There are no geographical limitations in terms of people becoming involved with community service efforts on behalf of military families. Home Front Hearts has been contacted by out-of-state individuals/groups and it's our pleasure to connect these folks to opportunities to be of service as well. Sometimes, that means matching them with a family we're working with. Other times we might direct them to another group/organization closer to home for them. Either way, we're always tremendously excited to see people step up and want to make their own contribution whether it's money, time or resources. Everyone has something to share!
You have a few corporate sponsors but I'm sure you could use more, no?
I've been really incredibly blessed to have my sponsors find me. I became involved with the Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel when I was still in high school. Through their generosity, a group of 25 kids from the U.S. and Canada spent six weeks in Israel not only enjoying the land, but also learning about how to build community with each other. That community now stronger by 25 or so each year since then (and that was over two decades ago) remains steadfastly committed to their alums and the projects/programs their alums are involved with that promote social action.
Eyal Shapira of the Raritan Central Railway and I "met" several years ago, when he responded to a newspaper story about my family. My husband had been in GTMO at the time and the story talked about what it was like dealing with the holidays at home when Daddy was on the other side of the world in service to our country. In the years since that story, Eyal is always quick to ask, "What can I do for the soldiers?"
As for more corporate sponsors I'm always grateful for support. I haven't had the time to solicit sponsorships because I want to use the time I have to work directly with the families I serve. But I'd most certainly love to hear from individuals/groups/organizations/companies that would be interested in supporting my efforts!
We've talked a lot about Home Front Hearts but not so much about you and your family. Tell us about your kids, Randi.
Ian and I have four children Katie (15), PJ (13), Connor (6) and Sara (5). They are all, of course, incredibly bright, beautiful, funny and fabulous in every possible way. They've also each made their own share of sacrifices in service to our country. I know that sounds very melodramatic, but being a military family is a package deal when one person serves, it impacts the whole family unit. For instance, Sara is our littlest. I found out I was pregnant with her less than two months before my husband deployed to Guantanamo.
When she was born, Ian's chain of command made it possible for him to take his leave early. But two weeks later, he was again out of country. She was about eight months old before he was back home. Then there were three months Daddy spent in New Orleans in response to Katrina. And the year in Afghanistan. More than half of Sara's life has passed without her Daddy in it. For the longest time Sara thought that Daddy lived at the airport. If you asked her where he was stationed when he was in Afghanistan, she'd tell you "Kansistan" because she knew that he was at Fort Riley in Kansas before he was in Afghanistan.
It's easy to talk about deployments in relation to Sara she was my "deployment baby." The numbers are easy to put in perspective in terms of the portion of her life that has been impacted. But the truth is that ALL of her life has been affected. And that's true of all of my kids.
Let's take a break. When we return, Randi will talk more about how her family copes with Ian's constant deployments. I hope you'll join us.
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Part two of my interview with Randi
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