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Marine Parents Logo a Place to Connect and Share 
MarineParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share 
In This Issue
Graduation T-Shirts!
Visit Our Sponsors
Outreach Services
Girl Scout Cookie Progress!
Lejeune Marines Lend a Hand
eXtreme Fund Raiser
Thank a Marine!
Hotel Reservations Deadline March 27
New Book: Shared Courage
Thank you from a Marine
Homecoming and Deployments
Attention St. Louis!
Team Kickoff April 21!
$5 Off Expires March 26
Support Our Marines!

The Care Package Project™

Operation PAL™

Shipping Girl Scout CookiesŪ

Tributes

Support for You:
a Place to
Connect & Share™
 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Center:
Operations Security
 
 
 
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
 
 
 
 
Our Volunteers
We'd like you to take a moment to meet the volunteers who work several hundred hours a week to make MarineParents.com possible!
 
 
 
MarineParents.com
Annual National Conference
April 20-22, 2007
St. Louis, Missouri
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 T-Shirts!
Graduation T-shirts are now available in every battalion color, customized with your Recruit's graduation dates and platoon number! Use the coupon below to save $5.00!
 
MCRD San Diego Graduation Tshirts
 
MCRD Graduation Parris Island Tshirts Marine Corps Bootcamp
Visit Our Sponsors
Outreach Services
Conference Events 

Team Marine Parents™

Marine Corps Mall

Authors' Hall Booksigning

Life after the Marine Corps

Conference Sponsors,
Advertising, Exhibitors
and Opportunities

Help us have a successful conference! Contact your employer, organizations, & corporations, for opportunities to support the conference, sponsor a Marine, and advertising!

 
 
 
 
For $30, you can publicly say thank you to your Marine in the conference keepsake program.
Newsletter Signup 
Join Our Mailing List
March 20, 2007
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. We thank you for your support and hope that we can support you.
 
The format of our newsletter has been improved. On the left side you'll find newly labeled categories with links to helpful information and learning centers.  On the right is our series of articles which address time-sensitive information and announcements.
Girl Scout Cookie Progress!
GS Cookies 100x100We have reached 80% our $5940 goal for shipping!
Thanks to your support and generosity, we've raised over $4900 toward costs to ship Girl Scout Cookies to the Marines! We have just over a $1000 left to reach our goal!
 
The Housatonic Girl Scout Council out of Bridgeport, Connecticut has donated 400 cases of cookies for us to ship to our Marines. This is the third year in a row for this project. We need your help to raise $5940 to get the cookies into the hands of our combat-deployed Marines.
 
As of March 16, we have raised just over $4900 toward our goal! We'll be shipping the cookies to Iraq March 31, 2007. Please consider making a donation and encourage your friends, co-workers and family to do the same! MarineParents.com, Inc. is an IRS approved  501(c)(3) public charity eligible to receive charitable contributions. Every donation is acknowledged with a receipt.
 
Lejeune Marines Lend a Hand
Marines Lend Helping Hand in IraqCamp Lejeune, NC Marines Lend a Helping Hand in Iraq
RAWAH, Iraq (March 7, 2007) -- In a town set on the Euphrates River, 150 miles northwest of Baghdad, two Marines stood calmly as a group of local Iraqi men surrounded them.

Although Marines from the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion had posted security up and down the street in the city of roughly 30,000 people, ready for any situation, Maj. Sean Quinlan's hands weren't anywhere near his own weapon.

Instead, his hands were gripping those of the elderly men around him in friendly greeting. Mostly former school teachers, the Iraqi's told Quinlan, the commanding officer for the Company D "Outlaws," about exactly what he could do for them to make their city better.
 

eXtreme Fund Raiser
eXtreme Fund Raiser for The Care Package ProjectKids ages 4-14 raise $1870 for The Care Package Project™! 
OSWEGO, IL. ~ The eXtreme Allstarzz Cheerleading Academy of Oswego, IL. recently raised $1,870 in a Change War Competition. The money has been donated to MarineParents.com and their Care Package Project™. The $1,870 will sponsor 85 care packages. MarineParents.com mails approximately 1,100 care packages to deployed Marines every 10 weeks.
 
