#GivingTuesday

The trend of “Black Friday” and “Small Business Saturday” and “Cyber Monday” has carried over to the nonprofit world with #GivingTuesday, on November 27^th.

Give an Hour is proud to be part of the nonprofit community supporting #GivingTuesday.

We hope you will stand with us as we work to keep the season of giving about giving by supporting the organizations you value and that you will spread the word to friends and colleagues.

To provide a donation to Give an Hour, simply call  **GAH  from your smart phone or click here https://www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?CID=12086 .

To learn more about #GivingTuesday, visit:  http://givingtuesday.org

Give an Hour Extends Services to Hurricane Sandy Victims and First Responders

BREAKING NEWS

Give an Hour will be extending services to Hurricane Sandy Victims and First Responders. If you or someone you know has been impacted by Hurricane Sandy and would like to receive services please email lcalixto@giveanhour.org.

Mental health professionals interested in joining Give an Hour can complete an easy online form at http://www.giveanhour.org/.

Please repost and share!

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/11/prweb10138569.htm

Did you know?

• Did you know?
• $17 covers the cost of providing one hour of counseling
• $50 pays for producing 150 laminated wallet cards, which are handed out to troops returning home
• $100 pays for 1/2 staff time for coordinating volunteer attendance at one Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program event
• $200 pays for one tool kit of educational materials for staff or providers to bring to conferences and outreach events such as Yellow Ribbon events
• $500 pays for production of one banner to be used at conferences and outreach events
• $1,000 pays for one month of Web site that links those in need with free counseling
• $6,000 pays for annual fee to service that allows us to verify licenses of mental health professionals in our network
• You can say thank you to Veterans and their families by donating to Give an Hour.
• http://bit.ly/SZRA59 

Give $11 Campaign

Join Give an Hour’s GIVE $11 campaign. This November, in honor of the 11th Day of the 11th month, set aside to honor the service of our veterans, donate $11 to help provide free mental health services to our military, veterans and their loved ones. Donate now at http://bit.ly/QX0LFe

Combined Federal Campaign is Underway!

Support Give an Hour through the Combined Federal Campaign

The 2012 Combined Federal Campaign is getting under way across the United States and abroad, wherever there are federal employees and military service members. If you participate in the CFC, please consider making Give an hour a recipient of your dollars. Please note: Give an Hour is listed as "Military Families Receive Free Mental Health Care - Give an Hour." Our CFC number is 65498. Funds received go toward the vital work of outreach to and support for our volunteer mental health professionals, who provide free mental health care to so many deserving returning troops and their families. Thank you for your consideration.

We’re Finding Fearless: the Search for America’s Most Fearless Changemakers Begins!

http://befearless.casefoundation.org/

From our friends at The Case Foundation:

"In order to find solutions to the chronic and complex social challenges we face as a society, we must Be Fearless. And we have a hunch that there are thousands of concerned citizens who have let go of old and unsuccessful approaches and instead are taking risks, being bold, and making failure matter — embracing a fearless approach towards social change.

The Case Foundation is launching a new campaign — Finding Fearless — to identify the undiscovered social innovators who are dreaming big and taking risks to change their communities and the world. More than $650,000 in grants, software and technology prizes, and outdoor adventures are at stake in this search for America’s Most Fearless Changemakers.

So, are you a fearless changemaker?

We’re excited to help support the Case Foundation’s effort to uncover the stories of the undiscovered individuals in communities across the country that have a successful track record of tackling social challenges because their approach is bold, uncommon, experimental, unconventional, and fearless.

It doesn’t matter if they are 18 or 80; or if their work is done in a big city or one-stoplight town. It doesn’t matter if they have ten diplomas or no diplomas. It doesn’t matter if they get their work done through nonprofits, small business, state or local government, or their living room or garage. What matters is discovering the untold stories and tapping the unknown heroes who are bucking trends, disregarding the status quo, and making change happen with a fearless approach and attitude.

Does this sound like you or someone you know? If so, drop everything you’re doing and apply yourself, or nominate someone you know, today for a chance to get a piece of $650,000 in grants and prizes to take these fearless projects to the next level. Finding Fearless begins with YOU. Help us find America’s Most Fearless Changemakers!

Here’s how Finding Fearless works:

1. You Nominate: Tell us about your fearless project or one that inspires you. Up to 1,000 nominations will be eligible for grants and prizes so be sure to enter today!
2. We Narrow the Field: The Fearless Academy—a team of 50 judges representing the Case Foundation and our partners—will review and assess nominations.
   • The top 10 fearless projects will each receive a $10,000 grant to take their work to the next level!
   • The next 10 projects will each receive a $1,000 grant to support their fearless initiatives
3. You Vote: In the spirit of citizen-centered approach to philanthropy, we want you to decide which project receives a bonus $10,000 grant and other prizes to help our fearless changemakers!
4. We Announce the Winners: We reveal which projects receive grants and prizes worth $650,000!

