4Comment
“Military Wives Matter” – Get Involved in a Study from Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU)
By jewls on July 14th, 2010Posted In: Uncategorized
Militarywivesmatter.org is part of a nationwide study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and centered at Oregon Health & Science University. The goal of the study is to get a sense of what issues bother military wives most and to provide information about deployment and how it affects families.
From Dr. Celina Oliver, Department of Research Psychiatry, “We really appreciate anything you can do to help us spread the word. We are hoping to be able to use this research to encourage policy makers to support military families more appropriately. Thank you!”
Announcement from the research team:
Has your husband deployed (or will he)?
We don’t have to tell you how hard it is.? But if you would like to know more about what to expect and how to deal with it, there’s a new website that provides information about a variety of topics military wives have said worry them the most..
Note: They definitely want to know about your depression and/or PTSD but, even if you don’t feel that this applies to you, you can be useful in other areas. To find out more, go to http://www.militarywivesmatter.org and sign up for the study. Help OHSU with their research and you might even affect policy for spouses everywhere.
On May 7, 2010, Military Spouse Appreciation Day, I went to DC to help launch the National Military Spouse Network (NMSN), founded by Sue Hoppin, and was lucky enough to be chosen to do their promotional artwork.If you haven’t heard of Sue Hoppin, let me enlighten you. This is from her book’s bio: In 2005, Sue joined the Benefits Information Department staff of Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and quickly established herself as an expert in military spouse issues. In 2006, she was selected as MOAA’s first Deputy Director of Spouse Outreach. In 2007, Military Spouse Magazine named Sue on their 2007 Who’s Who of Military Spouses list recognizing 12 spouses who have made significant contributions in the military community for all military spouses.
In addition to her work at MOAA, she writes a monthly column for Military Spouse Magazine and serves as a member of the Board of Advisors for the Military Spouse and Family Legacy Association.
The book I 
mentioned getting the biography from is “A Family’s Guide to the Military for Dummies“, co-authored by Sue Hoppin and Sheryl Garrett.
mentioned getting the biography from is “A Family’s Guide to the Military for Dummies“, co-authored by Sue Hoppin and Sheryl Garrett.It was a really great weekend and I signed a LOT of prints and coffee mugs for them. I also got to meet, for the very first time, my longtime friend, Wendy Poling, creator/host of Navy Wife Radio and mymilitarylife.com. I was also happily reunited with my longtime friend, Nancy Kirkpatrick, whom I hadn’t seen in 13 years. What a great way to spend a weekend in DC!
NMSN is starting a new feature on their site called “Profiles of Success” and chose me to be the first subject.
Go to Profiles of Success . The artwork I did for them is about halfway down the page and is meant for coffee mugs…although they made about 100 prints, also.Enjoy! ~ j
I’ve just returned from my trip to Ft. Bliss, El Paso, TX, where I spoke at a luncheon for the post’s volunteers. The program is headed by Army Volunteer Corps (AVC) Coordinator, Tephanie Hopper, and her staff from the AVC office located in the ACS Bldg. 2494, for those of you who want to join the legion of incredibly motivated volunteers at Ft. Bliss.
The event I attended was called “WHATTAWEDNDESDAY” on April 21st. This was the second in a series of events planned for the
volunteers throughout National Volunteer Week (April 18 – 24). The first get-together of the week was “Manic Monday” and featured a salsa class to help get everyone into the feel-good spirit of the week.
“WHATTAWEDNESDAY” took place in the Centennial Banquet & Conference Center and featured free massages, Reiki, makeovers, food and prizes. A local beauty school was in attendance to give free haircuts and manicures. They even did eyebrows and makeup!
The final event of the week was held Friday night at the Centennial. This was the official Fort Bliss Annual Volunteer Recognition Awards Ceremony. Awards presented by: Maj. Gen. Howard Bromberg. Their guest speaker was Brian McNamara of Lifetime Television’s Army Wives.
