Welcome Erica Brophy to Our Team!

We are thrilled to welcome Survivor Advocate, Erica Brophy to our team. Erica, is a Gold Star Wife, Certified Personal Finance Counselor, and the creator of the Gold Star Family Resources website to help centralize resources for Gold Star Families. Formerly the Director of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society onboard MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, Erica is honored to continue sharing her expertise and passion for connecting our spouses with financial counseling and the resources available to them. Spouses will now have the opportunity to work with Erica when they apply for a financial grant (Financial Assitance and Employment Program) or by simply setting up an appointment to review personal resources that meet their individual family’s profile.

Mind-Body Mental Fitness

Sharing for our friends from the Navy's Gold Star Program…

Greetings Gold Star Families,

I am inviting you to attend a series of virtual classes called Mind Body Mental Fitness (MBMF) starting in July 2022.  The goal of this series of classes it to enhance the mind, body, spirit and social domains in your life. You will learn proactive pathways to improved mental fitness and gain skills that can be used in your daily life. These classes are completely free of charge and offer a wealth of skills to help you navigate your specific life journey. This is the first of such virtual learning opportunities. These classes are live (not recorded) and are taught by highly trained instructors. Through our partnership with the Fleet and Family Services Programs and Zeiders Learning Management Systems (LMS) we hope to be able to increase the catalog of offerings based on your needs and attendance.

If you wish to attend you will need to create an LMS account the instructions for this process are enclosed. In the drop down menu, there is a Navy Gold Star Family Member option that has been created especially for you. Once you have created your user account you can use the link below (by cutting and pasting it into your browser) to access the special Navy Gold Star Family Portal where you will see the listing of class dates.

(Remove the NO Click added by the Navy network)

https://learning.zeiders.refineddata.com/course/view.php?id=12393

For any questions or more information please contact-   Erick.C.Roberts@navy.mil

Thank You Burton Foods - Dunkin Donuts!

Thank you to our friends at Burton Foods for their support of our work and recognition of Sugar Bear's service. They recently held a plaque dedication at their Rosecrans Dunkin store in which they honored Sugar bear's service and highlighted the mission of the Sugar Bear Foundation. We cannot thank them enough for their kind words, beautiful gesture, and support of our work with Military Surviving spouses and children. CLICK HERE for news coverage of the event.

2022 MCRD Military Spouse Career Symposium

Gold Star/Surviving Spouses are invited to attend this virtual Symposium. Please be on the lookout soon for more career opportunities, especially remote positions. We are working to make such opportunities available to our community. If you have any questions or need help registering please reach out to Admin@thesugarbearfoundation.org. The link to register is: https://virtualmilitaryspousecareersymposium-mccssandiego.eventbrite.com/

Memorial Day Message

This coming week I have the honor of speaking to a Veterans group about Sugar Bear, our work, and of course thoughts about Memorial Day. Although I know this is a day to honor and remember the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country, I also ask that we remember the families they leave behind. If you know a Gold Star/Surviving family reach out to them. Call, text, send an email, and let them know you are thinking about them. Invite them to the barbeque, offer to help with a home repair, or help with the kids. The outreach is so important! It is needed! The families want that connection. They also want to talk about their spouses. Their children need to hear stories and to know the men and women who served with their parents. Maintaining these ties can make all the difference to families who are grieving, especially at this time of year. The kids and I are blessed for the outpouring of support we have received from our Marine Corps/military community. We feel compelled to extend that love to the Survivor Community. We can attest it makes a real difference!

Thank you,

Jennifer Carazo
Gold Star wife & President

May is a Special Time for Us

May is a very special month for us. Six years ago we had the opportunity to form the Sugar Bear Foundation. Our mission then as well as today has been to support Military Surviving Spouses and Children as a means of carrying on Sugar Bear’s legacy of service. Sugar Bear was born on May 25th and we continue to celebrate his life. In lieu of these milestones, we hope you will sign up for Sugar Bear’s Memorial Virtual Run, donate or help spread the word of our work by serving as an Ambassador. Our work with our Surviving Families is needed. Our spouses require ongoing services so they can continue to heal and provide for their children. There is not a quick remedy or solution when you lose your spouse or parent in service to our country. Our work is constantly evolving as we stand ready to serve the families who have given their all. We hope you will stand with us.