Partner Story: Guard Support

Their Mission: to Help and Protect Us in our Times of Need

Guard Support's Mission: To Return the Favor

Imagine Daddy is going away for a trip. He won’t be there to tickle the kids into bed or to help find socks in the morning. He won’t be home to help with that tricky math problem or just to be home while you run to the store. For most of us moms with delightful and helpful modern husbands, that’s a stressful proposition.

Now imagine it’s not a quick trip, but a long deployment. And it’s not a trip in nice hotels, but a long and dangerous trip into a war zone.

That, of course, is the experience of the families of our military men and women.

The emotional struggle of worry and loneliness is ever present for these families. But financial struggles often exacerbate their challenges. The families of the National Guard called for service are especially vulnerable. These families are far less prepared and supported than the families of the regular armed forces. In many cases, these families have suddenly lost the primary breadwinner, manager of family accounts, repairer of broken items, and other key elements of the family’s finances. There are heartbreaking stories of bankruptcy, of running out of money to even pay the phone bill to talk to one’s spouse, of a serviceman scrambling for money to fly back home on leave to see his newborn.

The Army's top general, General George Casey has acknowledged, “We are asking more and more of our families than I would ever have thought possible.”

For Nate and Amy Dalton, part of the extended SixSeeds family, the problem hit close to home. During the summer of 2007 Nate Dalton learned that his neighbor, Michael Finer, a lieutenant colonel in the Massachusetts National Guard was preparing for a year-long deployment to Iraq, In talking with Michael, Nate learned about the various challenges that soldiers face to ensure that their homes and businesses run smoothly while their away.

As a commanding officer, Michael described to Nate the sacrifice deployment represents for his soldiers and their families. It was a conversation that Nate continued to reflect upon. Nate recalls, "You begin to think of the strain, about the problems a guardsman's family is faced with. It seemed completely unfair to me that more isn't being done for these people. The two of us lived half a mile apart." The contrast was striking – Nate would remain at his job, enjoying the comfort of family life while Michael would endure the violence and uncertainty of Iraq at the start of the surge.

As federal and state infrastructure seemed insufficient, Nate realized that additional resources were needed. The result is Guard Support, a nonprofit organization he founded that summer, 2007.

Since 2007, Guard Support has helped thousands of Guard members and their families by disbursing over 275 grants which provided Emergency Financial Relief to Guard members and their families, funding for unit Family Readiness Groups that provide support to Guard families coping with the deployment of a spouse or parent, Transportation on Leave Subsidies to deployed Guardsmen so that they can visit their families at no out-of-pocket cost and internet connections overseas to link deployed service members with their families.

Guard Support's role in the community is to support Mass. National Guard members and their families by providing support and some relief from the incredible sacrifices, mounting pressures and challenges these families face as a result of deployment.

SixSeeds partnered with Consulting Within Reach to rapidly build the organizational capacity of Guard Support. John Kingston, SixSeeds’ founder, also donates his time serving on the Board of Guard Support.

Regardless of different political views about the war itself, we can unite around supporting these families facing hardships due to their service of country.

But what can you do? Support the work of Guard Support, especially if you live in Massachusetts or in neighboring states (Mass. Guardsmen live in several states bordering Massachusetts). Join their Facebook page, and/or follow them on Twitter, sign-up for their free e-newsletter, visit their website to learn more.

Or, if you know a “service family” of the National Guard or the regular armed forces, consider adopting that family. Such a family may not broadcast its need, but you should view them the same way you would view a family that has suddenly lost a parent. Start with cooking meals, offering to shop, babysitting, or other very practical needs. After awhile, you can gently ask about their financial needs and figure out if there are more ways to help.

After all, as Captain Christopher Furlong, Company Commander 379th Engineers Detachment 1 Company of the Mass. National Guard said, "The knowledge that our loved ones will be looked after in our absence is as crucial to a unit's morale as food and pay."

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Leave one comment below -- express appreciation for them or anything else you'd like to say -- and we will donate money towards their organization!  Not only will you be helping them, you will also receive a weekly e-zine from SixSeeds.tv, offering the best in good, family, fun!  

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