Apply yourself or nominate someone who is fearless today! Finding Fearless starts with YOU!"

Give an Hour participates in Army National Guard Stand Down Day

Give an Hour President and Founder, Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen is in Ft. Bliss today attending the Stand Down event. She will be speaking and answering questions about Suicide Prevention and related subjects to an audience of over 300 soldiers and leaders.

----------

Give an Hour is participating in Army National Guard Suicide Prevention Stand Down - Health & Safety Fair in Arlington, VA today. Chief Operating Officer of Give an Hour, Nancy St. Claire, spoke earlier this morning about Give an Hour. Here is a picture of the Give an Hour information table. If you are attending the event, please stop by the table and say hi!

Military Spouse Support Group - Greater Milwaukee!

This group was started by a Give an Hour volunteer on our Give an Hour Connected site. This site is very interactive and has many features including an iPhone app. Check it out, register, and contribute!

The Military Spouse Support Group - Greater Milwaukee is a great way to meet and connect with other spouse in the area who share common situations and challenges in the military. Many spouses are faced with numerous stresses while maintaining their life, job, and relationships. In addition, spouses raise children often by themselves due to husband or significant other deployment, separation or temporary duty assignment.  This can cause a variety of challenges for the spouse whose life become difficult and demanding at times.  The support group is a great way to connect other spouses together so that they know that they are not by themselves.  The objective of this group is emotional support, child care tips, and to balance work and life. 

For more information and to join this group click here:

http://connected.giveanhour.org/show/support-group-for--military-spouses-in-the-greater-milwaukee-and-surrounding-area

Suicide Prevention Month

Veterans Crisis Line

Suicide Prevention Month Partner Outreach

Blog Post

  

Stand by Them:

Show Your Support for Veterans During Suicide Prevention Month

September is national Suicide Prevention Month, an important reminder that you can make a difference in the life of a Veteran every month and every day. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) needs organizations and individuals across the country to educate their communities about the signs of suicide risk and raise awareness about the free, confidential support available from the Veterans Crisis Line. To accomplish this mission, VA encourages Veterans’ communities, friends, and family members to get involved, learn more, and help spread the word to promote mental health and prevent Veteran suicide.

A critical step in preventing suicide is learning to recognize warning signs. Although many at-risk Veterans may not show any signs of intent to harm themselves, there are behaviors that could indicate that a Veteran needs support. In addition to talking about suicide or hurting oneself, some signs that a Veteran may be at risk for suicide include engaging in risky behaviors, withdrawing from family and friends, and feeling hopeless, anxious, and angry. To learn about additional signs that someone may be at risk, go to www.VeteransCrisisLine.net/SignsOfCrisis.  

If a Veteran you know exhibits any of these signs, trained professionals—many of them Veterans themselves—at the Veterans Crisis Line can help. Just call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, chat online at www.VeteransCrisisLine.net/chat, or text to 838255 for free, confidential support, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Since its launch in 2007, the Veterans Crisis Line has answered more than 640,000 calls and made more than 23,000 life-saving rescues. In 2009, an anonymous online chat service was added, which has helped more than 50,000 people. In November 2011, the Veterans Crisis Line introduced a text messaging service to provide another way for Veterans to connect with round-the-clock support. Qualified and caring VA responders are also able to provide referrals to local VA services and aid Veterans in getting fast-tracked mental health care within VA.

Every American can help prevent Veteran suicide. During Suicide Prevention Month, stand by our Veterans and their loved ones. Spread the word about the Veterans Crisis Line and help make sure that all Veterans know that confidential support is only a call, click, or text away. Go to www.VeteransCrisisLine.net/Pledge to take the Suicide Prevention Month pledge and learn how you can educate yourself and those around you about suicide risk and the Veterans Crisis Line.

You can also visit www.VeteransCrisisLine.net/SPMSupport to download free Suicide Prevention Month materials, including posters and flyers that you can print and distribute in your community; online ads in a variety of sizes and formats to display on your website; and, free, ready-to-go content for your Facebook page, Twitter feed, newsletters, or other print materials.

Our Veterans stood by us. Now let’s stand by them. Together, we can make sure they get the support they earned and deserve.

Visit www.VeteransCrisisLine.net to learn more.

