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MarineParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share 
In This Issue
Deployment Learning Center
Homecoming Learning Center
Bootcamp Learning Center
Marine Corps T-Shirts & Gifts
Please Visit Our Sponsors
Generous GI Bill Possible
Freedom Walk 2008
The True Welcome Home
Fourth Professional on Our Team
Regional Conference August 9
$1 Campaign for Our Troops
Thank You...from a Marine Received on Thursday
Parent's Guide to Surviving Bootcamp
4th Combat Engineer Battalion
Celebrate the 4th of July
Wear Red Friday
$5 Coupon Hurry, Expires June 17!
Support Our Marines!
 
 
Purple Heart Hero Support™ an Outreach Program of Marine Parents.com
 
 
Team Marine Parents, an Outreach Program of Marine Parents.com 
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
Operations Security OPSEC

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:
 
Anaheim Hills, CA
(Orange County Area)
 
Eagle River, AK
 
San Bruno, CA
(San Mateo County Area)
Click Here...
 
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.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Marines The Few The Proud
For July 4th:
Celebrate! Land of the free because of the brave!
Visit Our Sponsors
Sign Up for the Newsletter
Join Our Mailing List
June 12, 2008
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.

This edition of the newsletter includes a thank you from a Marine in Iraq and the announcement of registration opening for our conference on August 9, 2008 in Kansas City, Missouri.  Be sure to check out our Fourth of July T-shirts too!
New, More Generous GI Bill Possible
From FDR to Bush
 
"[The GI Bill] gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our armed forces that the American people do not intend to let them down."  -Roosevelt
 
IAVA GI Bill 2008In 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the original GI Bill; it was called the "Servicemen's Readjustment Act". The World War II GI Bill covered tuition, fees, and books, and gave veterans a living stipend while they were in school. Eight million combat veterans returning home from Germany and Japan were able to afford an education and a 1988 Congressional study showed that every dollar spent on educational benefits under the original GI Bill added seven dollars to the national economy in terms of productivity, consumer spending, and tax revenue.
 
America Supports You (ASY)Freedom Walk 2008
Remembering September 11th
ASY Sept 11 walkThe America Supports You (ASY) Freedom Walk began four years ago in Washington DC and has since become a national tradition drawing participants from across the country.
 
The first event was inspired by Pentagon employees who wanted to honor victims of the 9-11 attack, remember the responders, and pay tribute to our veterans past and present. Nearly 15,000 participants joined for the event which began at the Pentagon and ended at the National Mall.
 
The True Welcome Home
From Our Columnist, Pat Rowe Kerr
  
Columnist Pat Rowe KerrWith this first column let me take a moment to introduce myself to you.  As the mother of a Reservist who has deployed to Iraq twice and is currently on deployment INCONUS, we have had the opportunity to learn firsthand the needs and gaps affecting our Global War on Terror Service Members, families, and employers.  As I cared for my deployed daughter's 13 month old from the time of her deployment until age 5, at the same time caring for my critically injured husband, it was clear to me back in 2003 that everyone needed to have in place a plan A, B, C, and even sometimes plan D to support this Triad of Patriots! 
 
Now serving as your State Veterans Ombudsman at the Missouri Veterans Commission - your one neutral point of contact for all branches and components - we diligently work to increase new policies and legislation to support the urgent and kinetic - ever changing needs - of America's Veterans.
 
Professional Writes Column for MarineParents Newsletter
No Photo of Columnist Available at this timeFourth Professional on Our Team of Columnists
Denise Cullum has joined Dr. Bridget Cantrell, Pat Kerr, and Kyndra Rotunda in an effort to inform Marine families through our newsletter.
 
Denise Cullum
Denise currently serves as the Family Readiness Officer for the 7th Marine Regiment out of Twentynine Palms, California. The goal of the Family Readiness Officer is to provide information and support to families in an effort to support Mission Readiness for the Regiment. 

Denise received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Certificate in Business Management from the University of Maryland University College while stationed in Okinawa Japan.  She also served as Key Volunteer Coordinator for 7th Communication Battalion while in Okinawa. Denise received a ministry certification with an emphasis on Relationship Coaching from Courageous Living Ministries, Irvine CA in 2007 and she is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Theology.  
 
Denise will be writing a column on topics related to deployment, homecomings, and communication with the Marine Corps. Her expertise in Marine Family Readiness will provide much-needed insight directly to our families. 
 
Regional Conference August 9
Kansas City Regional Conference August 9 2008Kansas City, Missouri 
Our first regional conference will be held in Kansas City, MO on Saturday, August 9, 2008. 
 
Our opening session on Saturday morning will include speakers from the Marine Corps office MobCom on the topic of IRR (Independent Ready Reserves) followed by breakout sessions ranging from MREs and scrapbooking to deployment and warrior transitioning. The focus of the conference will be broad and include topics and speakers on a wide-range of Marine Corps issues. 
 
