Reporter Eun Yang recently visited Dog Tag Bakery as part of News4’s “Saluting Our Veterans” special report.
Honoring Blue Star Neighbors
Tommy McFly reports on the 5th Anniversary Celebration of Blue Star Families.
Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Blue Star Families
I was deeply honored to be a co-chair of last night’s celebration of the 5th anniversary of Blue Star Families, the largest and fastest growing military family engagement organization in the nation. My fellow co-chair was Sheila Casey, Chairman of the BSF Board of Directors and Chief Operating Officer of The Hill. The event was emceed by Bob Woodruff, ABC News anchor and author of In an Instant.
The event gave special recognition to The Creative Coalition for its efforts to promote resilience and suicide prevention among the military community. CEO Robin Bronk and President and actor Tim Daly lead this coalition and we were honored to recognize their work. Last night’s event also put attention on First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative, and we recognized Mark Johnson, 2015 Blue Star Neighbor of the Year.
I was also proud to have apple pies from Dog Tag Bakery at the event for guests to enjoy! And there’s more good news: for every apple pie purchased at Dog Tag Bakery during March, 100% of the proceeds will benefit Blue Star Families. This is a great way to be a Blue Star Neighbor – share a Dog Tag Bakery apple pie for your neighborhood military family!
Since its inception in 2009, BSF has engaged tens of thousands of volunteers and served more than 1.5 million military family members annually, including wounded and transitioning service members and their loved ones. BSF has also activated more than 26 million hours of community service to build leaders within and strengthen the military community, and connected Americans with their military. The worldwide membership includes military spouses, children, parents, and friends, as well as service members, veterans and civilians.
BSF programs include Blue Star Museums, Operation Honor Corps, Caregivers Empowering Caregivers, Blue Star Careers, and Military Family Lifestyle Survey. These programs depend on the partnership of caring civilian organizations, institutions, and individuals.
Connie Milstein Honors CURE Supporter Haddad
In early December hundreds of guests gathered together at the Newseum to salute the scientific work of CURE. They also came to increase awareness and to give honor to Tammy Haddad as the recipient of the 2010 Friend of CURE Award.
Susan Axelrod is the Chairwoman and founder of CURE, Citizens United For Research in Epilepsy. Together with Connie Milstein, long-time CURE supporter, they co-hosted the event.
Books on Bases: Blue Star Families
Blue Star Families is an association working to support military families throughout the United States. Connie Milstein serves as their president. The members of the organization include military parents, spouses, children and families of all outlets of service.
Last year, Blue Star Families started a program called Books on Bases, Smiles on Faces. Over 10,000 books have been distributed to military base libraries, DOD Schools and military impacted public schools. Children with parents serving in all branches of the military were supported by these book donations. The program was launched in partnership with the Kids in Distressed Situations organization.