In order for the Military Family Fun Fair to be a success, it needs to run smoothly. We have the buy-in from community members and partnering organizations. Many of the logistical aspects need funding. Marketing materials will allow for greater distribution which in turn will hopefully generate higher attendence. Tents, tables, and chairs are all necessary for the attendees to be comfortable while attending fun activities and learning about the resources available to them. Due to the choice of an outdoor venue, restroom facilities will need to be rented. The Fair has the ability to truly make a lasting and sustainable difference in the Fayetteville/Ft. Bragg community by bringing together all eight focus areas of the Community Blueprint.

WAO 365 agrees to launch a new program in support of financial literacy for veterans. We will raise money for the books by requesting donations from previous donors. To target potential donors, our organization will continue its outreach through newsletters, email correspondence, and events similar to those held by WAO 365 in the past. To further publicize our cause to promote soldiers' financial literacy, we will feature LDR and “The Soldier’s Financial Leadership Guide,” on our website and on additional social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. If granted the money, WAO 365 would use the $1000 to start the program by purchasing the first ninety-five books at our discounted rate.

Thanks to donations, TAMCO Foundation is able to help wounded heroes and their families. Donations and grants help these heroes throughout their recovery as they rebuild their life and their future. The money goes to heroes' medical bills, family unity, and other emergency funding that they may need. The more money we recieve from grants and donations, the more heroes we can help.

We want to respond to the requests of veterans for a bigger and better fishing experience to include salt water fishing. To date, we have only gone fishing to local, fresh water sources. Our plan includes enhancing and expanding our Reel Retreat to include salt water trips for our vets to experience a day out on the ocean reeling in the “big one!” The $1,000 would be used to participate in Fishing Derbies for Veterans sponsored by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Money would be used for transportation costs and to cover the $65 per person fee.

The $1000 grant will subsidize the child care expenses for working veteran families. With this award, we will be able to reduce the child care expenses of by $25 for the first two weeks of employment for 20 veteran families awaiting their 1st paycheck. The Veteran's case manager will refer the client long term child care resource if assistance is still needed after the two-week period ends. The Lotus Project for Women Veterans collaborates with several community organizations including the VA hospital, Texas Workforce Commission, Goodwill Houston and Catholic Charities that provide employment assistance to veterans. We will leverage our partnerships to identify ideal candidates for the program funded by $1000 grant from the Good Maker.

Our request for this grant would greatly help in covering shipping costs. Operation Gratitude collects in-kind donations from corporate sponsors. Operation Gratitude volunteers receive and itemize all of the product donations after which they assemble the packages with these items. The GOOD grant would enable us to send 300 care packages to Veterans and Wounded Warriors in VA hospitals.

We have been blessed to find a property management company willing to set aside five - ten apartments for Passport Inn! If we are successful at this location, they would consider expanding the program to other apartment complexes. So while the initial participants would effectively immediately graduate from "transitional" housing to "permanent" housing (one of the key success factors for Passport Inn), we need to furnish the apartments to make them livable. We would most gratefully be able to furnish up to two apartments with the grant funds.

We plan to use the money to feed and care for the animals, improve the meeting area for ADA compliance, capital for marketing and fundraising, and training additional volunteers to assist in our rapidly growing program.

Our 2012 Care Package Project will include a total of at least 3000 regular weekly care packages & 5000 special Christmas boxes. Postage alone for this project is $101,200! Weekly care packages include "Hugs” cooling ties & “Kisses” helmet liners, handwritten letters, handmade neck pillows, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, foot powder, women’s personal items, eye drops, Bio-Freeze, socks, beef jerky, packaged tuna, dried fruit, candy, hot chocolate, etc. Christmas boxes contain the basics plus special items such as individually Christmas wrapped solar powered LED flashlights, computer flash drives, disposable cameras, mini binoculars, pocket watches, homemade cookies & candies, and handcrafted Sequence & Mancala games.

All funds from this opportunity will go to supplies for troops and shipping of the boxes.

Funds provided will be used for creating sufficient materials (brochures and other literature) to be provided to students at schools where veterans (VFP members) will speak on the truths about signing up for a branch of the armed services and going off to war. Students will learn about the treatment of the people in villages where war is waged, physical and psychological effects on soldiers (PTSD, losing limbs, etc), after effects of war on the countries engaged in war, how much the U.S. spends on war efforts (versus education, infrastructure, etc.) and more. Military recruiters paint a very different picture than the reality soldiers experience. Veterans have seen first hand effects and can share their knowledge and experience.

Our grant request is to support our General Fund/Grants to Families program, which provides one-time grants to Colorado military families in need due to circumstances aggravated by deployment of a parent/spouse or separation from the service. We help them pay for rent and utilities, childcare, transportation and auto repairs, household repairs, food and other “immediate need” expenses. The average grant currently exceeds $1,000. Our grantee families are referred to us by agencies such as the VA and Army Wounded Warriors, and have strong partnerships with our Colorado military installations, including base leadership, Warrior Transition Battalion, and Family Support Groups.

Partner with local VA and Vet Centers to screen qualified veterans. Once screened, the process of procuring an animal will begin. The animals will be found at local animal shelters in Southern Nevada. Training of the animals will be provided by certified instructors that can facilitate necessary requirements in order for service animal status. The $1,000 will go towards the adoption of the service animal, booster shots if needed, a starter kit, and training of the animal. The starter kit would include a bag of dog food, a collar, leash, and a dog toy.

We are just about complete with our website. We now need funds to market our idea and get the word out to military families. We need to print our pamphlet and purchase more promotional materials for military events that we have been attending. We would also like to purchase some advertising such as google adwords and car decals. We have also participated in a "Welcome Home" care pack project with the 9th ESB stationed in Okinawa, Japan, where we provided little gifts (toothbrushes, toothpaste, water bottles, pens and candy) to 500 marines returning from deployment. We would like to do more welcome home packs with other returning heroes.

to send the boxes to the troops ---each flat rate box must go post office at a 14.95 charge per box

The money would be used in Moore, Oklahoma at the VFW Post to purchase computers that will be used for job searches for veterans in the area.

New Directions has already established a working site plan for the outdoor, garden space. We will also receive plants and seeds by donation. The additional funding will make a significant impact and solely be used to cover lumber costs. Twelve 16' x 4" x 4" planks and 150-16' x 10"x 2" planks will be needed to create raise plant beds with wide aisles, allowing people with physical limitations to use the space, as well.

We are currently planning the retreat and will be making decisions on a location very soon. Our plan is to invite area health and healing experts to share their skills and knowledge with participants, setup a registration page on our website, advertise the event, and seek support from business and community partners. We have a list of 4,000 military families and also would be working to promote the event through our business and community partnerships. The funds received from GoodMaker would be used to assist in the rental of the retreat facility.

The $1,000.00 would be directly applied to our postage costs. It costs about $11.00/box, and unit boxes are much more expensive but they depend on the weight of each box.

Home for the Holidays has already established the infrastructure for accepting award applications through a simple on-line process, followed by telephone interviews including confirmation of needs with the applicant’s supervisor. As determined by our Awards Committee, we support some or all chosen award recipients’ travel needs, including transportation and lodging. Since beginning our operation in 2009, we have been able to triple the number of military families united over the 2010 and 2011 holiday seasons. Yet our capacity does not allow us to assist even a fraction of those in need. We would devote the total grant amount of $1,000 to travel awards to reunite active duty service members with loved ones during the 2012 holiday season.