Registration for the 1-day event begins today; $100 includes the conference plus the evening dinner and program. You can register for all or part of the events.  
 
The conference will be held at the Hilton Kansas City Airport with rooms available at $89/night for conference attendees. Free shuttle service is provided back and forth to the Kansas City airport.
 
For additional information and to register online, please visit the web site.
 
$1 Campaign for Our Troops
Dollar Campaign for Shipping Care Packages OverseasShipping Costs have Raised and We Need Your Help
Each summer, we find ourselves short on funds to send the care packages overseas to our Marines in August. Our total cost for shipping will be $9800. We need your help today! 
 
We're asking every web site visitor to send a $1 bill to MarineParents.com to help us raise the funds needed to ship 1000 care packages to our Marines. Put a dollar bill in an envelope and mail it to the post office box below. Our goal is to raise $9800 by the packing date of Saturday, August 23, 2007. 
MarineParents.com
$1 Care Package Campaign 
PO Box 1115
Columbia, MO  65205 
 
 
800 Care Packages Sent Out Saturday, June 7
Baldwin Marine in Iraq Received Care Package June 2008Thank You from a Marine Received on Thursday 
We sent out 800 care packages on Saturday, June 7 from the MarineParents.com, warehouse. Our local US Post Office works closely with us to get our packages to the airport and on their way the same day. We've already received word from a Marine via email that his package was received. Here's his thank you:
 
Jun 12, 2008 4:37 AM  
subject Recived Package  
 
Greetings;
             Thank you very much for the care package! It is greatly appreciated. My Marines and I fought it out for the dip. That stuff is like gold around here. The snacks are great due to my job. We tell our families that anything that a 3rd grade kid would like in his lunch box we would like also. Its been real slow over here and we are all very safe. Iraq is cooperating and we are making a lot of progress. I attached a picture of me doing my job. I fly on a new aircraft that is changing aviation all together and I am proud to be a part of it. Thank you again for the package and what you are doing is a wonderful thing and keep it up.
  
Sincerely yours, Cpl B------, A---- J
 
 
To read a local newspaper story on our Care Package Project™ shipping day on June 7, see our Marine Corps Newsroom:
 
Recruit Training
 A Parent's Guide to Surviving Bootcamp
 
Bootcamp Survival Guide for ParentsYour best resource for all things Bootcamp and recruit training are the official USMC web sites--you'll find links to official USMC websites in the Recruit Parents web site provided to you as a service of MarineParents.com.
 
We provide additional information in the left hand links of our web sites based on the experiences of hundreds of families who have the same kinds of questions and emotions that you do during bootcamp. Once in a while, we run across an unofficial website that offers great insight and support to recruit families. We share those additional resources as well.
 
Did you know the USMC publishes a survival guide for Parents? It's got tons of great information. 
 
4th Combat Engineer Battalion
Reserve Units Uncover
Weapons in Iraq
 
4th CEB USMC Photo May 2008
HABBANIYAH, Iraq -  Marines of 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1 and Company B, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, have worked together day in and day out, searching for weapons caches and disabling the enemies number one threat; improvised explosive devices.
The two reserve units, 2nd Bn., 24th Marines from Chicago, and Bravo Co., 4th CEB from Roanoke, Va., have together uncovered thousands of pounds of explosive ordinance, ammunition and explosives throughout the first four months of their seven-month deployment in the Anbar Province of Iraq. 
 
Celebrate the 4th of July
Celebrate! Land of the free because of the brave!And Show Your Marine Corps Spirit! 
Be ready for your Fourth of July celebration and share your pride in the Marine Corps! This unique "Celebrate" design includes text: "Land of the Free...Because of the Brave...The Few...The Proud."
 
MONEY SAVING COUPON: for orders over $50, save $5 by entering coupon code MOUNDSTUDIO at checkout! Hurry, expires June 17!
 
All proceedds from sales of shirts in our Cafe Press stores go back to MarineParents.com, Inc. to support our projects and outreach services.  MarineParents.com is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity.
Support Our Troops: Wear Red on Friday
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 May, 2008 USMC Photo by Pfc. Jerry Murphy at HABBANIYAH, Iraq of Lance Cpl. Michael W. Lund, a combat engineer with 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, searches around a bunker with a metal detector looking for weapons caches May 30. 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 4th National Conference in Kansas City, Missouri on August 9, 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.
$5 Off Coupon
Receive $5 off any order of $50 or more. Enter coupon code MOUNDSTUDIO at checkout. Restrictions apply. Limited time only. Visit the web site for more details.
 
HURRY! Offer expires June 17!
 
NOTE: All proceeds are used in support of MarineParents.com, Inc., an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity.
New "Heart USMC" Design! Check these out!