As I am writing this note my heart is breaking with the attacks in Afghanistan. I know what lies ahead for the families of these heroes and the pain they will endure. Our team is praying and will continue to do so, and we stand ready to assist in any manner to help, not just today, but tomorrow and in the months and years ahead. We also want to say thank you to our veterans who have served and have kept our nation safe. We are very grateful!
As we continue to work to provide more programs and opportunities for our families, we are thrilled to offer these two upcoming virtual events (Online College Planning Workshop and Online Career Transition Course) and our college consulting for Gold Star teens and spouses.
As such we are also happy to now partner with Patriots Path and for the Online Career Transition course, they have put together for Gold Star and Surviving Spouses. This class is not only for those who have identified their career goals, but it is also for spouses who would like to explore employment opportunities and how to best achieve future endeavors. Patriots Path will provide additional virtual events for us such as networking opportunities, as well as career coaching and personality assessments.
As part of our Virtual Tutoring Program, we also offer college consulting. This program is available to spouses and children (8th grade and up) and will enable our families to work with an experienced consultant with years of experience helping families with the college planning process.
We are also excited to announce that we are working with Eagle Rock Camp and co-hosting our first retreat in North Carolina for Gold Star and Surviving spouses. The retreat will take place at the end of March in 2022 and will focus on providing these spouses with four days to focus on themselves, their healing, health, and well-being. Applications will be available soon and we look forward to sharing soon.
All these programs and opportunities are free to our families thanks to the generous support we receive from our educational sponsor, RF-LAMBDA, donors, and grants. Our mission has been and will continue to focus on providing educational, career, and financial assistance to the families we serve so they might know an easier path after the loss of their service member. Now more than ever we need to provide such support and we thank you for helping us do so. I am personally so grateful that we are able to continue to grow and do more and we are working to do just that.
If you are a Gold Star/Surviving spouse and are interested in the above opportunities or any of our programs for your children or yourself, please contact our Admin@thesugarbearfoundation.org. Also, make sure to sign up for our newsletter and complete our Registry as we are working on several new resources and programs such as our Surviving Spouses Network and Virtual STEM Club.
Thank you,
Jennifer Carazo
Gold Star wife/Chairman
