National Military Family Assn. - Government and You E-News April 29, 2008

Published April 30, 2008

1. Last Chance to Apply for Financial Counseling Fellowship!
The Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education®
(AFCPE®) in association with the National Military Family Association
(NMFA) and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation is pleased to
announce applications are being accepted for the Military Spouse
Fellowship for the Accredited Financial Counselor Program. This program
will provide up to 200 military spouses with the education necessary to
enter the financial counseling career field.

The fellowship covers the costs associated with completing the
Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) training and testing. Upon
successful completion of the program and required practicum, the
participant will be awarded the Accredited Financial Counselor
designation from AFCPE.

Many employers, such as credit unions, financial aid offices, and
community housing agencies, need well-trained, ethical and caring
financial counselors to meet the increasing demand for financial
counseling services. Military spouses can fill this need while building
a rewarding career that is flexible to the demands of the military
family. Application deadline is Friday, May 2nd at midnight EST. Apply now!

2. Sesame Workshop Launches Phase Two of Military Families Outreach: Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, today launched Talk, Listen, Connect: Deployments, Homecomings, Changes,
the second phase of the Workshop's military outreach program launched
initially in 2006. The initiative provides support and offers
significant resources for military families with young children
experiencing the effects of deployments, multiple deployments or when a
parent returns home changed due to a combat related injury.

Talk, Listen, Connect: Deployments, Homecomings, Changes seeks to:

Reduce the level of anxiety children may experience during homecomings after multiple deployments

Help parents with ways to cope with multiple deployments;

Help
young children gain an age-appropriate understanding of a parent's
injury by including them and the entire family in the rehabilitation
process;

Reassure children that they are loved and secure and
that together with their families, they can learn new ways of being
there for one another and having hope for the future.

The resources consist of a bilingual (English/Spanish) multimedia
outreach kit with DVDs for children and adults starring the Muppets
from Sesame Street, print materials for children, parents and
caregivers and facilitators and American Greeting postcards featuring
the beloved Sesame Street characters for parents and children to stay
connected. Sesame Workshop will produce and distribute 500,000 kits at
no cost to individual families, schools, child care programs, family
support programs, hospitals and rehabilitation centers and other
organizations serving the needs of military families with the help of
Military OneSource (http://www.militaryonesource.com/),
the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH), the USO (United
Service Organizations), the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC)
and other partners. Special emphasis will be made to reach families of
the Reserves and National Guard. The kit materials will also be
available online at www.sesameworkshop.org/tlc
where streaming video is being provided by the Department of Defense
Military Community and Family Policy Program Support Group, so families
everywhere can view the videos and download the information.

Sesame Workshop will assess the program's effectiveness with spouses
of military personnel who have been injured or experienced multiple
deployments, and have a young child. Sesame Workshop routinely conducts
these assessments in order to focus future outreach programs more
effectively.
(Source: http://www.sesameworkshop.org/aboutus/pressroom/presskits/tlc/press_release.php)

3. Smooth Moves for Military Families: Just in time for the summer PCS season, DoD has announced improvements to the Plan My Move website.

With military life comes MOVING. That is why MilitaryHOMEFRONT
offers PlanMyMove, a powerful set of tools to help make your next move
a smooth one. PlanMyMove provides access to the following features and
more:

Customizable calendar

TO DO lists

Departure and Arrival checklists

Overseas specific information

Reliable resources focused on the community outside the gate

Installation Overviews

Information on moving with a family member who has special needs

For more information, visit: https://cs.mhf.dod.mil/content/dav/mhf/QOL-Library/MilitaryHOMEFRONT/243715.html

4. Make Room In Your Pantry: April
is nearly over and that can only mean one thing...it's time for
Commissary Case Lot sales. Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) holds
worldwide case lot sales twice a year in May and September. The
September sale started in 2001 and proved so popular another was added
in May. The biannual event offers shoppers an opportunity to buy bulk
quantities of their favorite products at increased savings, such as
canned goods, beverages, paper products, pet supplies, cleaning or
laundry products, and in some cases, fresh chicken, pork, beef and
produce.

Nearly all commissaries participate - though on different weekends
throughout the month. To find out when your commissary is hosting a
sale, check out the special case lot sale Web page. Some sales will
take place the last weekend in May, spilling over to June 1. Customers
who live in regions with multiple commissaries, such as Norfolk, Va.,
or San Antonio, can make maximum use of the DeCA Web site to hit more
than one sale.

And while you're on the Website, be sure to check out all the
features it has to offer: Ask the DeCA Dietitian; Kay's Kitchen; links
to special manufacturer's coupons, sweepstakes and promotions; and the
latest commissary news. If you're interested in having the news
delivered to you by e-mail, it's as simple as registering for a free
subscription to Commissary Connection.

So if you're a savvy shopper who likes to stock the pantry and save
lots of money, too, do your homework and prepare for the worldwide case
lot sale. When you're making out your shopping list, you might find
"shop till you drop" is item No. 1. (Source: DeCA News Release 49-08)

5. National Volunteer Appreciation Week:
In recognition of National Volunteer Appreciation Week, NMFA would like
to thank all the military families who provide valuable volunteer
services to their local communities. Without your hard work and
dedication, many programs would cease to exist. From everyone at NMFA
- THANK YOU!

6. Military Families Share Their Stories: ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, has just released a video, Young Children on the Homefront,
in which military families share their unique deployment experiences
and early childhood professionals offer tips and strategies for dealing
with difficult issues such as grief and loss from deployment and the
challenges that often arise upon reunification.

The video was made for military families, in appreciation and support of their service and commitment. Young Children on the Homefront can be viewed online at www.zerotothree.org/military under "What's New". For more information on ZERO TO THREE go to http://www.zerotothree.org/.

7. NFL Players Tackle SAT & ACT Test Prep:
In cooperation with the Department of Defense (DoD), eKnowledge
Corporation, a leading supplier of interactive test preparation
products for college entrance exams, along with a group of NFL players,
have donated more than $16 million worth of multimedia SAT/ACT Test
preparation products to service members and their families worldwide.

Now in its fourth year, the eKnowledge/NFL player sponsorship effort
has shipped more the 90,000 free SAT/ACT test preparation programs,
valued at $200, to military service members and their families.

Those military families interested in receiving free eKnowledge
products under this sponsorship can complete an online request form at http://eknowledge.com/military or visit http://militaryhomefront.dod.mil/ for more details. Copies can also be requested by phone at 951-256-4076, or via email at support@eknowledge.com.

8. National Infant Immunization Week:
On Sunday, April 19th, The U. S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
launched National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) with events
continuing through Saturday, April 26, 2008.

Parents, caregivers and health care providers will be reminded
during NIIW of the benefits of vaccination and the importance of
routine childhood vaccination. One focus will be encouraging parents to
become informed medical consumers by talking to their healthcare
providers and asking them questions about vaccines.

The number of cases of most vaccine-preventable diseases and deaths
is at an all time low. Vaccination programs in the United States have
contributed to the elimination of many vaccine-preventable diseases and
have greatly reduced the incidence of most other vaccine-preventable
diseases.

Although vaccines have drastically reduced vaccine-preventable
diseases, they are still circulating in many parts of the world and the
United States can see a return of these diseases if we don't maintain
high vaccine coverage levels. Diligent efforts are required to ensure
our immunization programs remain strong to protect our children.

For more information visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines or call 1- 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636).
(Source: http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/2008/r080424.htm)