News

Did you know?

• The Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger in l986 designated each April as “The Month of the Military Child”.
• The month’s purpose is to recognize the contribution that the military child makes as their parent or parents serve our nation.
• Purple is the color that symbolizes all branches of the military, as it is a combination of Army green, Marine red, and Coast Guard, Air Force, and Navy blue
• The Bossier community is home to over 2,000 military children ages 4-18
• The life of a military child is filled with unique challenges such as parent deployments and reintegration and frequent moves

How can you help?

• Offer special discounts throughout the month for military children – i.e., a restaurant could offer “Military Child Mondays”: Mondays in April all military children receive a free ice cream cone with their meal.
• Donate gift cards and other door prizes to be given out to military children throughout the month of April.
• Bossier Parish has designated April 2021 as our official local Purple Up Day.
• Display supportive statements such as “We Support Military Kids” or “Purple Up for Military Kids” on your business marquee.
• Encourage employees to “Purple Up” by having a casual day and wearing purple shirts during the month of April.
• Contact Kattie Hollay, Military Relations Liaison for the Bossier Chamber of Commerce, at 746-0252 or mrc@bossierchamber.com for more information or to offer your assistance during the Month of the Military Child.
• Contact Holly George, Supervisor of Special Programs at Bossier Parish Schools, at 549-6813 or holly.george@bossierschools.org to inquire about other ways you can support the military children of Northwest Louisiana.

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The first Military Spouse Day was May 23, 1984, declared through Proclamation 5184, and issued by President Ronald Regan.   Recognizing the profound importance of the spouse’s commitment to the readiness and well-being of military members, the United States President annually commemorates this day with a formal speech and proclamation.

National Military Spouse Appreciation Day is always the Friday before Mother’s Day.  On this important day, citizens of the United States acknowledge the significant contributions, support, and sacrifices of the Armed Forces spouses along with their tremendous strength and patriotism.

This year our Northwest Louisiana Military Support Foundation, partnered with Virginia College, will be showing our appreciation for our military spouses by giving them a day to relax at the spa. Virginia College will provide various spa treatments, and we would like to send them on their way with a gift bag.  These gift bags will have a variety of little treats to show appreciation to our military spouses for their sacrifices.  We would like to put together 100 gift bags and would like to extend the opportunity to show your appreciation as well.  Please let me know if you/your business would like to contribute a little something special for the spouse’s gift bags.

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The start of 2021 brings promise for one local nonprofit.

The Northwest Louisiana Military Support Foundation is planning to reach more areas of the community through fundraisers that will help provide support to military families. One way is being part of Give for Good day 2021, a 24-hour online giving challenge led by the Community Foundation of North Louisiana.

“We are building a solid foundation in order to grow so that we can serve our military families through coordinating community support within northwest Louisiana,” said Kattie Hollay, the military relations liaison for the Bossier Chamber of Commerce.

Initially founded in 2009 as Shreveport-Bossier Supports Barksdale or SB Squared, the Northwest Louisiana Military Support Foundation is a nonprofit organization that exists to coordinate the civilian community’s expression of support and gratitude for the collective sacrifices of currently serving active duty, reserve and guard military families within the northwest Louisiana community. The name change is significant, as it was a result of expanding the reach of this organization to serve all members of the military living and serving in the northwest Louisiana region.

Supporting those families is the number one goal. The foundation plans to support military units with their family days and partner with several other organizations that help support military families.

“We want to be a resource for our military families, a place they know they can reach out to for assistance,” Hollay said.

Recently, the foundation made a donation to the 328th Human Resource Command of the local Army Reserve Unit. The Foundation provided funds to assist the command in hosting a holiday party for their families.  Hollay said the command does not have funding to host families days so, in the past, the money came from individuals within the unit who would give monetarily to make the event happen. This donation was the first donation the command has received from a community organization.

The foundation makes it a point to work closely with partners throughout the community and has strong partnerships with The Warrior Network, Long Rangers, Bossier Parish School Board and Barksdale Officers’ Spouses’ Club as well as new partner PTSD/TBI Counseling Center, northwest Louisiana.

“The Bossier Chamber of Commerce is honored to have the Northwest Louisiana Military Support Foundation as a subsidiary of our business organization,” said Lisa Johnson, President/CEO of the Bossier Chamber of Commerce. “With Barksdale Air Force Base as the largest employer in northwest Louisiana, along with all other branches having a strong reserve presence here, it is fitting to ask individuals and the business community to support the families of those who support us.”

The Foundation is always seeking more partnerships and support from businesses as well as individuals who would like to get involved with our local military families.

For more information, contact Kattie Hollay at militarysupport@nwlamilitarysupport.org or to donate go to nwlamilitarysupport.org.

Amanda Simmons
amanda@bossierpress.com

http://bossierpress.com/nonprofit-helps-military-families/