National Military Family Assn. - Government and You E-News April 29, 2008

1. Last Chance to Apply for Financial Counseling Fellowship! The Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education® (AFCPE®) in association with the National Military Family Association (NMFA) and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation is pleased to announce applications are being accepted for the Military Spouse Fellowship for the Accredited Financial Counselor Program. This program will provide up to 200 military spouses with the education necessary to enter the financial counseling career field.

The fellowship covers the costs associated with completing the Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) training and testing. Upon successful completion of the program and required practicum, the participant will be awarded the Accredited Financial Counselor designation from AFCPE.

Many employers, such as credit unions, financial aid offices, and community housing agencies, need well-trained, ethical and caring financial counselors to meet the increasing demand for financial counseling services. Military spouses can fill this need while building a rewarding career that is flexible to the demands of the military family. Application deadline is Friday, May 2nd at midnight EST. Apply now!

2. Sesame Workshop Launches Phase Two of Military Families Outreach: Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, today launched Talk, Listen, Connect: Deployments, Homecomings, Changes, the second phase of the Workshop's military outreach program launched initially in 2006. The initiative provides support and offers significant resources for military families with young children experiencing the effects of deployments, multiple deployments or when a parent returns home changed due to a combat related injury.

Talk, Listen, Connect: Deployments, Homecomings, Changes seeks to:

Reduce the level of anxiety children may experience during homecomings after multiple deployments
Help parents with ways to cope with multiple deployments;
Help young children gain an age-appropriate understanding of a parent's injury by including them and the entire family in the rehabilitation process;
Reassure children that they are loved and secure and that together with their families, they can learn new ways of being there for one another and having hope for the future.

The resources consist of a bilingual (English/Spanish) multimedia outreach kit with DVDs for children and adults starring the Muppets from Sesame Street, print materials for children, parents and caregivers and facilitators and American Greeting postcards featuring the beloved Sesame Street characters for parents and children to stay connected. Sesame Workshop will produce and distribute 500,000 kits at no cost to individual families, schools, child care programs, family support programs, hospitals and rehabilitation centers and other organizations serving the needs of military families with the help of Military OneSource (http://www.militaryonesource.com/), the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH), the USO (United Service Organizations), the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) and other partners. Special emphasis will be made to reach families of the Reserves and National Guard. The kit materials will also be available online at www.sesameworkshop.org/tlc where streaming video is being provided by the Department of Defense Military Community and Family Policy Program Support Group, so families everywhere can view the videos and download the information.

Sesame Workshop will assess the program's effectiveness with spouses of military personnel who have been injured or experienced multiple deployments, and have a young child. Sesame Workshop routinely conducts these assessments in order to focus future outreach programs more effectively.
(Source: http://www.sesameworkshop.org/aboutus/pressroom/presskits/tlc/press_release.php)

3. Smooth Moves for Military Families: Just in time for the summer PCS season, DoD has announced improvements to the Plan My Move website.

With military life comes MOVING. That is why MilitaryHOMEFRONT offers PlanMyMove, a powerful set of tools to help make your next move a smooth one. PlanMyMove provides access to the following features and more:

Customizable calendar
TO DO lists
Departure and Arrival checklists
Overseas specific information
Reliable resources focused on the community outside the gate
Installation Overviews
Information on moving with a family member who has special needs

For more information, visit: https://cs.mhf.dod.mil/content/dav/mhf/QOL-Library/MilitaryHOMEFRONT/243715.html

4. Make Room In Your Pantry: April is nearly over and that can only mean one thing…it’s time for Commissary Case Lot sales. Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) holds worldwide case lot sales twice a year in May and September. The September sale started in 2001 and proved so popular another was added in May. The biannual event offers shoppers an opportunity to buy bulk quantities of their favorite products at increased savings, such as canned goods, beverages, paper products, pet supplies, cleaning or laundry products, and in some cases, fresh chicken, pork, beef and produce.

Nearly all commissaries participate — though on different weekends throughout the month. To find out when your commissary is hosting a sale, check out the special case lot sale Web page. Some sales will take place the last weekend in May, spilling over to June 1. Customers who live in regions with multiple commissaries, such as Norfolk, Va., or San Antonio, can make maximum use of the DeCA Web site to hit more than one sale.

And while you're on the Website, be sure to check out all the features it has to offer: Ask the DeCA Dietitian; Kay's Kitchen; links to special manufacturer's coupons, sweepstakes and promotions; and the latest commissary news. If you're interested in having the news delivered to you by e-mail, it's as simple as registering for a free subscription to Commissary Connection.

So if you're a savvy shopper who likes to stock the pantry and save lots of money, too, do your homework and prepare for the worldwide case lot sale. When you're making out your shopping list, you might find "shop till you drop" is item No. 1. (Source: DeCA News Release 49-08)

5. National Volunteer Appreciation Week: In recognition of National Volunteer Appreciation Week, NMFA would like to thank all the military families who provide valuable volunteer services to their local communities. Without your hard work and dedication, many programs would cease to exist. From everyone at NMFA - THANK YOU!

6. Military Families Share Their Stories: ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, has just released a video, Young Children on the Homefront, in which military families share their unique deployment experiences and early childhood professionals offer tips and strategies for dealing with difficult issues such as grief and loss from deployment and the challenges that often arise upon reunification.

The video was made for military families, in appreciation and support of their service and commitment. Young Children on the Homefront can be viewed online at www.zerotothree.org/military under “What’s New”. For more information on ZERO TO THREE go to http://www.zerotothree.org/.

7. NFL Players Tackle SAT & ACT Test Prep: In cooperation with the Department of Defense (DoD), eKnowledge Corporation, a leading supplier of interactive test preparation products for college entrance exams, along with a group of NFL players, have donated more than $16 million worth of multimedia SAT/ACT Test preparation products to service members and their families worldwide.

Now in its fourth year, the eKnowledge/NFL player sponsorship effort has shipped more the 90,000 free SAT/ACT test preparation programs, valued at $200, to military service members and their families.

Those military families interested in receiving free eKnowledge products under this sponsorship can complete an online request form at http://eknowledge.com/military or visit http://militaryhomefront.dod.mil/ for more details. Copies can also be requested by phone at 951-256-4076, or via email at support@eknowledge.com.

8. National Infant Immunization Week: On Sunday, April 19th, The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) with events continuing through Saturday, April 26, 2008.

Parents, caregivers and health care providers will be reminded during NIIW of the benefits of vaccination and the importance of routine childhood vaccination. One focus will be encouraging parents to become informed medical consumers by talking to their healthcare providers and asking them questions about vaccines.

The number of cases of most vaccine-preventable diseases and deaths is at an all time low. Vaccination programs in the United States have contributed to the elimination of many vaccine-preventable diseases and have greatly reduced the incidence of most other vaccine-preventable diseases.

Although vaccines have drastically reduced vaccine-preventable diseases, they are still circulating in many parts of the world and the United States can see a return of these diseases if we don’t maintain high vaccine coverage levels. Diligent efforts are required to ensure our immunization programs remain strong to protect our children.

For more information visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines or call 1- 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636).
(Source: http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/2008/r080424.htm)