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MarineParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share 
In This Issue
Deployment Learning Center
Homecoming Learning Center
Please Visit Our Sponsors
Questions about PTSD?
Marines Hold Prestigious Post Video
A Marine Mom Shares
Deployment Candles
Help Spread the Word
Over 1,100 Packages Sent!
Marine Calendars for 2010
$5 Off CafePress Coupon!
Support for You:
a Place to
Connect & Share™
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Center:
Operational Security
Operational Security

NOTE: When communicating online, your Marine's privacy is as important as Operational Security. Please respect YOUR Marine's privacy!

Learning Center:
About Deployment
 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Center:
About Homecoming
 
 
 
 
 
(Tip: While in our store, check in your Marine's unit store for more homecoming shirts!)
Unit Chat Nights
Unit Chat Night Schedule:
 
Monday: 1/3
Wednesday: 2/1, 3/4
Thursday: 1/5, 1/6
 
For additional information about the Chat Room and Unit Chat Nights for your Marine's Unit, please see:
           MarineParents.com Chat Gif 
Local Support Groups in Your Area
 
For a list of all support groups in our database or to find one in your area, see:
 
If you are interested in starting a local support group in your area, please visit the "Support Groups" section of our website:
Support Our Marines!
 
 
Purple Heart Hero Support™ an Outreach Program of Marine Parents.com
 
 
Show your support of our Marines and their families!Participate in one of the Marine Parents Outreach Programs today! Our Marines need YOU!
Marine Corps Spirit
T-shirts, Gifts & More
Show your Marine Corps spirit and pride!  Proceeds support Marine Parents.
 
 
 
 
 
Marines The Few The Proud
 
Visit Our Sponsors
Sign Up for the Newsletter 
Join Our Mailing List
January 14, 2010
Greetings Marine Families!
 
  If this is the first edition of the MarineParents.com Newsletter you have received, WELCOME! If you are a returning reader we are glad you have joined us.
 
  As we welcome the New Year, I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation for your continued use of Marine Parents services. You are responsible for another record growth in membership and services during 2009 and we look forward to continuing this relationship into 2010 and beyond.
 
  To date, over 800 volunteers have donated their time to make this possible. In 2009, our volunteers responded to over 250,000 support requests. The message boards have 130,000 registered members and our newsletter goes out to 27,000 readers. With your donations, we've sent more than 22,000 care packages to Marines in combat zones, sent 38,000 cards and letters to injured Marines, and served over 6000 meals to Purple Heart Families and Marines. 100% of donations are used for our outreach programs.
 
  The summer of 2009, our corporate office was required to move to a new location, and with the help of hundreds of individuals and almost $250,000 in donated materials and labor, we turned a 3400 square foot warehouse into a combination of warehouse and magnificent office space.  We run 18 different websites on 7 different servers. We have 8 full-time and 5 part-time staff. The best part is, we never use outreach donations to cover general operating costs; we generate the necessary income through sales at our online stores.
 
  On January 20th, we begin our 8th year of service and support. Our dedication to supporting the Marines, the Marine Corps, and the families of our Marines grows stronger with each year. We look forward to adding more services and programs through the years to further support the Marine Corps and Family Community. Thank you for your support and for working together to build a community to Connect & Share.
Have Questions about PTSD? 
Chat with Dr. Bridget Cantrell Tomorrow
 
Columnist Bridget CantrellDr. Cantrell will hold her monthly online chat Friday night, January 15th, from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (central time).
 
We invite you to join and connect with Dr. Bridget Cantrell, author and expert on homecomings, PTSD, and combat recovery. The chat will be held in the Marine Parents Chat Room; it is free and open to the public.
 
Read and Ask
 
Author Dr. Bridget Cantrell, Expert on PTSD and Combat RecoveryHave you ever read a book and thought of questions you'd like to ask the author?

Dr. Cantrell makes it simple for you to do just that. All three of her books are available for sale at The EGA Store and she holds her online chat monthly.

Order your copy today, start reading and when you think of questions, join Dr. Cantrell's next online chat to get the answer straight from the author!

Take advantage of this unique opportunity to access an expert!
On Guard at the White House 
Marines Hold Prestigious Post  
 
On Guard at the White HouseOne Marine explains how it's surreal to see the President sitting at his desk working and to open the door for people you see on the news everyday.

Watch the video today for an inside look into the White House - a place where Marines show off their professionalism - and to learn about one of so many capacities in which Marines serve.
 
Parents of the deployed are at war, too - A Marine Mom Shares
Family and Friends Spotlight
 
Marine Mom SharesMarine mom and guest columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Cheryl, shares her experience in a piece titled, "Parents of the deployed are at war, too."

Cheryl describes a day in the life of a parent of a deployed Marine and she is successful in painting a clear picture of the emotions experienced when a loved one is deployed.

"... a typical day began with a slightly sick, anxious feeling. Thoughts fired as rapidly as the machine gun our son might have used while we slept during his day half-way around the world."

