Guard Support Announces Family Readiness Group Grant Awards to National Guard Units
The Family Readiness Groups at the 125th Quartermaster Company in Worcester, the 747 Military Police Company in Ware, and the 211th HHD MP Battalion in Lexington received GSMA Family Readiness Group grants.
The primary mission of a Family Readiness Group is to assist commanders in maintaining readiness for the service members, families and communities by promoting self-sufficiency, resiliency, and stability during peace and war time. GSMA Family Readiness Group grants provide funding for family group meetings, programs, mailings, materials, family events, send-off ceremonies and homecoming ceremonies.
About Guard Support of Massachusetts (guardsupport.org)
Guard Support of Massachusetts was founded in July of 2007 to help the families of the men and women serving in the Massachusetts National Guard. Since September 11, 2001 the Massachusetts National Guard has deployed over 6,000 soldiers and airmen in support of the global war on terror. Families frequently need emergency financial assistance after one spouse deploys overseas, and Guard Support was originally founded to help meet this need.
To date, approximately 60% of Guard Support grants have been for direct emergency assistance to the families of the men and women of the Massachusetts National Guard. Examples include rent payments, electric bills, car payments, gas and heating bills. The remainder of GSMA grants awarded support unit Family Readiness Group meetings, programs and family events, including send-off ceremonies and homecoming events; as well as links between the men and women of the Guard and their families, examples include, subsidized transportation on leave, subsidized internet links and internet phone links for units in Iraq.
In 2009 Guard Support plans to expand the services offered to meet the needs of the returning troops, to include; entrepreneurship training and support (especially in the current economic environment of unemployment, and underemployment), job training, and other education programs.
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