The AHEPAN - Fall 2011 - (Page 20)

AHEPA Supports Military Family Reading Program through USO F or many of our deployed troops stationed overseas, there can be a striking sense of loss when they miss the big and small moments in their children’s lives. The hardest hit members of a military family are often the youngest. Day-to-day life without a parent can be sad and confusing. So imagine the thrill on a child’s face when he or she sees and hears a bedtime story read by mom or dad. The United Through Reading® Military Program allows our deployed troops the ability to read their kids a bedtime story and virtually be there, even when they can’t be there in-person. That was especially true for U.S. Army Reserve SPC Michael S. Arnold. He was stationed in Kuwait from the time his young daughter, Kyleigh, was born and she hardly knew him or the sound of his voice. The United Through Reading® Military Program, made possible by the USO and United Through Reading, helped Arnold make that all too important connection with his child. Arnold went to the USO Center in Kuwait and sat in front of a video camera and recorded himself reading a favorite children’s book. The DVD and the book were sent home to his loved ones, giving Arnold the opportunity to share a special moment with his daughter and provided her the chance to know her father. “She was sitting in front of the television watching some of my United Through Reading videos when she said ‘Dada’ for the first time!” Arnold wrote from Camp Buerhing, Kuwait. “Outside of the United Through Reading program, it hasn’t been too often that she has seen me or heard my voice. However, with those videos, plus her mother’s constant input about who I am, she can finally put a face with a name.” the last “i love you” In early 2010, Jarod Newlove made a recording for his daughter when he stopped by the USO Camp Beuhring, Kuwait center, on his way to Afghanistan. The recording meant everything to her. Several months into his tour he came home on Rest and Recuperation leave and was able to become acquainted with his son, who was born just before he was deployed. On his way back to Afghanistan, he stopped at Beuhring, made another recording and the USO dropped it in the mail. Shortly after arriving in Afghanistan, he and another sailor were abducted. His family in Washington State alternated between fear of the worst and hope for the best. A few days after he went missing, his United Through Reading package arrived. Suddenly, there he was…on the TV…alive! He told his daughter to be sure to help Mommy with her little brother, and at the end of the recording he looked at the camera and said, “I love you” to his wife. His mother-in-law was with the family as this unfolded. She told us in an email that just seconds after the video ended they got the visit every military family dreads. A Naval officer and chaplain were there to tell them Jarod had been killed by his captors. “That last ‘I Love You’ was a gift from God,” his mother-in-law said. Nearly every community in the United States is missing moms, dads, friends, and loved ones who are serving in the United States Military either domestically or abroad. Among those communities there are 700,000 children living without their deployed parent. 20 the ahepan Fall 2011 www.ahepa.org http://www.ahepa.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The AHEPAN - Fall 2011

The AHEPAN - Fall 2011
Contents
Supreme President’s Message
Daughters of Penelope Message
Sons of Pericles Message
Maids of Athena Message
AHEPA Family News
South Beach Sizzles, The ‘Bleau Dazzles
The Journey Continues… With a Focus on Volunteerism
AHEPA Supports Military Family Reading Program through USO
Education
Housing
Athletics
AHEPA Family Chapter News

The AHEPAN - Fall 2011