by Sarah Young

It’s 6:45 a.m., and you have two children that need to make it to school before 8 a.m. The clothes have to be ironed, kids have to be fed, the dog has to be let outside, and you have to be dressed for another day of work. Although your mind is busy with hundreds of daily duties and tasks, one thought outweighs all others. Your spouse is a world away, a deployed soldier. He or she is protecting this country. Your soldier is making the world a safer place for your children, and for that you are proud and grateful. But on the mornings when your youngest won’t put his shoes on, your oldest won’t get out of bed, the dog gets out of the backyard and your car won’t start, sometimes you just wish you had a little more help here at home.

The soldiers are not the only people making sacrifices for the betterment of our country; their families are too. Spouses at home try to keep life running smoothly for their families, all the time worrying about their soldier.

Operation Homefront is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families just like this. The Georgia chapter of Operation Homefront helps families of soldiers, provides emergency support, and offers assistance to soldiers when they come home. The programs they provide include spouse group support, wounded warrior assistance, disaster relief and counseling. But that’s not all. They also help with the day-to-day problems that might come up for families that have a deployed parent or spouse. They offer assistance with auto repair, home appliance repair, plumbing problems and even help military families move.

Vicki Sarracino began the Georgia chapter, and she has served as president for the past year and a half. Her husband took a job at Fort McPherson, and when they moved she gave up her job. Opening the Georgia chapter was actually his idea. “I applied to open the Georgia chapter, it was approved and pretty much the rest is history,” said Vicki. And in a mere year and a half, Vicki is making history. Just this past Christmas “Good Morning America” featured Operation Homefront’s Christmas project, which Wal-Mart sponsored. The military families were able to go to “The North Pole,” meet Santa and receive gifts.

There are many ways for people to volunteer, and it’s a great way to teach our children about giving. What better value could we instill in our children than appreciation of the men and women who protect this country? One way for you to get your kids involved is with care packages. You can purchase the items yourself, but Vicki suggests visiting operationhomefront.net/georgia and then clicking on the link for e-care packages. Here, you and your children can “adopt a soldier,” and even select a soldier from your own state. Then, you can visit the online store and purchase items to put in your soldier’s care package. Operation Homefront will send your items to your adopted soldier. If you choose to send a care package yourself, you can contact Vicki at georgia@operationhomefront.net for mailing information.

There are other ways to make a difference too. You can volunteer your own time and services. They are always in need of caseworkers and currently need help planning events. Another way to help is offering business services. Any business can volunteer, and everything is appreciated. “We are always in need of services that pertain to the house,” said Vicki. “We deal with the ‘Murphy’s Law’ of the Army. When the spouse is deployed, that’s when everything goes wrong,” she continued.

Operation Homefront is a nonprofit organization, so they are always grateful for donations. Another way to teach your child about helping others in need is having them save money to donate to help the children of the soldiers. Talk to them about how important our soldiers are, and explain to them that lots of little boys and girls miss their mommy or daddy because they are far away being heroes. Your children can also make cards to mail with the donations. “Families often need help with food assistance,” said Vicki. With one parent at home, sometimes money gets tight. This is when you and your children can truly make a difference to a soldier’s family.

The families of the soldiers and the soldiers themselves will appreciate any way your family can volunteer. Operation Homefront is a wonderful way to thank our military for protecting our families. “We are always in need of help. If anyone wants to help we’d love to have them,” said Vicki.

To find out more about how you and your children can get involved with Operation Homefront, go to www.operationhomefront.net/georgia or call 1-800-390-2115. Send donations by mail to: Operation Homefront-GA at P.O. Box 1794 in Fayetteville, GA 30214.