The members of The eXtreme Allstarzz Cheerleading Academy held the Change War Competition over a three week period. With eight teams participating, the members were instructed to bring their loose change to practice and deposit the change in buckets during this time. Whichever bucket held the most change at the end of the competition would be the winners of a pizza party.
 
For a slide show and to read the article in full, click here.
Thank a Marine!
2007 Conference Offers an Opportunity to Honor Marines!
 
"Honoring Our Marines Today and Tomorrow" is this US Marine with Back Pack just returned from Iraqyear's conference theme; and what a privilege it is to provide a way to honor our Marines for their service, commitment, and dedication to our freedom and way of life.

You do not have to attend the conference to participate in the activities for honoring our Marines. We encourage you to sponsor a Marine and guest for dinner Saturday evening, to submit a photo of your Marine to share at the conference, and to "Thank a Marine" in the conference program. The beautiful, keepsake conference prorgram will be mailed out to "Thank a Marine" participants 7-10 days after the conference.

 
2007 Conference Information
 
2007 MarineParents.com Annual National Conference April 2007 St Louis MOThis year's conference will be held in St. Louis, Missouri in the beautiful Adam's Mark Hotel at the foot of the Gateway Arch. The conference will be held the weekend of April 20-22, 2007 and includes many guest speakers, breakout sessions, workshops and opportunities to connect and share with one another. Your registration fee includes all meals from Friday evening through Saturday morning and all events. Register now to take advantage of savings!
 
Conference Hotel Reservations
2007 MarineParents.com Conference Hotel Reservation Deadline: March 27! 
Adams Mark Hotel St Louis Gateway Arch Marine Parents 2007 ConferenceAll conference events and dining will be at the Adam's Mark, St. Louis, a beautiful hotel with all the amenities, located in the heart of downtown, at the foot of the Gateway Arch.
 
We've secured a conference rate of $99/night per room (plus sales and lodging taxes) for single, double, triple and quads. Make reservations early to assure the special group rate. For the group rate, tell them you are with the MarineParents.com, Inc. Conference.
 
The Adam's Mark has extended the date to make reservations until March 27, 2007. Please take time to make your reservations today! Call:
 
1-800-444- ADAM (2326)
 
Conference dates are Friday-Sunday, April 20-22, 2007. Rates are available three days prior and three days after the conference. 
 
New Book: Shared Courage
Share Courage: A Marine Wife's Story of Strength and ServiceA Marine Wife's Story of Strength and Service
 
In Shared Courage: A Marine Wife's Story of Strength and Service, Michelle Keener gives a firsthand experience of a Marine wife during wartime: Her husband is a Marine officer with two tours in Iraq including time in Fallujah. From their meeting in the years before the events of 9/11 through his deployments into the Iraq war zone, Michelle brings readers into the homes of those left behind-those who also serve. From raising children to comforting other wives to keeping the bills paid back home, Michelle presents a heartfelt and moving account of the loneliness of wartime distance-and the constant fear that the next Marine to fall will be her own.
 
 
From Tracy Della Vecchia, Founder
Mrs. Keener tells her experiences during her husband's two combat deployment with compassion, intelligence, and a touch of humor. I read the book in one night; I cried, I laughed and I couldn't put it down. I was touched by the similarities of emotions she and I experienced, though my worries were for my son, and her worries were for her husband. I highly recommend this book to parents with married Marines, to gain insight to the wives' perspectives, and I recommend it to any mother of a deployed Marine to show once again, you are not alone with the emotional roller coaster of deployment. This book will touch your heart.  Michelle Keener will be a guest author at this year's conference, April 20-22, 2007.
 
