Abstract

Across the country service men and women from all branches of the military have been called away from home to active duty in difficult and oftentimes dangerous situations. Many of these men and women have left families behind who have special support needs, and their departure has often meant that communities have temporarily lost some of the volunteers who support critical community services. Angela Roberts of the Corporation for National and Community Service shared these ideas on the NSSCTalk e-mail discussion list in February 2003. These are suggestions for projects that Senior Corps volunteers might incorporate in their programs as part of a joint homeland security effort.

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Issue

Military call-ups and deployment overseas create gaps in community services that can be filled with senior volunteers.

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Action

According to Angela Roberts of the Corporation for National and Community Service, there are a number of ways senior volunteers can play a role on the home front to support those called for service and their families. These include:

Writing letters to U.S. service men and women

• When a local National Guard Unit was called into active duty, the project's advisory council suggested that volunteers write to them and other service men and women. (This idea came from an RSVP project director's report on the NSSCTalk listserv in 2002.)
• After discussions with colleagues working in service-learning about the letter writing project, new ideas have been formulated and can easily be implemented. For example, in addition to writing letters directly to service men and women, RSVP and Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) volunteers serving in schools can help students write letters. Not only will students learn letter writing skills but they can also learn about geography, develop compassion, empathy and citizenship skills. Volunteers can help coordinate this effort so it does not become burdensome on teachers by assisting students in obtaining addresses, locating on maps where correspondences will be sent, and helping students with drafting their messages.
• Local RSVP or FGP projects and schools can be creative in the way they pursue the letter writing initiative. For instance, some schools might limit the activity to a particular classroom while others might undertake a school-wide project of "adopting" a military unit.
• Letter writing could be supplemented by collecting and donating toiletries and other needed items to the American Red Cross.
• See also the effective practice, "Sending care packages to service men and women stationed overseas."

"Rosie the Riveter"Activities

• Senior volunteers can be the "Rosie the Riveters" of 2003, filling in for absent volunteers, just as during World War II, when women were employed for the first time in traditionally male occupations while the men were fighting overseas. The World War II experience helped open up new occupations to women, and perhaps deployment of troops can open up new opportunities for seniors in their communities.
• This may be the chance for Senior Corps programs to reach out to organizations that have traditionally not made use of older volunteers to suggest that they give seniors a try.

Military family support services

• When a key family member is deployed to a potentially dangerous military assignment for an indeterminate time, it may create special short-term needs for the remaining family members. All branches of the service -- the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and National Guard -- have family support programs that help meet these needs and they can always use volunteer help.
• To locate the Family Support Center near you, go to http://www.defenselink.mil/mapsite/famlocat.html.This link takes the user to a database that contains a listing of Family Support Centers of all branches of the military, and the name and contact information of each center. To use the database:
  • from the main page, click on the "database" link. This takes the user to a search screen.
  • From the search screen, enter the name of a particular military installation or city and state. (A drop down menu is also provided for selecting the order in which the listing of Family Support Centers will be presented.)
  • Next, click on the search button to go to the list. Clicking on each item in the resulting list gives the name, address, phone number and, if available, an e-mail link to the contact for that center. In some cases, the contact will be the same person who serves as the installation's volunteer services coordinator.

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Context

Senior Corps projects have a history of responding quickly and effectively to a wide range of different needs. Seniors are already responding by aiding in homeland security efforts in their communities in a variety of ways, from conducting emergency preparedness trainings, serving on Disaster Action Teams, functioning as first responders and donating blood.

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Outcome

Senior volunteer resources, used wisely, can provide a wealth of talent, energy, wisdom and spirit to families and communities in need.Projects such as sending letters and care packages overseas do a lot for the morale of service men and women stationed there.

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Posted On

March 14, 2003

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For More Information

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Resources

NSSCTalk is an e-mail discussion group, created primarily for the participants in the National Senior Service Corps, a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Anyone with related concerns, however, is invited to join in.To subscribe by e-mail, send a blank message to join-nssctalk@lists.etr.org

Or subscribe via the Lyris Listmanager web page at http://lists.etr.org/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=nssctalk/.

Related Practices

• Involving RSVP volunteers in homeland security efforts

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Related sites

Senior Corps

USA Freedom Corps

Topic Areas

• Homeland security
• Public safety
• Civic engagement
• Senior Corps
• Volunteer
• Seniors
• Human needs
• Senior Corps

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