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May
08

Blue Star Families Distributes Outstanding Military Spouse Certificates

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For many years, Connie Milstein has been guided by the principal of giving back to the country that has given her so much; she is a huge supporter of military service and an advocate of support for military families. She has served on the Board of Directors for Blue Star Families in recent years.

As part of the Blue Star Families project Operation Appreciation, BSF will distribute Outstanding Military Spouse certificates in honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day, recognized on May 6, throughout the month. The spouses of active military members often go without recognition, despite their support for the armed services and their dedication to family when a loved one is serving overseas.

“As part of Operation Appreciation, we are always looking for simple ways to say thanks to our service members and military families,” said Operation Appreciation Project Manager Meghan Wieten-Scott. “Because Military Spouses Day is celebrated in May, we thought it would be great to provide a simple, tangible way to tank military spouses for their endless dedication to their families and the mission of our military throughout the month.”

Blue Star Families encourages individuals to request an Outstanding Military Spouse Certificate by visiting their website. Certificates can also be requested for larger groups like businesses, unit spouses and family readiness groups.

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Apr
04

Blue Star Families Launches MilKidz Club

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Last month, Blue Star Families launched a brand new project to help and support children in military families. For the 1.8 million American children who have at least one parent in the military, growing up can be especially stressful. Military families are often required to move around the world, enroll children in different schools and make arrangements for extended deployments. The Blue Star Families MilKidz Club aims to help ease these sorts of transitions for military children.

The goal of the MilKidz club is to connect military kids, regardless of rank, branch of service or military installation and give them necessary resources, mentoring and opportunities to become leaders in their new communities. The club is built on three main components: service and volunteer opportunities, community and civic engagement activities, and patriotic and social events.

“Our military children face many challenges right now,” said the Executive Director of Blue Star Families Mark Smith. “Between moves, school and deployments, military kids really need a chance to get outside, play and explore.”

Connie Milstein has a long-standing interest in the well-being of military veterans, family and children. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Blue Star Families.

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Feb
28

Books on Bases Receives Target Early Childhood Reading Grant

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In September of 2009 Blue Star Families (for which Connie Milstein serves as a member of the Board of Directors) and K.I.D.S launched the National Books on Bases, Smiles on Faces program at an event held at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C. The program works to collect and distribute books to military children and to schools and libraries across the country that are affected and involved in the military community.

This week, BSF’s Books on Bases received an Early Childhood Reading Grant from Target that will help the program meet its goal for 2012. By the end of this year, Books on Bases hopes to provide 100,000 books to military children to increase literacy, foster a love of reading and encourage families to read together. This grant will help Blue Star Families purchase books for events to be held later this year at USMC Base Camp Lejeune, Fort Bragg, USMC Base Camp Pendleton, Naval Station Great Lakes, Fort Hood and Fort Sam Houston as well as for local events at military installations worldwide.

Connie Milstein has been a Director for Blue Star Families for several years. She has a long-standing interest in veterans and empowerment as a means to bettering people’s lives and uses her success in business and philanthropy to address her concern for military families.

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Jan
24

Aspiring Musician Donates Portion of Proceeds to CURE

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Aspiring singer Scott Mannis, who suffers from a rare form of epilepsy, is donating a portion of proceeds for his first album to the Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, which he has worked with before as the organization works to find a cure for the debilitating disorder. Constance Milstein serves on the CURE Board of Directors and is committed not only to finding a cure for the disease but erasing the stigma of epilepsy.

When Mannis was 17 years old, he began having spells during which he would lose feeling on the left side of his body. It was not until he was 20 years old that doctors diagnosed him with a rare type of epilepsy whose symptoms can be minimized, but for which there is no cure. Soon after, Mannis discovered a link between music and his disease.

“By 2008, the seizures got bad enough that I wasn’t able to walk without falling,” he said in an interview with Billboard. “The only time I didn’t have them was when I was singing.”

Susan Collins, a music industry veteran, was introduced to Mannis through a friend of his mother. After hearing a few of the young musician’s tracks, she signed on as Mannis’ vocal coach a mentor. In 2009 she took Mannis into the studio of Art Labriola, a Grammy Award-winning producer, to record a demo. Over the next two years, the trio continued to work together (while Mannis attended classes at Columbia University) and eventually realized they had enough recorded for a full album. The album was released Dec. 20 and Mannis has already donated $500 raised during the album release party to CURE and plans to continue to donate as he sells more albums and performs at various benefits. The album is available for purchase on iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby.

