Military Families

There are 12,000 Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans in the five boroughs of New York City. While this is a considerable number, it can be easy to lose sight of in a city of over eight million. For those of us who do not have the privilege of knowing one of these veterans or another military member personally it is often difficult to remain cognizant of the sacrifices that they and their families have made. No one, least of all the service members, expected that our engagements overseas would last this long, and few families could have been prepared for the multiple deployments that many have experienced.

To learn more about the military community and how we could best leverage our commitment to them, the Foundation invited representatives from key nonprofits to a roundtable discussion at our offices in New York in early 2011. During this discussion we identified some of the most important issues facing families of military personnel and heard several key recommendations to address these issues from those working directly in the field. From conducting our own research and in conversation with the roundtable participants it became clear that little information on how supporters might help this population is readily available. Our goal in circulating the publication linked here, is to provide a guide that can be used by donor audiences to raise awareness and stimulate thinking on this subject. While this report, consistent with the Foundation’s mission, focuses on children of military members in New York, it may be useful to foundations and other donor audiences serving children and families both in New York and nationally.

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