terms, are Dr. Nancy Welch from College Station, Texas who will remain in an advisory position, and Marcia Beckwith from Eagle, Idaho who will remain as a volunteer in research.
Dr. Welch's position as Vice President was filled by current Board Member, K. Mickie Nicks from Denver, Colorado. Tracy Della Vecchia, Founder and Executive Director from Columbia, Missouri will remain as President.
New directors appointed for two-year terms include Joan Gutierrez from Joliet, Illinois as Director of Recruit Services and Wanda Schmitt from Verona, Wisconsin as Director of Community Relations.
| |
|
Support Our Troops: Wear Red on Friday 
Join the "Wear Red Friday" campaign to show your support of our troops! We've opened up a brand new line in our online store--you get the quality and service you've come to expect, and you can help encourage those in your community to "Support Our Troops: Wear Red on Friday!" We've got yard signs and red t-shirts for every family member and everyone in your office! Check it out today:
Remember, all proceeds from sale of products in our stores go to support the organization MarineParents.com, Inc. and our outreach projects. MarineParents.com is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) Public Charity. |
We hope this week's edition of our email newsletter has been useful for you and your family. If there are topics you would like us to address, or if you have other suggestions for the newsletter, please contact us.
The banner used at the top of this newsletter is a USMC Photo of Sgt. Kyle W. Peterson, a Company E squad leader from Council Bluffs, Iowa, with local Iraq men during a night security patrol Feb. 20. Night patrols are designed for security and enforcing curfew hours. Marines of 2nd Bn., 24th Marines, will conduct day and night patrols throughout their seven month deployment. Photo taken by Pfc. Jerry Murphy on February 22, 2008. Click here to read accompanying story.
MarineParents.com, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity. MarineParents.com, Inc. was founded in January, 2003 in response to parents' needs to find information and to have a Place to Connect & Share™ with one another during deployments. Our free online services and connections have expanded to support and educate Marine moms & dads, spouses, families and friends and we'll be offering the 3rd Annual National Conference in Washington DC, 2008. We've helped over 40,000 Marine and recruit families during bootcamp, training, active duty and deployments. We've shipped thousands of care packages overseas to our Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, sent thousands of prayers and letters to injured Marines and served hundreds of lunches to families caring for their Marines at Bethesda Hospital. You've found a Place to Connect & Share™.
God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
Tracy Della Vecchia
Founder and Executive Director MarineParents.com, Inc.
Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this service. |
|
|
