"Mom" groups forming to support military personnel
By NATHAN WRIGHT - Staff Writer
As the United States prepares for war, many local organizations are rallying to support both its troops and the people they left behind in the states who are in need.
The American Legion is giving out Blue Star Flags, a program that began in World War II. Families of soldiers are given flags with a blue star, and many hang them in their windows in recognition of their son or daughter.
"If they give us a call, we'll send them a banner," said American Legion member Jim Kubicka. The flags are free, and are available by calling Kubicka at 838-2020 or contacting any other American Legion member.
Members of the Healdsburg community are holding a rally in the Healdsburg Plaza on Thursday, March 20. The group will put up yellow ribbons downtown. It will be an excellent place for families of service men and women to meet.
Organizers are urging community members to bring ribbons, or to purchase them at a discount from Country Daisy Florist.
Dianna Murphy, a Healdsburg educator and a resident of Geyserville, will be at the rally. Murphy's son, Lance Corporal Ryan Alves, USMC, is a Healdsburg High School graduate. She said that Mike Archer, Phillip Miranda, Brian Plum and Kevin Clark, all HHS graduates, are also with her son.
Murphy recently joined Mothers of Military Servicemembers (MOMS), a local community group that meets once a week. "I feel a strong need to help in whatever way I can," she said. "I feel that the MOMS group is going to give me that outlet."
Joanne Abrao, another member of MOMS, found a great emptiness when her son was deployed to the middle east. "I was desperately needing something," she said. "I've never had feelings like this before."
Turning to her community, Joanne found Operation Mom, a Bay Area organization she can identify with. Started by two women with sons in the Marines, Operation Mom is a community of people with loved ones in the military.
With groups in Antioch, Castro Valley, Livermore, San Francisco, San Jose, Novato, Sacramento, and now Windsor, Abrao and Operation Mom is looking for people in Sonoma County in need of support to join its ranks. Although Abrao is from Windsor, she is welcoming all residents in and around Sonoma County who are interested in joining.
"It's main purpose is to be a support group," said Dotti Selmeczki, who co-founded Operation Mom in Antioch. "It's not about politics. None of us want our children over there."
With support being its primary objective, Operation Mom also has other activities. Once every two months, the group sends out "a little touch of home" in the form of care packages they mail directly to their sons and daughters. Each care package contains eight to 10 baggies full of snack food, which is shared around once it reaches the Middle East. The organization also includes an educational component, striving to teach the returning service men and women what benefits are available to members of the armed forces.
Operation Mom is being aided by the California Veterans Advocacy Groups, who is helping them attain non-profit status. In return for its help, Operation Mom has agreed to donate all food they are unable to send to the middle east to homeless veterans.
For those interested in joining, information can be obtained online at www.operationmom.org, or by calling 925-706-1736. There is no cost to join and care packages are sent directly to specific loved ones via the United States Post Office.
Click here to visit their website.
By NATHAN WRIGHT - Staff Writer
As the United States prepares for war, many local organizations are rallying to support both its troops and the people they left behind in the states who are in need.
The American Legion is giving out Blue Star Flags, a program that began in World War II. Families of soldiers are given flags with a blue star, and many hang them in their windows in recognition of their son or daughter.
"If they give us a call, we'll send them a banner," said American Legion member Jim Kubicka. The flags are free, and are available by calling Kubicka at 838-2020 or contacting any other American Legion member.
Members of the Healdsburg community are holding a rally in the Healdsburg Plaza on Thursday, March 20. The group will put up yellow ribbons downtown. It will be an excellent place for families of service men and women to meet.
Organizers are urging community members to bring ribbons, or to purchase them at a discount from Country Daisy Florist.
Dianna Murphy, a Healdsburg educator and a resident of Geyserville, will be at the rally. Murphy's son, Lance Corporal Ryan Alves, USMC, is a Healdsburg High School graduate. She said that Mike Archer, Phillip Miranda, Brian Plum and Kevin Clark, all HHS graduates, are also with her son.
Murphy recently joined Mothers of Military Servicemembers (MOMS), a local community group that meets once a week. "I feel a strong need to help in whatever way I can," she said. "I feel that the MOMS group is going to give me that outlet."
Joanne Abrao, another member of MOMS, found a great emptiness when her son was deployed to the middle east. "I was desperately needing something," she said. "I've never had feelings like this before."
Turning to her community, Joanne found Operation Mom, a Bay Area organization she can identify with. Started by two women with sons in the Marines, Operation Mom is a community of people with loved ones in the military.
With groups in Antioch, Castro Valley, Livermore, San Francisco, San Jose, Novato, Sacramento, and now Windsor, Abrao and Operation Mom is looking for people in Sonoma County in need of support to join its ranks. Although Abrao is from Windsor, she is welcoming all residents in and around Sonoma County who are interested in joining.
"It's main purpose is to be a support group," said Dotti Selmeczki, who co-founded Operation Mom in Antioch. "It's not about politics. None of us want our children over there."
With support being its primary objective, Operation Mom also has other activities. Once every two months, the group sends out "a little touch of home" in the form of care packages they mail directly to their sons and daughters. Each care package contains eight to 10 baggies full of snack food, which is shared around once it reaches the Middle East. The organization also includes an educational component, striving to teach the returning service men and women what benefits are available to members of the armed forces.
Operation Mom is being aided by the California Veterans Advocacy Groups, who is helping them attain non-profit status. In return for its help, Operation Mom has agreed to donate all food they are unable to send to the middle east to homeless veterans.
For those interested in joining, information can be obtained online at www.operationmom.org, or by calling 925-706-1736. There is no cost to join and care packages are sent directly to specific loved ones via the United States Post Office.
Click here to visit their website.