The day after America celebrated it’s 236th birthday, a friend of mine posted this addition to the “Call me Maybe” craze:
Now, this amazing woman works for the USO – an organization that also provides important services to our military. She describes her work as “creating a home away from home” by providing our troops with the opportunity to do “normal things, like play games, watch TV, talk to their families, or just have a simple conversation that has nothing to do with their deployment.” Her co-workers created this video as an unofficial piece of this work – they wanted to bring a little pop culture to a place that is almost completely devoid of it.
This may seem like a silly video that’s part of a world-wide phenomenon sparked by a tweet from Justin Bieber, but I like to think there’s something more to this story.
You see, providing service to the military is part of the founding history of the Red Cross. Clara B. herself was tending to the wounded and helping injured soldiers write letters home so families had some news about their loved one. Since then, the Red Cross has had volunteers working in a variety of capacities to help our military. Our Services to Armed Forces program is an extensive one, providing for both military members and their families. We provide emergency communications for families, help facilitate getting military members home when there’s a death or other family emergency, and offer the families who are left behind resources to help them cope with their service member’s deployment. We also hold a “Holiday Mail For Heroes” drive every year so that our service men and women – regardless of where they are in the world – can read a little holiday cheer from us here at home who are grateful for their service.
There are numerous organizations out there providing all kinds of services for our military members and their families – and that’s a wonderful thing! Together, we’re trying to do our best to provide for these men and women who have done so much for us.
So, the moral to this story is this: regardless of how it happens, it’s important for us to help our military in some way. If you would like to become part of the Red Cross’ Services to Armed Forces program, you can contact your local chapter for more information.
If you don’t have time to volunteer, simply thanking a service member for their service is a free and awesome way to show your thanks.