When you grow up with a family member in the military, you understand why they’re called “military families”. It doesn’t necessarily mean you grew up on a base or had to move routinely, but it means that your family knew what it meant to have one or more caregivers out of the house for long periods of time. What it means to have a parent who isn’t quite single, but has to manage a household on their own. The way you connect with other families growing up, like creating your own troop back home to help each other out. In my family, it also meant excellent posture and perfect phone manners.
There is an undoubted sacrifice that comes with military service, both for the enlisted and their family. We want to take this Memorial Day to honor that sacrifice, feature some of the great resources offering support to active and retired military personnel.
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Operation Shower 
Operation Shower hosts joyful baby showers for military families across the country. The showers are an opportunity for military families to leave the stresses of deployment at home, come together and celebrate. We’ve been partnering with Operation Shower for several years, every opportunity we have to share in the fun with expecting moms and dads is one we don’t want to miss.
Fisher House Foundation
Fisher House Foundation builds comfort homes where military & veterans families can stay free of charge, while a loved one is in the hospital nearby. Not only providing assistance during medical emergencies this organization has also given out over twenty-four million dollars in scholarships to military children and spouses. They’ve also partnered with Newman’s Own brand to offer grants to other organizations that come up with creative solutions to problems military families face! Pretty cool.
Operation Homefront
Another organization that been a partner of the WubbaNub teams for years, Operation Homefront assists military families during difficult financial times by providing food assistance, auto and home repair, vision care, travel and transportation, moving assistance, essential home items, and rent-free transitional housing for wounded veterans and their families.
Operation Homefront offers assistance but also the annual Military Child of the Year, which is given to six recipients based on the branch of the armed forces in which a parent either serves or has served — Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and the National Guard. Selected for their scholarship, volunteerism, leadership, extracurricular involvement, and other criteria while facing the challenges of military family life. We love an organization that finds inspiration in the entire family!
The Military Mom & Wife
Living in Okinawa, Japan with her husband and two young children Lauren Tamm writes the hilarious blog that focuses on the specific challenges military spouses face. You can read her blog, The Military Wife and Mom, as well as check out her blog as well as some of the free downloadable resources like a Deployment Binder and a free course called Military 101 that gives readers an at-a-glance checklist to help acclimate to the lifestyle.
SpouseBuzz
A subsection of a larger resource, this blog uses several spouses covering a wide array of topics important to military families. Everything from local resources and ways to volunteer, to following changes in government policy and benefits to families. SpouseBuzz is a great way to keep up to date on topics that fly a little under the radar but are sure to help out anyone whose spouse or parent is serving in the armed forces.