Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. is celebrating 77 years of military and veteran support. and I am proud to serve as the national president in 2018-2019.
This year I have decided to make it my mission to let everyone know who we are and what we do. We are the mothers of active-duty military and veterans. Membership is open to these mothers whether their children are still serving or not. We welcome associate members as well - dads, brothers, sisters and other family members.
Our history goes back to 1942, when Captain George Maines ran a small ad in the Flint, Mich., newspaper asking for military moms to assemble. Over 600 women were present at that assembly on Feb. 1, 1942. From that gathering, our organization was formed. We now have over 6,000 members in 37 states.
Our organization was congressionally chartered in 1960 with a threefold mission – to support our military, our veterans and to honor the families of the fallen. Our members are volunteers in VA hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. We send packages to our deployed troops and present Gold Star Flags to the families of the fallen.
On our website, www.bluestarmothers.org, a prospective member can locate a chapter near her and join online. Donations may be made to our organization using the website's Donate Now button as well as through the Combined Federal Campaign.
We share the belief with The American Legion that Every Day is Veterans Day and we can never do enough for our military and our veterans. We invite the members of the American Legion Family to partner with us in our support of the military and our veterans.
If there are questions, please direct them to me at president@bluestarmothers.us and encourage any eligible mother to join our veterans service organization.