By the Numbers: Supporting the Military Community

The holidays are upon us ... and there are US military members and families spread throughout the US and the world. My family of five will be separated this year as my husband serves our US Army in the Iraqi Theatre. This Christmas will not be the same as those in the past. But I realize it isn't just my family.

The nature of the military requires countless moves across the country and separation from loved ones. From the adults who miss their moms, dads, siblings, nieces & nephews to the children who over the holidays.

It isn't always feasible for cash-strapped newlyweds stationed in California to get home to Virginia in December. An 18 year-old soldier might not get leave approved to travel from Texas to Idaho and won't be home for the first time this Christmas. A spouse stationed in Maryland, with a husband in Iraq wouldn't think of travelling with her three-children back to her old stomping grounds in New Mexico, even though it means she won't be with her own family as everyone gathers for a New Years celebration.

You get the picture? There are all kinds of situations; all kinds of loved ones missing their family in December. Reach out to the community this December. Adopt a service-member, and their family if they have one. Host a celebration. Let the military-community know that you care for them.

Active Duty Military Family Status*

Some Ideas to Support your Military Community this holiday season

• 40% of our service-members are single. It is possible they will be spending Christmas in their dorm. Can you invite a group over for dinner with a small token-present to give?
• 42% of our service-members have a family and may be financially burdened to provide for them. Do you know of a local Santa Clause that can help them out?
• 16% are married but with no children. This Christmas they might really be missing the hustle and bustle of their childhood home. Consider hosting a relaxed couples-night out for your military community; or present gift cards for a night out for two to dinner.
  
  * Source: 2005 Demographics Report

- Leanne and the MilitaryAvenue.com Team

Happy Veterans Day!

Today is a special day for our Veterans and their families. To thank and recognize these deserving men and women for their sacrifices is a critical mission for our nation. We can not forget them after they have served us so well. One great program you should consider supporting on this day of recognition is the Wounded Warrior program.

The service medical systems and the Veteran Affairs folks do a great job in most cases but they need help. The support for our injured men and women needs to be long term and caring! Community and local support is critical to this effort. The Wounded Warrior program's mission is to:

• To raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women,
• To help severely injured service members aid and assist each other, and
• To provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of severely injured service members.

Wounded Warrior information can be found at their website located at Wounded Warrior Project. The site has sections on how to be a sponsor, volunteering and other ways to get involved! If you want to expand your support and participation in a program that cares about and supports the troops year round, give them a shout!

Thank you for caring! The Team at MilitaryAvenue!

Staying up to date

One of the reasons MilitaryAvenue.com was created was to help our military families navigate the new-community around them as they search for new businesses to invest in and find companies they are comfortable with. There is a sea of information out there and it can be quite frustrating to look for an area business only to meet dead-ends: invalid email addresses, disconnected phones, business-fronts with a 'For Lease' sign in the window.

As a Military Partner, please, insure that you keep your account up to date. If your email address changes, please log-in and keep it up to date! MilitaryAvenue.com never sells or leases your information. However, if we try several times to contact you and hit our own dead-end we will set your ad to 'Incomplete'. There is no reason to keep our very important military-community searching blindly for area businesses. Let us give them the tools and the information they need to make the right decisions while they navigate the information highway for businesses in their neighborhood!

- The MilitaryAvenue.com Team

Military Family Appreciation Month is Here!

November is Military Family Appreciation Month! We are already five days into the month and it is certainly a busy month! However, we would be remiss in not noting this month aimed at supporting the families of our service personnel! Let's take the time to recognize their dedication to our great nation and say a big thank you!

How about changing your MilitaryReward to add an opening line, "Thank you to our Military Families during November"!? We know they would appreciate the gesture and your market appeal and reach will be expanded as well. You will be seen as a business that is aware of military issues and that will bring folks through your front door. Your ad and Reward can be edited at any time! New Rewards get picked up and seen more frequently in Our Newest Partners rotating highlights! Just go to the green Business Partner Log In and proceed to the Current Listings section. Click on the red edit button and make your changes/updates including your new comment on the MilitaryReward! Then go to checkout and submit your update.

If you know a military family is visiting your business say a simple thank you and you will get a repeat customer and friend too!

Col K's Corner "Why did I vote?" or Getting to Know Your Military Community

On this election day I had to write about voting and the military community. Why? I think it helps define the military culture and how you can target your marketing to them.

The military lifestyle can make it hard to get to the polls! New states, new polling locations, no notice deployments/TDYs and other issues can make it hard to find a way to be a successful voter! Finding information on local issues from long distance is also tough. Sometimes states make it hard during overseas assignments by requiring applications for absentee ballots in a short timeframe so you can't get the ballot in time for filing it. Some have made changes to that process after military personnel were short changed of this opportunity in the past.

Pride in voting is one part of the military culture but what makes a military member and their family (if they are married and 60% are) tick? Why do they go to such effort to vote? Military families take pride in their work, most enjoy the military lifestyle and they realize how important the duties of a citizen are because they are frequently personally affected by this process. In fact, I would say that they are probably the group of citizens most affected by the vote outcome at the federal level.

Decisions on military budgets, social programs, medical programs and military pay issues are controlled in DC by congress and the President. Recently these programs have been very favorable as they should have been during a time of war. Military families are seeing long separations but also more pay and benefits too! Combat zones create tax exclusion advantages, dislocation allowances, combat pay and other benefits. In addition, the federal government and the individual services' efforts to support spouse employment are increasing. The military family now has more resources, a steady income and discretionary spending has improved significantly.

So as a Military Avenue Partner you have opportunities to target your marketing with this group of patriotic citizens. Show you are a military friendly business with posters, signs, stickers, special discounts and they will respond! Remember that pride I mentioned earlier in their work and culture? Show your pride in them too! They will respond.

Share Your Holiday Traditions with our military families

November is here! There is a chill in the air, the leaves have changed into a menagerie of colors and the first word that comes to mind for me is "Traditions". Our November military-family newsletter will be published November 24th just in time for Thanksgiving.

What are your favorite Holiday Traditions? What are some traditions that are local to your area that might be new for an area military-family? What are some traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation? Send them our way and we will compile into a great resource for all of our Military Families. If we use your tradition we will include your name, business name and your local military-installation in our article.

Do you have a simple tradition to share? Please do tell! We would love articles from our MilitaryAvenue.com partners and our Military Members (that includes the family). Send any submissions to: leanne@militaryavenue.com, or leave as a comment on our blog.

I look forward to hearing from you!

- Leanne from MilitaryAvenue.com