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Our Mission and History |
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The Blue Star Families is a non-partisan,
non-sectarian, non-profit and multi-racial support group. Our mission is the
following: Support fellow Blue Star members and their
friends and family members who are serving or who have served in the Armed
Forces of the United States of America Share educational information to benefit the
members and their families Support our military personnel through various
service activities Support Veteran Organizations, activities and
events Promote causes that will benefit military
personnel through a Military Advocacy Program To join the Blue Star Mothers of
America, click
here to fill out the online application. Our chapter designation is VA1. |
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The Blue Star Flag is the official
symbol authorized by the Department of Defense to designate a family member
serving in the Armed Forces of the United States. |
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Blue Star
Families of Central Virginia was formed in the early spring of 2003 as a
result of Operation Iraqi Freedom. One Army Ranger mom, Joanne Cochran, had
recently moved to Charlottesville, Virginia from California. Joanne was
familiar with a Blue Star Mothers organization in the Bay Area. Out of her
need for strength and support from other military families, she started
searching for military support groups and found none in our area. So, she
decided to start her own. A small group of five mothers gathered at a local restaurant
to plan and finance our fledgling organization. They wrote personal checks to
purchase items for our initial care package mailings. Since that
time, the group has steadily grown to over 50 families. Our membership
includes families with loved ones serving in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air
Force, Coast Guard, as well as civilians employed at the National Ground
Intelligence Center. We conduct monthly casual meetings with most of our time
devoted to sharing stories and information about our service members, their
work and taskings. We discuss what we have learned
about the military such as: What to
expect when your son/daughter graduates boot camp, Places to
stay when visiting military installations, How long you will get to see your
loved one, etc. Also, when
they are deployed, we share: What we have learned about sending packages,
When to expect a phone call, How to send mail, etc. On occasion we have guest
speakers addressing issues of concern. We learn so much and find tremendous
support and understanding from each other. |
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