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Dec
22

Ford’s Theatre Society Announces Opening of Center for Education and Leadership

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The new Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership will open in February 2012, according to a recent announcement by the director of the Ford’s Theatre Society, Paul R. Tetreault. Constance Milstein serves on the theatre’s Board of Trustees.

To celebrate the Center’s opening, the Ford’s Theatre Society will host a series of events honoring Abraham Lincoln’s legacy and leadership, including the world premiere of Necessary Sacrifices, a newly-commissioned play about Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln; two free public open houses featuring tours, author discussion and performances of the Soceity’s Tales of the Lincoln, One Destiny and Papa Day; and more.

The Center for Education and Leadership is located directly across the street from Ford’s Theatre and was acquired by the Ford’s Theatre Society in 2007. Renovations began in July 2010 and will be completed for the February opening. The building houses two floors of permanent exhibits; a Leadership Gallery for rotating exhibits; education studios to be used for workshops, after-school programs and teacher development; and a state-of-the-art distance-learning lab.

“With the addition of the Center for Education and Leadership,” Tetreault said, “learners of all ages can delve deeper into our compelling American history through new exhibits, engaging videos and creative programming offered by the Ford’s Theatre Society Education Department. We are thrilled to usher in this new chapter in the history of Ford’s Theatre and to showcase how Lincoln’s leadership and legacy resonates in our world today.”

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Nov
15

Blue Star Families Supports Military Through Veterans Day Outreach, Annual Survey

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November is a big month for military families and organizations like Blue Star Families, which Connie Milstein serves as a Board Director. On Veterans Day especially, many groups and nonprofits plan events or outreach programs to assist veterans and military families. This year, with the support of Bank of America, Habitat for Humanity of Washington, DC, Blue Star Families partnered with ServiceNation to host a service project in the northeast quadrant of the district. General Stanley McChrystal joined 50 volunteers from Blue Star Families and Bank of America to help build four Habitat for Humanity homes in the low-income neighborhood of Ivy City.

“It’s wonderful to watch the country coming together in honor of Veterans Day,” said Mark Smith, Executive Director of Blue Star Families. “I can’t think of a better way to thank our veterans and military families for their service than to honor them by serving in our communities.”

On a broader scale, Facebook participated in several events and even created a new app to honor U.S. veterans. Named the “A Nation Gives Thanks,” the app gives Facebook users an opportunity to thank active service members, veterans and their families for their service to the United States. Facebook created the app to focus on personal connections, making it easier for people to send messages to their friends and family members who are part of the military community. Blue Star Families both supported and endorsed this app, along with the USO, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the American GI Forum, Disabled Veterans, CNN.com, HLN, BranchOut and Military.com. Facebook and BSF also partnered to create a comprehensive guide on how troops and military families can use social media to stay connected.

Throughout the month of November, Blue Star Families is conducting its annual survey of military families, service members and veterans. The survey is designed to expose the truth of what it’s like to maintain home, family, careers and healthy relationships when living with the military absence of a family member.  Last year’s survey showed that military families experience a higher-than-normal level of stress, but tend to cope well. Families reported that they experience more support from civilian neighbors than they did in 2009, but 92 percent reported that the general public didn’t understand or appreciate their challenges as military families. The survey runs through November 30.

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Oct
14

HDI Projects in Sri Lanka Have Lasting Impact

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Following the tsunami that ravaged India and Sri Lanka in 2004, the Humpty Dumpty Institute, which was co-founded by Connie Milstein, Ralph Cwerman, William Rouhana Jr. and Michael Sonnenfeldt, began several programs in the area that continue to help the area’s inhabitants today.

In 2009, the HDI received funding from the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China and was able to start a series of health education and medical care programs that assisted 10,000 women and children living in 14 remote villages. These programs were very important to the people in the Batticaloa and Jaffna districts of Sri Lanka as recovery and rebuilding efforts normally took precedence over healthcare and education.

To best help the residents of these regions, the HDI relied on its signature holistic approach to development and built two permanent medical clinics that would support 36 mobile medical units. Held at the permanent medical centers were training sessions focusing on vaccinations against disease, psychological treatment for post-tsunami stress disorder, pre- and post-natal health and much more.

“We greatly value our humanitarian work done in Sri Lanka which has impacted the lives of those caught in the tsunami,” said Cwerman, co-founder and current president of HDI. “The many programs that we have carried out have offered these communities and its people a chance to better lifestyles and life changes for their futures.”

