Calendar of Events
Posted on March 15, 2012
Starting April 25 - Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. Stars for Heroes - All locations for 3 weeks
May 1 - Chick-Fil-A Donation Campaign for the month of May - Elizabethtown KY location only
May 28 - Louisville Bats/USA Cares Military Appreciation Night - Louisville, KY
June 9 - Old Glory Bar & Grill Grand Opening - Radcliff, KY
June 14 - Hot Rods Base Ball - USA Cares Military Appreciation Night
July 14 - NDIA (National Defense industry Association) Bike Ride - Milford, MI
August 24, 25, & 26 - Rockcastle Shoot
Pew Research Center
War and Sacrifice in the Post 9/11 Era
Posted on March 15, 2012
The report is based on two surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center: one of the nation’s military veterans and one of the general public. A total of 1,853 veterans were surveyed, including 712 who served in the military after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The general public survey was conducted among 2,003 adult respondents.
The Rewards and Burdens of Military Service•Veterans who served on active duty in the post-9/11 era are proud of their service (96%), and most (74%) say their military experience has helped them get ahead in life. The vast majority say their time in the military has helped them mature (93%), taught them how to work with others (90%) and helped to build self-confidence (90%). More than eight-in-ten (82%) say they would advise a young person close to them to join the military.
•At the same time, however, 44% of post-9/11 veterans say their readjustment to civilian life was difficult. By contrast, just 25% of veterans who served in earlier eras say the same. About half (48%) of all post-9/11 veterans say they have experienced strains in family relations since leaving the military, and 47% say they have had frequent outbursts of anger. One-third (32%) say there have been times where they felt they didn’t care about anything.
•Nearly four-in-ten (37%) post-9/11 veterans say that, whether or not they were formally diagnosed, they believe they have suffered from post-traumatic stress (PTS). Among veterans who served prior to 9/11, just 16% say the same.
•These psychological and emotional problems are most prevalent among post-9/11 veterans who were in combat. About half of this group (49%) say they have suffered from PTS. And about half (52%) also say they had emotionally traumatic or distressing experiences while in the military. Of those who had these types of experiences, three-in-four say they are still reliving them in the form of flashbacks or nightmares.
•Overall, about one-in-six post-9/11 veterans (16%) report they were seriously injured while serving in the military, and most of these injuries were combat-related. And about half (47%) say they know and served with someone who was killed while in the military, not significantly different from the share of pre-9/11 veterans (43%) who say the same. The survey finds that post-9/11 veterans who either experienced or were exposed to casualties are more supportive than other post-9/11 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, they also report having more difficulty re-entering civilian life.
2011 Annual Report
2011 Annual Report
Posted on February 03, 2012
USA Cares Jobs for Vets
Military Spouse Child Care Assitance Grant
Posted on January 12, 2012
Child Care Assistance Grant:
Though today’s job market is tough for everyone to navigate and land the next big thing, military spouses have struggled with securing employment long before the market “tanked.” A Department of Defense study released in June 2011 estimated that 26% of military spouses were unemployed. This is triple the current civilian unemployment rate and more than double the rate of Post 9/11 Veteran’s.
There are about 1.2 million military spouses, of which about 85 % want to work. Of that fragment, it is estimated about 265,000 are either unemployed or underemployed with a wage gap of about 25 % between military spouses and their civilian counterparts.
Moving as a unit every two to three years for stability and readiness for their soldier brings an ongoing fight of battling negative stigmas from employers. In military communities, it is well known that frequent moves and the cost of child care play a major role in the efforts of spouses securing employment.
The challenge: Provide an opportunity to those spouses who show a commitment and ability to adapt to new environments by removing employment barriers such as childcare start up costs and giving them access to “military friendly” employers. Spouses should be viewed as an asset to an employer, not a risk.
In an effort to “give a hand up,” USA Cares is broadening its current Jobs for Vets program to include financial assistance for spouses who have found success in obtaining employment. USA Cares now assures military spouses do not have the obstruction of child care cost preventing them from their next career.
Qualifications:
• Active duty military spouse
• Current spouse of a honorably discharged veteran
• Must have secured new employment
• Must show a demonstrated need for child care assistance
Employment Assistance Grants:
USA Cares Jobs for Veterans program will provide qualifying military families a financial assistance grant paid to a licensed child care facility. The grant will support the military family from two to four weeks, pending future salary and pay schedule.
Employment & Training Referral/Advocacy Support:
USA Cares will continue its outreach to government, private/public, and nonprofit organizations to increase awareness of this unique grant to support and directly affect change of those military spouses who have served our country too.
Soldier’s Wife Struggled to find “Air”
USA Cares helped with life-saving purchase
Posted on December 31, 2011
Vickie Perry
Vickie Perry speaks with certainty when she says that the air conditioner USA Cares, Inc. helped her to purchase was a bona fide life saver.
“This was a necessity for health reasons,” said Vickie who is married to career Staff Sgt. Jeffery Perry, 46, with the Army National Guard.
According to the National Weather Service, August 2011 was the second-warmest August on record.
The Perry’s Kentucky hometown showed some of the nation’s most excessive heat indexes with temperatures of 116 to 120 degrees for several days between July and August. During this time and while her husband was stationed at an Indiana armory to prepare for his fourth deployment to Iraq, the Perry’s ancient air conditioner conked out in the middle of the excessive summer heat.
With Jeffery just coming off of unemployment and still waiting on his first military check, there was a little-to-no fund in their household finances to buy a new unit, which costs upwards of $3,000.
Her clerical job at the local school district helped them sustain during the lull, but couldn’t support such an expensive emergency. “I moved small window units downstairs, but it’s a pretty big house,” and those smaller units didn’t suffice.
With her suffering with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a progressive lung disease that frequently makes it hard for her to breathe, and with her mother – who lives with them – battling heart and lung conditions, Vickie moved into action and frantically began looking for help.
They were without sufficient cool air in their home for approximately 10 days. “We weren’t doing this to get something free,” said Vickie, 44. “We needed the assistance.”
She found USA Cares through a military community channel. “At first we were denied assistance because they thought I was asking for a repair,” which USA Cares does not assist with, said Vickie. “
“But I wrote again that we needed a new unit since the old one wasn’t repairable” she said.
With donations from the American public, USA Cares was able to assist with $750 towards the cost of the $3,125 unit. The Perry’s raised $875 and another community organization assisted with $1,500, said Vickie.
“It was a very upsetting time,” said Vickie. “We were the type of people who always helped other people. So to be in that position was just very different.”
“When I got the phone call that USA Cares was going to help, I started crying,” said Vickie. “USA Cares was there for us when we needed them to be there.”
