Celebrate National Veterans and Military Families in the Month of November

Summary

* November has been designated National Veterans and Military Families Month!
* Military OneSource offers great resources to celebrate the month for service providers working with military families, as well as resources and fun things for military families and veterans.
* OneOp provides professional development for service providers related to military families.

By Sara Croymans

Every November, the Defense Department, and the military community celebrates military families and transitioning veterans during National Veterans and Military Families Month (NVMFM). President Biden states in his proclamation statement that: “during National Veterans and Military Families Month, we pay homage to the unrelenting bravery and dedication of all who wear the uniform and to the unwavering love and support of all who serve alongside them.”

 There are many military families to celebrate this month!

Of the 2,129,777 total military force members (active duty and reserve/guard component), 47.6% are married, and 37.6% have children. That represents 2,582,001 family members, including spouses, children, and adult dependents. The largest percentage of children are between birth and 5 years of age (37.2%), followed by 6 to 11 years of age (32.3%), and 12 to 18 years of age (24.1%), with fewer children between 19 and 22 years of age (6.4%; DoD, 2020).

Military OneSource offers a number of resources to help service providers as they celebrate and honor the military families they serve.   All of the resources are available in the Service Provider Toolkit on the Military OneSource website. The toolkit includes the following:

• A flyer promoting the month that highlights free giveaways and offerings, such as podcasts
• A ‘Share Your MilFam Story!’ flyer, which describes how military kids and military families can share what makes their family special. Those interested can create and submit artwork, photos, blogs, and more to Military OneSource to celebrate their families during NVMFM.  
• A fact sheet about National Veterans and Military Families Month, which provides information and easy access to the services and resources Military OneSource provides to military families during November and all year long.

As a military family service provider, you can invite military families and veterans to check out the military family and veteran appreciation page. This page offers access to individual giveaways for military families (such as doodle journals, pop-it toys, and wooden blossom kits), informative podcasts, helpful resources, and resources to celebrate and support veterans and military families.

Similar to Military OneSource, we here at OneOp, provide professional development geared specifically to you, the military family service provider!  As you dive into the Military OneSource resources provided above, consider checking out these additional resources to support you in your work with military families and veterans: 

• Webinars: 
  • Supporting Military Couples series
  • Family Systems Trends and Transitions: WhatThey Mean for Military Families
  • Focusing on Co-parenting: Strengthening Diverse Military Family Systems
• Blog Posts: 
  • Moving from Resilience to Thriving: Supporting Military-Connected Youth and Families 
  • The Military Family as a Cultural Identity – Supporting Families in Transition
  • Strengthening Military Families’ Resilience and Readiness in an Uncertain World

Call to Action: 

• Expand your National Veterans and Military Families Month resources by accessing Military OneSource’s   Service Provider Toolkit. 

• Invite the military families and veterans you work with to check out the military family and veteran appreciation page.
• Access OneOp’s professional development resources for service providers. 

References:

• Department of Defense. (2022). 2020 Demographics Profile of the Military Community. https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2020-demographics-report.pdf 

Sara Croymans joined the University of Minnesota Extension as an Extension educator in 1992, where she is committed to assisting individuals to develop critical life skills. She works with youth, adults, educators, and community agency staff on a variety of issues, including youth and money, decision-making, tenant education, learning styles, disaster financial recovery, and military family transitions. As an Accredited Financial Counselor through the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, Sara has extensive financial counseling experience with gamblers, as well as military service members and their families. Sara earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Minnesota. Sara is a proud military spouse and mother. She serves as the PI for OneOp Family Transitions Team.