To learn about additional warning signs of crisis, go to www.VeteransCrisisLine.net/SignsOfCrisis  

Veteran's Festival in St. Louis a Success Despite Hurricane Issac

Give an Hour hosted a table at the Veteran's Festival of St. Louis which began on the morning of Saturday, September 1^st and ended the afternoon of Monday, September 3^rd in St. Louis Forest Park. Here is media coverage of the festival this past weekend. Despite the remnants of Issac, the festival was a great success. Give an Hour provider and volunteer, Charli Prather, spoke to reporters about Give an Hour's services for veterans and their families.

Military Family Financial Summit

Register for Free Military Family Financial Summit – Saturday, Sept 8th in NORFOLK, VA (Old Dominion University) at: www.giveanhourevents.org

Powerful and informative Financial Summit for service members, veterans, families.

 **Breakfast, lunch, door prizes, baby-sitting provided**  

Learn about: post-military career planning, home ownership, military spouse portable entrepreneurship, college and retirement planning, children’s financial literacy.  

Keynote speaker: financial guru Neale Godfrey -- as seen on Oprah Winfrey, Good Morning America, and Today. 

Event sponsored by Give an Hour / Hampton Roads Community Blueprint Network and Blue Star Families.

PTSD Study Annoucement

ANNOUNCEMENT

Attention Spouses of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom

Reserve and National Guard Veterans

Note: For the purposes of this study, the term Spouse refers to individuals who are either married by law or are live in romantic partners. 

Researchers are calling for spouses of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) (i.e., Afghanistan) veterans to take part in a doctoral research study. The focus of the study is on A) the burden of care felt in regard to their experience of being a spouse of a veteran; and B) how much social support the spouses think they have. This study entails taking 2 surveys administered online. The surveys will take less than 1 hour.

Participation Requirements: 

1) Your spouse was/is in one of the Reserve or National Guard branches of any of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or Air Force). 

2) Your spouse served in a combat zone associated with Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) (i.e., Afghanistan).

3) Your spouse, after serving in OIF or OEF was diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 

Confidentiality is a top priority and will be maintained in the research study given the sensitivity of the topic. The names and other identifying factors of all participants will be protected throughout the study.

Please contact:
Jennifer Daniels, M.A., LCPC
jdaniels9@capellauniversity.edu 
847-962-5901

https://www.research.net/s/PHTLD3C 

If you are not directed to the survey, please copy and paste the following to your browser: <a href="https://www.research.net/s/PHTLD3C">Click here to take survey</a>

Americorps VISTA Position Available with the Community Blueprint Network

Help North Carolina Communities Support Our Troops, Veterans, and their Families. AmeriCorps VISTA Position Available with the Community Blueprint Network.


The Community Blueprint Network (CBN) seeks an AmeriCorps VISTA member to serve in a community organizing position as Military Community Organizing Specialist. The position is full-time, full-year and located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The position will be supervised by Give an Hour, a national nonprofit organization that mobilizes behavioral health professionals to provide voluntary services to servicemembers, veterans, and their families. The CBN is an initiative to assist communities better organize their private and public resources and services to be more responsive to the needs and strengths of the military community. This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religion, marital or premarital status, or military service. Veterans and relatives of veterans and military service members are encouraged to apply. To find this service opportunity listing, click the “For Individuals” tab; then click “Advanced Opportunity Search;” then enter “Call to Service Corps/Community Blueprint (Field/NC)” in the program name field OR click on the link below.

https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=40878&fromSearch=true

Ceremony to Honor Military Spouses!

Please join N.C. Senator Kay Hagan and the Community Blueprint at the Airborne Special Operations Museum on Friday, May 11th in Fayetteville from 10:15 am - 11:15 am for a touching ceremony to honor Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Both the ceremony and reception will be held at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. Help us celebrate and recognize our unsung heroes -- military spouses!


For more information please email Jenny Hartsock, Military Liaison, US Senator Kay R. Hagan (NC) at jenny_hartsock@hagan.senate.gov

Understanding Your Returning Veteran Forum

 Understanding Your Returning Veteran Forum “Focused on the families” 

May 19, 2012 American Legion- Morrell Smith Post 42 Linden Ave. Newtown, PA 18940 
9 – 12 Noon 

Who should attend: Families of Veteran’s who are preparing, are presently or previously deployed, i.e. wife, husband, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, fiancée, good friend. 

Concept and Participants 

• Josh & Kelly (Mother and Son) The idea for our program came from a Marine sergeant who had served multiple deployments in Iraq & Afghanistan. His was a simple suggestion; help the families understand what they could expect when their soldier or Marine comes home, hence the title “Understanding Your Returning Veteran”. The Marine and his mother will discuss their individual and combined emotions and perceptions after he came home. Their initial perceptions were so very different, one as a mom and the other of a returning Marine. They will discuss their challenges of working through it and eventually being able to communicate with an open dialog and understanding one another.

