Military Monday

I would like to start posting new military information on Mondays, hence the title Military Monday! Catchy I think. Now I know not all of you are involved or affiliated with the military, but there are enough people out there who are and of course the military is near and dear to my heart so Military Mondays it is. Each Monday I hope to post a new resource or tidbit that can help service members and their families.

Operation Endure & Grow

The Operation Endure and Grow program is a new online training experience focused on the fundamentals of launching and/or growing a small business, offered by the Whitman School of Management in cooperation with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The 8-week training program is open to National Guard and reserve members as well as their family members.

The Structure of Endure and Grow:

The program will include two different tracks (start up and growth) and will offer training in the following:

- Core component parts required to develop a business or nonprofit organizational plan

- The interrelationship/interdependency of marketing, accounting/finance, operations/production, and human resources required to formulate a business plan for either a "for profit" business or a nonprofit organization.

- Develop and write an objective, cohesive, and integrated business or nonprofit plan.

- A number of analytical tools, methodologies, and frameworks useful in creating a great business plan.

- Presenting to prospective investors, lenders, or other financial backers of the proposed business or nonprofit organization.

I have checked out this site and they have great resources for individuals wanting to start their own business or those who have already started their own business venture. Their resources include items like business plans, legal information, magazines geared towards small business, tips, SBA information, small business organizations geared towards veterans and women, etc. Great great tools here.

This is another great resource for our National Guard and Reserve service members and families to utilize. I have met a lot of military families who run their own businesses and they are struggling right now with the economic whirlwind we are experiencing. I've no doubt this great course will be able to help them. It would be 8 weeks greatly invested. Cost is $75.00 and you don't have to have previous college credits. And if you don't have your own business, that's perfectly o.k. too! Sounds like a Win Win to me.

Know a service member or family member of a service member who has their own small business, pass this information on to them. Thanks and have a blessed day!

Get a Free Disney 1-Day Ticket in 2010

The Ultimate Do Good Item

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I have been putting up a "Do Good" item each day this month. Beginning January 1, 2010, when you sign up to volunteer one day of service at a participating organization and your service is completed and verified, you will get a 1-Day Pass to a Walt Disney World or Disneyland Theme Park.

The best thing is that you can sign up your whole family (the child must be at least 6 years old) and earn a free ticket for each member of your family. How sweet is that.

I am a volunteer and there is nothing better in this world than the feeling you get giving your time for someone else. It's the ultimate Do Good item.

Soooo, start planning your Disney vacation now and register here to get your free 1-Day Pass

A Moment To Remember

Had to stop by Wally-World aka Wal-Mart to get some food for the pooches. I really should be getting a statement in the mail soon telling me how the stock I must surely own by now is doing.

While there I remembered I needed Almond Extract for some more cookies I have to make tomorrow so I trucked off to that part of the store.

As I came down the isle I noticed a woman about my age standing there and her mother or Grandmother was pushing the basket and attempting to turn it around in the isle. The woman looked up at me and apologized and I told her not to worry to take her time. Her mother/grandmother got the basket turned and they walked past me and we all smiled at each other. I took about 5 steps and stopped and turned and said "service member". The woman my age turned and looked at me and said Yes?

I left my basket where it was and walked up to her and asked if she was serving. She said no, but she was retired Navy. She asked how I knew and I said your flag pin on your jacket. I told her my father served on the Midway and my step-son had been a medic and that my husband was in the Guard. She looked at her mother/grandmother and back at me and said "I worked on Torpedos." I looked at her and said "That makes you family." Her mother/grandmother was staring at me like I had lost my head so I explained that I just wanted to thank her for her service and to wish her a Happy Holiday and hadn't meant to take up their time. When I looked back at the woman she had a tear running down her face. Don't you know I wasn't on the hankie isle. We smiled at each other and she said thank you and I told her she was welcome and we both went on our way. And....yes I had tears running down my face the whole way down the isle.

Never take for granted the freedoms we have and the people in the past, present and future that protect those freedoms. And don't wait till a patriotic day to tell them Thank You.

Needless to say, today is a day that will stay in the memory banks forever.

Military Resources

Military Resources

I've added some great new resources for you today... The YMCA, Military One Source (truly a remarkable website of resources for today's military families), the Red Cross and Joint Services Support. If you are a military family looking for military resources, this site will be the place to visit. I have a couple hundred resources to add to this page so I will be adding new resources every couple of days. Hopefully these resources will be of benefit to you and your families.

All Military
Armed Services YMCA
Free Military Prints
Joint Services Support
Military One Source
Postal Service Free Military Care Kits
Red Cross

AER (Army Emergency Relief)

If you or your Army soldier has ever been Active Duty then you/they probably already know about the AER (Army Emergency Relief) group. But did you know it applies to National Guard soldiers as well. If you are a National Guard soldier who has been on active duty for 30 days or more, are on active duty for training (ADT) and certain section of Title 10, then you and your dependents qualify for Army Emergency Relief.

AER provides emergency fiancial assistance for things like rent, utilities, food, medical expenses, transportation, vehicle repair, etc. They offer interest free loans, grants if the loan would cause and undue hardship and part loan/part grant assistance.

It's a great resource to keep on your list for that unexpected financial disaster (we've all had them.) They have a very user friendly website. Go here to visit the site and I will add it to my Military Resources Page.

All Military.com

All Millitary.com is a website that offers benefits information in easy to understand, plain old English. You can get daily updates of the military news. There are various blogs and forums you can read and join. Have a particular military question or need a resource, there's the place to post your question. They have forums on money management, marriages, child care, etc. They cover just about everything.

They have sections on Deployment, Child Care, Wounded Warriors, information on Relocating, VA Benefits (complete with Benefits calculator) and the always important, but more often than not confusing....GI Bill. It's a very well developed site with loads of information provided by a team of writers.

Heres the link. http://www.allmilitary.com This is one to add to your military resource list. Of course if you lose it, it will be here under the Military Resources Page.