May is a special month for us as it would be Sugar Bear’s birthday, the anniversary of the foundation, and Memorial Day. It is always a hectic time for me with a lot of travel and attending events which I will share more next month. However, as I always say, it is a good busy and I feel so blessed! Eight years ago I had the opportunity and given the gift of forming the Sugar Bear Foundation. Words will never be able to express the joy our work has given me as it is needed, but it also helps continue Sugar Bear’s legacy of service.
When we lost Sugar Bear, part of my sadness stemmed from knowing how much more he wanted to do with his life (outside of watching our children grow up and us growing old together). Life did not go as planned! However, I made a very conscious decision to stay positive for our children and say yes to any invitations we received. It was important to me to keep our family connected to our military community and to show gratitude when possible. It also helped me focus on all that we had instead of what we had lost… A mindset I knew Sugar Bear would want me to have. These simple steps truly changed the trajectory of my life and have given me a new direction and purpose. I now feel an incredible sense of fulfillment and have found that life has become much more than the sadness that once consumed my days in those early years. This is my hope for our families and what our Team (many of whom are widowed too) is working towards. We deserve it and I honestly believe it is what our spouses would want for us.
This month we know can be more difficult than usual with Memorial Day right around the corner and we hope our friends will make some time to check out our Honor Wall. Please keep these heroes and their families in your prayers, not just this month, but in the years to come. Their lives are forever changed!
For our families, please know we are here for you and always will be, and we are listening to your needs. As such, we are launching some new programs and updating others to best meet the busy lives you all lead. For starters, we are excited to launch our new Growth Group. This will be a new virtual monthly offering for our spouses that will focus on social, emotional, and professional camaraderie. Susan Hannifin-MacNab and I will lead this group and we have some fantastic speakers lined up who will share not only their stories of loss, but expertise in a variety of areas. This group will start in September so we encourage our Registered spouses to get on the interest list.
For our North Carolina spouses, we have another Lunch and Learn next month in Greenville, NC. Please reach out if you are in the area.
Additionally, we are launching our new Financial Education Employment Program which will include some special career and educational stipends for spouses (application will be available soon). This program will focus greatly on new career opportunities, a financial literacy curriculum, and individualized support.
We are equally excited to share our new Virtual Library where we will house all of our workshops, information sessions, and seminars so families can receive support on their own time. And finally, We will be adding some subscriptions to educational websites so our families with children and teens can obtain more educational support. IXL and Generation Genius are excellent educational resources and very easy to use. They will provide our families with remedial and enrichment educational opportunities in all subject areas.
We are happy to share these updates and hope our families know we are committed to helping them move forward in their lives after loss. In honor of what would be Sugar Bear’s birthday, we are once again asking our friends to support our work through a donation, signing up for the upcoming Sugar Bear Virtual Memorial Run, sponsoring a program, or sharing this newsletter. In doing so you help us continue Sugar Bear’s legacy while giving back to the families who have given their all. We are always grateful for any support.
Thank you for the opportunity to share our work, story, and very important mission.
Jennifer Carazo
Gold Star Wife/President
