Guest Blogger: Natalie Cramer

Hello All,
In the future, you will see blogs entries from guest bloggers who have a message or mission that I think is relevant and worth supporting.  First Up:  Natalie Cramer of the Blue Star Family Platoon!

Max, thank you so much for offering me this great opportunity to guest blog for you today!  I'm much appreciative for the chance to share my project with your readers and followers and friends.
My name is Natalie Cramer, and I'm a Navy mom.  My twin sons are currently serving and assigned to the powerful aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln.  She's in dry dock right now for a major midlife rehaul and refuel. 

My sons have been trained by the Navy to be Nuclear Engineers and have recently gained the ranks of Petty Officers Second Class -- of course, being identical twins, they have to do the same things in life and work towards and achieve the same goals.  [proud mom with a smile on her face]  They are even dating twin sisters!

When they enlisted in the Navy, I wanted to find other military moms going through some of the same feelings and adjustments that I was experiencing, but had some difficulty connecting with these seemingly invisible families.

Then I discovered Blue Star Banners!  These patriotic banners are hung in the front windows and doors of families who have sons and daughters serving in this country's Armed Forces.  They are rich symbols and a viable tradition -- an old idea that still works today!

I began attending meetings of Marine Corps families in our area (Chicago) and handing out Blue Star Banners to the moms and dads.  Their faces light up with pride and love when I hand them a Blue Star Banner.  They can't wait to hang them up and show the neighborhood and the world.  

To me, spotting a banner as I drive through the villages and towns and communities does a couple of things:

I'm sensitized to the particular sacrifices of that family, and
I'm encouraged that America still stands behind our soldiers, and
I can usually find a friend and make a connection.

We are all about connecting families and helping them to find the support and resources that they may need.  Blue Star Banners is just the first level of connectedness, but it's a vital one.

We are currently in the midst of a very important fundraising campaign with the group that Max used for Support No Stigma.  In fact, his success inspired my own project!  

I would love your support and I'd like to invite you to visit our fundraising website!  Here's a link to click and follow:

http://startsomegood.com/ BlueStarFamilyPlatoon

Thank you so much for supporting this project -- with your help we can continue to provide these patriotic banners to military families and get them connected!  

All the best to you and yours -- Natalie Cramer for Blue Star Family Platoon