Here is the information Tephanie sent me:
“Each year our nation celebrates volunteers during National Volunteer Week. The Fort Bliss community follows this great tradition established by President Richard Nixon in 1974. We have numerous activities to show appreciation for the volunteers who selflessly support our Soldiers, Family Members, and Retirees. The largest event is our recognition dinner hosted by our Commanding General. The recognition dinner is scheduled to be held April 23rd from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
Our theme is “Hats Off to Volunteers”.
The following are some accomplishments of our installation volunteer program:
2350 volunteers
155,000 hours
3 million dollars worth of hours contributed to the installation.
Volunteer Positions include:
Supporting our youth through coaching sports.
Teaching our family members through Army Family Team Building.
Meeting Soldiers/ Families as they deploy or return from deployment.
Family Readiness Group support
Supporting our Junior Enlisted Family Readiness Group
Soldiers mentoring kids through Partners In Education
Support advocacy walks
Tax Preparation
and MANY MORE!”
How could I say No to an invitation like that? I had a great time, got to meet some no-nonsense Army spouses, and came away with a feeling that this is a group of strong women I could definitely be a part of. I would go back to Ft. Bliss in a heartbeat.
I hope some of them will be in D.C. for Spouse Appreciation weekend, May 7 – 9, 2010. I sincerely hope to see you there or back in Fort Bliss.
You ladies ROCK!
~ j
New “Jenny” sponsor for you to check out: ShopZoolu.com
By jewls on April 1st, 2010Posted In: Uncategorized
“ShopZoolu.com“ caters mostly to Moms and Babies because the two owners are full time Moms who understand your needs. One owner, Megan, is a military spouse who has made special arrangements to ship to APO/FPO addresses via priority mail at no extra cost.
Shipping is free for orders over $75.00 which makes it more cost-effective to buy my favorite item, the GoGoBabyz (because Amanda’s flying down here with Little Benjamin and could really use this!). All orders from $25 to $74.99 will only cost $4.95 for shipping. Sounds like a bargain to me.
I haven’t used the services of ShopZoolu.com so I’m looking to you for your feedback. If you’ve used them, let us know how much you love them or, on the flip side, tell us what they can do to make you love them.
So go check out ShopZoolu.com, support this military spouse-owned business, and be sure to leave some feedback.
Oh, and have a great day! 
~ j
New Interview at YouServedSpouse by Claire Shackelford.
By jewls on April 1st, 2010Posted In: Uncategorized
Don’t miss Claire Shackelford and me at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/youservedspouse airing right now!
-
"The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter" ~ Mark Twain
Welcome to the only comic strip about life as a military spouse.
As seen in Sunday's Stars & Stripes and on Military.com's Cartoon Corner
PCSing...it's a spouse thing!tm
Jenny follows the adventures of a young Air Force spouse determined to overcome the challenges of a military lifestyle.
Drawn from the real lives of both contributors and the cartoonist, Jenny's experiences reflect the humor, ingenuity, and sheer determination necessary to be successful as the spouse of an active duty military member.
Read the blog at jennyspouse.blogspot.com | Support this site | FAQs: "What does DH mean?" and other burning questions.
-
The Jenny comic strip is distributed free of charge to military newspapers and newsletters around the globe.
Help support Jenny comics by shopping online with the links below.
Military Spouse Appreciation
is all year long at this
Spouse-Friendly shop.
Order now.
Click hereTake advantage of the coupon codes
offered by Cafe Press and get
Jenny T-Shirts and Hail & Farewell Gifts
for your Military Spouses' group.
Home | Terms of Use | Submit | About Jenny & DH | About the Cartoonist
Contact jewls
- Jenny comics are free for use in military newspapers and military spouses' club newsletters. See Terms of Usepage for legal info. Check out the other papers that already offer Jenny to their readers. Jenny appears in over50 military newspapers and newsletters around the globe. Click here to see if your paper or newsletter carries Jenny.