• Jennifer Crane, wife and mother will be discussing her challenges and experiences after multiple deployments. After coming home with severe PTSD her life took a downward spiral, drugs, alcohol etc. She began her journey back after finding “Give an Hour” a nonprofit 501(c)(3), founded in September 2005 which is dedicated to meeting the mental health needs of the troops and families affected by the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Jennifer now travels the nation sharing her powerful story of struggle and successful survival at college campuses across the country. Her riveting story, as only she can tell it is heart wrenching, yet uplifting. 

These two similar but very different stories will capture both ends of the spectrum of what a family and individual goes through upon their return. These heartfelt stories are a critical part of our program and where families attending will feel a special kinship with these amazing heroes as they relate their powerful stories. 

• Jennifer Mellor ( Day of the Forum Moderator ) - Director of Psychological Health, Ceridian appointed to the 99th RSC – Jennifer will elaborate and expand on these unique individual experiences that Kelly, Josh & Jennifer have experienced. 
• Dr. Howard Cohen – Worked with Veterans and their families for both the V.A. and in his private practice. 

For Questions or Information Call # 215-666-3156 

URL: https://sites.google.com/site/understandingreturningveteran/ 

E-Mail: vetsprogramsbrotary@gmail.com 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Understanding-Your-Returning-Veterans-Family- Forum/111432852317874 

GAH's Kent Corso on HearSay with Cathy Lewis

Coming up on HearSay with Cathy Lewis...

Monday, April 30, 2012

HearSay From The Headlines - April 30, 2012

Battle Cry For Help: Veteran Suicide Prevention
The Hampton Roads community recently lost a well-known local war veteran who took his own life. Jonathan Bartlett spent the last eight years as a double amputee, having lost his legs in an explosion in Iraq when he was only 19 years old. Jonathan was once a guest on HearSay and we'll hear a portion of his interview with host Cathy Lewis.

The most recent numbers show each day, 18 American veterans commit suicide. On Monday's program, Cathy will talk with suicide prevention specialists and mental health providers about the subject of veteran suicide. What does it mean for our military men and women to return home, injured physically and psychologically, and build a life anew? What can we do to help? Join us for this very important conversation on HearSay.

Scheduled Guests:

Dr. Janet Kemp, RN, PhD - National Mental Health Program Director for Suicide Prevention at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Mental Health Services
www.mentalhealth.va.gov

Kent Corso – mental health provider with “Give an Hour”
www.giveanhour.org

Robert West - co-Founder of Working Films, the company behind a community engagement campaign for screenings of the Academy Award-nominated documentary "Hell and Back Again."
www.workingfilms.org
http://hellandbackagain.com/

TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK:

http://www.whro.org/home/publicradio/default.htm

Click on WHRV 89.5 FM

IAVA Job and Internship Posting

From our friends at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America:

"IAVA’s Communications Department is currently looking for a Communications Coordinator to assist with the creation and maintenance of new press relationships, media management and developing and distributing IAVA’s signature Daily News Brief. For more information please visit http://bit.ly/Jd9xZm. It's a really solid opportunity for a young person to be in the middle of a fantastic team doing big things in media.

We’re also looking for a Coordinator to aid the Senior Advisor in developing and maintaining scheduling, admin and correspondence for me, our Chief of Staff, and our board of directors. The role will have high-level exposure to an exciting world of political, military, nonprofit and corporate leaders. For more information please visit http://bit.ly/HP82WO.

Finally, IAVA is looking for motivated, hard-working OIF and OEF veterans, family members, and supporters to join our summer internship program in New York City and Washington, DC. The internship program will provide participants the opportunity to learn leadership, discipline, and real-world skills in the areas of member engagement, communications, marketing, development and more. For more information please visit www.iava.org/2012Internships.

Candidates should follow the instructions in the links to apply."

Feel free to pass along to anyone you think may be interested!

Give an Hour President Named to 2012 TIME 100

BREAKING NEWS – 4/18/12
 
TIME Magazine names Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, founder and president of Give an Hour, to the 2012 TIME 100, the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Dr. Van Dahlen is cited for her work providing free mental health services to members of the military, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, their loved ones, and their communities.  The list, now in its ninth year, recognizes the activism, innovation, and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals.
 
To see Dr. Van Dahlen's TIME 100 profile, click here.
To see Dr. Van Dahlen's video, click here.
To see a full list of this year’s TIME 100, click here. 


For more information visit http://connected.giveanhour.org