Thank you from a Marine
The Care Package Project Packing Boxes and Adding LettersA Marine in Iraq sent the following letter after receiving Care Packages from us.
By far, your support via MarineParents.com has had the greatest impact on my general well-being and over-all morale as compared to anything I've received otherwise since my time here in Iraq began a few months ago. A million thanks to you, thank you!
 
I was so surprised to find a box of cigars within your package, it was truly a delight and a monumental gift. I'll have you know that I gave several of them away to wounded Marines and that they too were happily
surprised. In a world of chaos, unexpected twists and turns, and overwhelming emotions, you have brought a calm.

I hope when I return home I have the opportunity to thank you in person. May we never forget those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. I hope to meet you in the future, but until then, I wish you health and good fortune.

Semper Fi,
Robert W.
 
 

Homecoming and Deployments

 

HomecomingTools and Resources for Homecoming Planning 

We have several battalions preparing for retrograde, or homecoming, from combat zones. This section of the web site offers several tools for you to help prepare for your Marine's homecoming. Many family members have worries and concerns about PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and COSR (Combat Operations Stress Reaction). This section of the web site offers information and resources to help understand these issues as well as a workbook to use in preparation for the emotions of homecoming.
 
 
Before Deployment: Locate Your Marine's Unit Information 
EGAEvery Marine is assigned to a unit or battalion in the Marine Corps. Often, finding information about that particular unit can be challenging. Our database includes virtually every unit in the Marine Corps and includes base locations, current station, phone numbers, the unit FRO (Family Readiness Officer, a contact for family members), and links to the unit's message boards and chat night schedule.
 
Attention St. Louis!
2007 Marine Parents ConferenceSeveral Events at 2007 Conference Open to the public! 
Three events will be open to the public at this years conference. All three events will take place the afternoon of Saturday, April 21, 2007 at the Adam's Mark Hotel from 1:30 p.m. through 4:30 p.m.
 
The Marine Corps Mall will be open to the public from 1:30 - 4:30 p.m., Saturday, April 21, 2007.
 
The Author's Hall, featuring New York Times Bestseller Andrew Carroll along with 7 other authors, will do booksignings from 2:00 p.m. through 4:30 p.m.
 
National speaker, Mike Colson, will have an open presentation "Life after the Marine Corps" for military personnel who have served in a combat zone since Septemer 11, 2001. There is limited seating. The presentation will be from 3:15 p.m. through 4:30 p.m. You must call ahead of time to secure a reservation.
 
 
Saturday Dinner-Only Tickets
Dinner Tickets for Saturday Evening's program will be available for a limited time. Tickets are available at $75 each. Full tables of ten may be purchased at $700. There are no refunds on Saturday Evening Program tickets. Tickets must be purchased and paid in full prior to April 14, 2007.
 
Team Marine Parents™ Kick-Off
Team Marine Parents from MarineParents.com Saturday, April 21, 2007 in St. Louis, Missouri 
Join us for our 2007 Kick-Off in St. Louis, Missouri! The Team Marine Parents™ kick-off will be Saturday morning, April 21, 2007 at the Gateway Arch. Attendance at the kick-off is open to any Team Marine Parents™ participant regardless of whether you are registered for the conference or not. Spectators are welcome to cheer on the TEAM!
 
 

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.

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 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're now offering the Annual National Conference in St. Louis, 2007. We've helped over 30,000 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 and sent thousands of prayers and letters to injured Marines. You've found a Place to Connect & Share™.

God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
 

Tracy Della Vecchia
Founder and Executive Director
MarineParents.com, Inc.
USMC New Designs and NEW Colors!$5 Off Coupon
Save $5.00 on orders of $25 or more in our MarineParents.com online store. Upon checkout, enter the following code in the promotional field: DUSKYSCHOOL
 
HURRY! Offer expires: MARCH 26, 2007!
 
NOTE: All proceeds are used in support of MarineParents.com, Inc. 
New Designs and New Colors! Check these out!
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