Money is tight everywhere and people are struggling to ensure their kids have opportunities and the families of our soldiers are no exception. Most of our National Guard serves part time until activated for deployment. These soldiers work full time jobs besides their one weekend a month, two weeks a year training obligations. However, like too many other Americans, some of these soldiers have lost their full-time jobs in the latest economic downturn.

There are laws to protect our servicemembers but it is possible that the frequent deployments and training commitments have made some of these soldiers first on the list to go at their workplaces.

Most families do not want their soldier to spend time away from the family but for some, active duty becomes the most economically safe option. Just imagine looking forward to a deployment just so your family has a steady paycheck!

There are a number of agencies and volunteer groups that try to fill in the gaps of the needs of our servicemembers and their families. For example, Operation Homefront’s Backpack Brigade supplies backpacks full of supplies to eligible military families every year.

Elmer’s selected me as a paid Bag It Forward ambassador and gave me a $100 gift card to Walmart to purchase school supplies for my daughter and for a family in need. I was thrilled to be able to donate the full amount to the back-to-school supply drive for the enlisted soldiers’ families in my husband’s National Guard unit. Some of the members of my local moms’ group chipped in with more backpacks and supplies, too.

After the video, find out about how you can Bag It Forward and earn a $10 donation for Adopt-A-Classroom. Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom to aid their mission to increase opportunity for student success by empowering teachers with community partners and funds to purchase resources for the classroom. You can help end teacher-funded classrooms with just a blog post or facebook note!

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Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom with your participation. Join now!

ELMER’S VIRTUAL BAG IT FORWARD RULES

• Copy and paste these rules into your blog post or facebook “note” (look on yourr left sidebar).
• In you blog post or facebook note, give a “virtual bag of school supplies” to other bloggers or facebook friends by linking to them or “tagging” them in your note.
• Link back to the person who gave you a bag of school supplies.
• Let each person you are giving a virtual bag of school supplies know you have given them a bag.
• Leave your link in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward comment section. You can also find the official rules of this virtual #bagitforward program there. (http://bagitforward.org/donate-a-bag/)
• Elmer’s is donating $10 for each blog participating in the Virtual Bag It Forward Donation to Adopt-A-Classroom (up to total of $10,000 for blog posts written by September 10, 2010).
• Please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.

My husband is a veteran of the war in Iraq.  He has served as an Active Duty Field Artillery officer and currently commands a National Guard Battery.  I am incredibly proud of him and all of those who have served with, before, and after him.  I am also so very grateful that he came home to us–to me and his infant daughter–and that he has had the opportunity to see her grow and to add our son to our family.

Some of our veterans have not returned home.  And some who have returned home are severely injured, with long paths to recovery.  Hospitalization and extensive therapy are trying under the best of circumstances.

During National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week (February 7-13), you can make a small token of your appreciation for these brave soldiers.  Valentines for Veterans can help boost morale and send the message that we are thinking of those who serve.

With my playgroup, I made some Valentines and I am bringing them to my nearest VA Hospital.

As part of a project with Bloganthropy, I am posting about this effort to earn a donation of clothing for Sew Much Comfort from Dollar Days.

Sew Much Comfort provides adaptive clothing at no cost to support the unique needs of our injured service members from all branches of the military and national guard. This clothing fits around medical devices and prosthetics and gives the service member and medical personnel ready access to injured areas. The adapted clothing allows injured service members to have their clothing appear the same as normal civilian attire; an attribute which helps facilitate a more natural and comfortable recovery. Without adaptive clothing the only option for the service member is a hospital gown.

Through the volunteer efforts of seamstresses and donations of money, clothing and fabric, Sew Much Comfort has been able to provide over 75,000 pieces of adaptive clothing and comfort.

How YOU can help:

• You can make Valentines for Veterans, too! Locate your nearest VA hospital and call to make sure they can accept your Valentines.  Canada also salutes its vets during this week and has some tips on making Valentines for Vets.
• Comment: Dollar Days will donate $50 retail value in clothing for this post, plus $50 more if I receive at least 10 comments.  The total donation will be well over $1000 worth of clothing.  So, please comment!  A list of other posts will be posted on Bloganthropy this week.
• Donate to Sew Much Comfort: Sew Much Comfort provides adaptive clothing free of charge to wounded veterans and is able to do so through generous donations and volunteer hours. Financial donations are always helpful and there is also a list of needed clothing and fabric.  Sew Much Comfort specifically would love to receive t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirt or sweat shirts with logos of local sports teams in any area of the United States (size large is most needed). The wounded soldiers love having sport themed clothing but it is hard to get unless you live in that state.
• Volunteer with Sew Much Comfort: Sew Much Comfort relies on its 1600+ volunteer seamstresses to make clothing for wounded soldiers–and they can always use another pair of hands. If you know your way around a sewing machine, find out more about volunteering here.

The organization will support the volunteer projects of our fellow bloggers, publish posts about social media and non-profits, and implement 6-12 Bloganthropy charitable projects a year.

We’re currently looking for volunteer bloggers to make Valentines for Veterans and help earn a donation of clothing for Sew Much Comfort.  Click here to read more details and volunteer!

And while you are there, please take the Bloganthropy Pledge–promising to use your social media influence to support your charitable causes!

Found via Cool Mom Picks (via Fairly Odd Mother), these military support groups will accept your candy for care packages for our troops:

• Any Soldier
• Operation Shoebox
• Operation Gratitude (you have to ship to California, first)

They also have some great children’s charities listed if you’d prefer to drop off your remaining candy locally.

Some local dentists are also hosting candy “buy back” programs, giving out stickers, toothbrushes, and even sometimes cash for the candy and then taking the boxes of sweets and donating them for you.