Top 5 Ways to Support Military Families During Military Family Month
Every November, since the initial declaration in 1996, we observe Military Family Month. This is a time to show our appreciation for military families’ sacrifices–like having to separate from their loved ones and adjusting to new (and often drastically different) living conditions. During this month-long celebration, it’s our duty to provide military families with love and encouragement, thanking them for their courage, strength, and dedication.
This Military Family Month, ed2go remembers our obligation to serve military families as they served us by highlighting the different ways you can support them.
Ways You Can Support During Military Family Month
Whether you want to give individual support or support military families as an organization, you have plenty of options. And it goes beyond publicly thanking them on social media. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:
1: Donate to relevant charities
If you can show your support in the form of a monetary donation, donating to relevant charities is a great way to honor military families. There are plenty of non-profit organizations that are dedicated to helping military families. The National Military Family Association, for starters, has a comprehensive program for military family support and accepts donations.
There are several other organizations that you can support, including:
- Semper Fi Fund, which provides aid to combat wounded service members
- Fisher House Foundation, which helps military families save on lodging costs
- Angels of America’s Fallen, which focuses on guiding children of fallen service members through activities and positive programs
2: Perform random acts of kindness
Whether it’s shoveling the driveway for a military family or picking up their tab at a restaurant, random acts of kindness are another great way to show your appreciation this Military Family Month. The best part is that these acts don’t have to be particularly grand or cost a lot of money, which makes them doable for everyone.
Here are a few more ideas for a random act of kindness:
- Pay for their groceries if you see a military family at the checkout line
- Offer to babysit for military families with smaller kids
- Volunteer your time to help them with small jobs around the house
3: Create job opportunities
For organizations and small businesses, there’s no better way to honor military families than creating job opportunities for military spouses. Despite all of their sacrifices, military families still have to deal with many lifestyle stressors. The state of employment among military spouses is a significant contributor to that stress, as underemployment and unemployment can create financial issues.
According to a 2020 survey from Blue Star Families, military spouse employment is the top concern among service members and their spouses alike. Deloitte also reports that 24% of military spouses experience unemployment while 31-51% experience underemployment.
So what better way for businesses to honor military families than by addressing their top concern? This Military Family Month, see if you can create military spouse jobs to generate more employment opportunities and relieve their financial stress. Or, if you have any job openings, make sure to consider military spouses as well and advertise that they’re welcome to apply.
4: Offer workplace flexibility
If you already have military spouses working for you, this is the perfect time to reassess their current working situation and their workplace satisfaction. Do they have unique needs that are unmet? Are there any ways you could help to improve their work-life balance?
According to the Blue Star Families survey from above, work schedule flexibility was one of the top necessities to maintain a good work-life balance for military spouses. Employers can show their support for military families by allowing remote work or shifting hours to better accommodate the needs of military spouses.
5: Provide opportunities to pursue their academic goals
Imagine trying to balance a family as you pursue your academic goals and strengthen your career opportunities–all while your spouse is away on active duty. Between a busy schedule and moving between stations, many military spouses may have a hard time getting the education or career training they need for gainful employment.
As a result, they may face difficulties pursuing the job opportunities available because they’re unable to meet the academic or certification requirements. Fortunately, there are now military spouse benefits available to solve this problem, such as the MyCAA scholarship program and flexible online courses from ed2go.
What is MyCAA, and how can military spouses pursue their academic goals with ed2go?
MyCAA stands for My Career Advancement Account–a scholarship program that’s available for spouses of military members on active duty. Under this program, eligible military spouses can get up to $4,000 in funding so they can get the career training and certifications they need to advance their careers.
With a commitment to supporting military spouses and empowering lives online, we offer online courses to pursue your academic goals from anywhere and at your own pace. This makes it a lot easier to get the training and certifications you need, even with a busy schedule and a constant need to move between bases.
At ed2go, we partner with top MyCAA-approved colleges and universities across the country. Our enrollment advisors will walk you through the process of getting your MyCAA military spouse benefits in addition to helping you find a course that best fits your unique goals and interests.
We empower you to make the career advancement you need with personalized support and flexible online courses that will move with you anywhere you go. If you’re a military spouse or know someone who could benefit from this program, learn more about getting MyCAA funding.
How we can all continue to support military families
Supporting military families, this Military Family Month can be something as simple as writing a “Thank You” note. Or for organizations, it can be as elaborate as providing flexible work schedules and other programs to support military spouses. Regardless of our financial and physical capabilities, there are ways we can all show our appreciation and acknowledge the sacrifices they make for the country, and you don’t have to stop even after Military Family Month ends.