Since its start, there have been 4,694 visits to the mobile medical clinics and ear, nose and throat clinics. Sixty-seven health training sessions have been held in six villages and have been attended by 4,380 individuals. HDI has also overseen literacy programs, built wells and water catchment systems, constructed latrines for local schools, provided playground equipment and delivered educational materials to schools.

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Sep
06

Blue Star Families Helps California Families Return to School

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It’s fall again and Blue Star Families is working to ensure that military families are ready to head back to school. The non-profit organization, where Connie Milstein is on the Board of Directors, oversaw the distribution of free school supplies to military families in the Murrieta (California) Unified School District last week.

Students in military families can require special needs or attention when attending off-base schools, especially when dealing with enrollment, attendance and graduation requirements. In Murrieta, Blue Star Families works with the school district and officials at the Camp Pendleton base to confront these issues that can arise during the school year.

The director of the local chapter of Blue Star Families is no stranger to these problems. Reyna is married to a Marine and has weathered 16 deployments while raising her children. She has become an advocate for the increasing military population in the area because of her experience as a military spouse. The local high school, Murrieta Mesa, recently created a Military Liaison position to help support and counsel military families.

Reyna, who gets several calls a week from military families that are new to the area, says she often hears frustration from families that can’t find support in the school system.

“Their children are in a new school. They just left their old friends and now have no friends. Their mom or dad may be deployed or soon will be deploying. All these events affect a child’s ability to learn,” Reyna said. “Military families can help by speaking up and letting the schools know they are there even if they are only going to be stationed here for a short time.”

Blue Star Families is a national non-profit organization founded in 2008 that currently has chapters on 70 military bases and National Guard sites around the United States. The group works to raise awareness about the challenges affecting military families in schools, communities and the government.

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Aug
02

Blue Star Families Celebrates 1500th Museum

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Blue Star Museums, a national partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, brought its number of participating museums to 1,500 on Friday, July 29. The Sheridan County Museum in Sheridan, Wyoming, was the 1,500th museum to join the program. The Blue Star Museums partnership offers free museum admission to active duty military members and their families between Memorial Day and Labor Day of this year. Since its launch in May, the program has grown from 1,300 participating museums to 1,500.

Connie Milstein, a member of the Blue Star Families Board of Directors and a philanthropist active in both New York City and Washington, DC, has dedicated herself to helping not only military families but expanding access to the arts and sciences to everyone. In 2007, Connie launched the Collegiate Seminar Program, an exclusive program for NYU freshmen entering the College of Arts and Science. The faculty leading the Collegiate Seminar Program not only educates the university’s youngest minds but serve as mentors to the students throughout their time as undergraduates. Connie was presented with the College of Arts and Science Distinguished Service award in 2009 by the school.

Connie currently resides in Washington, DC, where there are nearly 30 museums participating in the Blue Star Museums program, including the Smithsonian Museums, the National Zoological Park, the Phillips Collection, the Woodrow Wilson House and more.

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Jun
21

Blue Star Families Partners with the Military Channel to Promote Suicide Prevention

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Connie Milstein serves Blue Star Families as a member of the Board of Directors. She was drawn to the organization by her concern for military families and she continues to support veterans and means of empowerment as a way to better people’s lives.

This week, in a partnership with Blue Star Families and The Creative Coalition, Discovery Communication’s Military Channel will begin airing a series of PSAs promoting a toll-free suicide prevention help line. With support from the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) and Health Net, Inc. the PSAs will be directed by actor and President of The Creative Coalition Tim Daly and will feature a multitude of celebrities and actors. Football star Terell Owens, “Private Practice” actor Taye Diggs, Academy Award-winner Melissa Leo, Cher and others will lend their star power to the series of PSAs.

The PSAs will air on the Lifetime network’s mylifetime.com, MakingOf.com and Elle.com beginning this month, in addition to the Military Channel. They will also appear on taxi cab screens in Boston, Chicago, Miami and New York City.

Each year, about 20 percent of the 30,000 to 32,000 U.S. deaths from suicide are attributed to veterans, according to national statistics. Suicides among military family members are also increasing.

Kathy Roth-Dougeuet, Blue Star Families Chief Executive Officer, thanked the Military Channel for their assistance in reaching out to military members, families and veterans. She added, “while our military families are resilient, we want them to know that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.”

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