For fellow Marine parents, this piece will hit home. For others, our hope is that Cheryl's depiction will provide a source through which a small sense of understanding and empathy may be realized.

Use the link below to read the full column and be sure to share it with others as well.
 
Deployment Candles
Brought to you by MarineParents.com
 
Deployment Candles: New at The EGA Store These hand-poured candles are proudly made in the USA. 

The lid of our tin candle features the Americana Flag and the text reads: "Deployment Candle, Flames of Hope. May God's arms surround you and bring you home safely!" 

The tins have a cute country label on the top to show your support and are scented with the most popular "Apple and Spice" to fill your home with the aroma of American pride and support for your Marine!

Take a look at our Deployment Candles today and, as always, thank YOU for shopping with us! We are sincerely grateful for your support. 
 
Each time you purchase merchandise from Marine Parents, proceeds from your purchase support our outreach services and programs.

Marine Parents Outreach Programs

Help Spread the Word
New Website Honors Women Marines  
 
Where The Difference Begins, Honoring Women MarinesDid you know...?
 
Opha Mae Johnson enlisted and became the first official woman Marine in 1918.
 
Although women Marines account for only 6.4% of the total active duty strength, they play an integral role in the defense of our country.
 
Each year, approximately 2,400 women accept the challenge and eagerly take their place on the yellow footprints.

www.WhereThe DifferenceBegins.com is a brand new website launched on 1 January 2010! Where The Difference Begins honors, inspires, and empowers past, present and future women Marines.

We're so excited to help spread the word about this website and we agree with Tammie -one of the four founders - who writes us:

"You can sense how strongly we feel about this much needed and certainly deserved website that pays tribute to women Marines."
Over 1,100 Packages Sent!
A Heartfelt Thank You to All Involved
 
January 9th, 2010 Packing Day for The Care Package ProjectWe held our first packing day of 2010 on Saturday, January 9th, and we're thrilled to report it was a HUGE success!

The building was packed and the parking lot was overflowing. Over 140 volunteers - a Care Package Project™ record! - braved the cold to be here on Saturday.

We'd like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our Care Package Project™ volunteers, donators, fundraisers, and drive coordinators - an extensive list of folks to say the least.
 
We achieve astonishing results when we work together toward a common goal and worthy cause: Supporting our Marines!
 
Is your Marine deployed? Have you requested a care package be sent to your Marine through The Care Package Project™?
 
Happy New Year!
Put Your Pride on Display... All Year 

Marine Calendars for 2010!

2010 is here but it's not too late to get YOUR Marine Calendar for the new year!

Each month displays the Eagle, Globe and Anchor, an amazing Marine Corps photo, and a captain describing the content of the image.

No Marine Corps household should be without a Marine calendar, but don't forget about your office either! 
 
Support Our Troops: Wear Red on Friday
Wear Red on Friday
 
Join the "Wear Red Friday" campaign to show your support of our troops!  We've opened up a brand new line in our online store--you get the quality and service you've come to expect, and you can help encourage those in your community to "Support Our Troops: Wear Red on Friday!"  We've got yard signs and red t-shirts for every family member and everyone in your office! Check it out today:
 
 
 
We've added a new design. Red shirts with white letters on the front:
"Red Friday...it's a military thing"
 
Remember, all proceeds from sale of products in our stores go to support the organization MarineParents.com, Inc. and our outreach projects. MarineParents.com is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) Public Charity.

We hope this week's edition of our email newsletter has been useful for you and your family. If there are topics you would like us to address, or if you have other suggestions for the newsletter, please contact us.

The banner used at the top of this newsletter is a January, 2010 USMC Photo by Lance Cpl. James W. Clark of a designated marksman sighting in at targets in the distance during a training exercise at Camp Dwyer, Afghanistan. Click here to read additional credits. 
 
MarineParents.com, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity. MarineParents.com, Inc. was founded in January, 2003 in response to parents' needs to find information and to have a Place to Connect & Share™ with one another during deployments. Our free online services and connections have expanded to support and educate Marine moms & dads, spouses, families and friends and we'll be offering our 6th Conference in New Orleans in April, 2010. We've helped over 40,000 Marine and recruit families during bootcamp, training, active duty and deployments. We've shipped thousands of care packages overseas to our Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, sent thousands of prayers and letters to injured Marines and served hundreds of lunches to families caring for their Marines at Bethesda Hospital. You've found a Place to Connect & Share™. 
God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
 

Tracy Della Vecchia
Founder and Executive Director
MarineParents.com, Inc.
 
Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this service.
Cammo Marines
 $5 Off 
Coupon!
Receive $5 off any order of $75 or more. Enter coupon code FCPMAR1
 
Offer good through February 28, 2010.
 
At Marine Parents CafePress Stores!
 
NOTE: All proceeds are used in support of MarineParents.com, Inc., an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity.

Thank You for supporting Marines and their families by shopping Marine Parents.