Three key ways your support helps us achieve our Mission:
1. Moving the Needle on National R.E.D. Friday
As of May 2019, more than 30 Oklahoma counties have signed official proclamations declaring their support of R.E.D. Fridays in their respective jurisdictions.
We appreciate the support of every official in setting a National example of our support for the U.S. Armed Services and their families.
With your help, Oklahoma will continue to grow to be a National leader in implementing official R.E.D. Fridays across our country.
To find out if your county has signed a proclamation or to partner in making it happen in your area, please contact us directly.
It is an easy way to join countless others in leading the way for R.E.D. Friday.
2. Supporting Blue Star Moms
They are mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, foster mothers and female legal guardians who have children serving in the military, guard or reserves, or children who are veterans. They support each other and their families while promoting patriotism. Their organization focuses on their Mission every single day and will never, ever, forsake our troops, our veterans or the families of our Fallen Heroes.
They are a recognized 501(c)3 organization that has provided support for active duty service personnel, promoted patriotism, assisted Veterans Organizations and assisted in homeland volunteer efforts since 1942. They have nearly 6,000 members from over 200 Chapters throughout the nation.
We are proud to donate 10% of the proceeds of our sales to Blue Star Mothers to help continue their efforts!
2017-2018 Fiscal Year Statistics
Members 5,794
Associates/Dads 1,376
VAVS 114
Convention attendees 229
Income $ 4,199,289.00
Expenses $ 3,890,547.00
In-Kind Donations $ 435,704.60
Grants $ 515,956.50
Donations $ 2,002,581.00
Banners 181
Care Packages 45,707
Letters/Cards 123,225
Ceremonies 539
Speeches 626
Parades 269
Homecomings 226
Veteran Events 1,044
3. Pray for our troops and military families.
Almighty God, Lord of Hosts, we call out to you as the One who is sovereign over all. Watch over and protect our nation’s military members and their families. Sustain them with your everlasting arms.
Take into your most gracious protection our service members currently deployed. May you be their comfort and their guide as they live and walk in a foreign land. Give them reassurance that you are a shield around them, an ever-present help in time of need. Grant our service members courage so that in all things they may serve without reproach. Encourage them while they also encourage one another.
As they serve around the world, we ask that you guard their families and loved ones back home. Provide them with peace and surround them with love as they mourn the absence of their loved one and long for their return. May they find hope and strength in you for the trials of each new day. Be with military children who endure the difficult burden of knowing their father or mother is in harm’s way for months on end. Guard these children’s hearts and minds despite the loneliness and uncertainty of having a parent deployed.
Lord God, be with marriages in the military. Preserve the bonds of husband and wife despite the stress that military life brings, stress only compounded by the decade of war our nation is in. Help military chaplains in their efforts to equip military marriages with ways to stay connected and communicate effectively despite the challenge of frequent deployments. Give husbands and wives strength and resilience to endure separations, frequent moves, and all the uncertainty military life brings.
For some, Lord, service takes their toll permanently in physical and emotional damage. For those wounded in battle, we pray you would come beside them.. Sustain and strengthen them amidst treatment, pain, and adjustments to life with an injury. Help them to find competent care and support, and to not be afraid to reach out for a helping hand or a listening ear. Be with their caregivers in the demanding role they have. Give caregivers renewed energy to offer support and love as they tend to the needs of the injured. Strengthen them as they both monitor and advocate for their loved one.
We know that war is very costly. Some have made the ultimate sacrifice, laying down their precious lives in service to our nation. Each one of them was a son or daughter, perhaps a husband or wife, father or mother. For all those who feel the pain and the toll of this war in the loss of their loved one, comfort them. Be a father to the fatherless and defender of widows. As they cast their cares on you, may they know the consolation of your love. We thank you for the freedoms these service members fought for which we enjoy today.
For each and every veteran who has served our country through the years, we thank you for their sacrifice. Comfort those who struggle in life after war. Help us to honor and care for those who have given so much for us.
Be with our nation's leaders as well, and all those who make decisions for our military. Give them wisdom and discernment in everything they do.
Father God, we long for the day when swords will be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. We long for your peace, for your shalom.
In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
Kristi Hofman has been a military spouse for 10 years. She and her husband, an active duty Army chaplain, have four young children. They have journeyed through deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan and currently call Fort Bragg, NC home. www.operationwearehere.com 2008
I can do all this through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13
