TampaBayOnline Features OHAH

Operation Hug-A-Hero’s Executive Director Lisa Berg and her family were featured on Tampa Tribunes’s – TBO.com (Tampa Bay  Online) .  The Story by Geoff Foxx of the Tampa Tribune is an inspirational story that details the history of Daddy Dolls as well as how the Dolls have helped Lisa’s children. Also of great importance is the note regarding the recent troop surge announced by President Obama and how many children of military family’s can be helped by a Donation, so that Operation Hug-A-Hero can supply more Dolls to children whose parents are about to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

With President Obama’s recent announcement that 30,000 troops soon will be sent to Afghanistan, OPERATION Hug-A-Hero is accepting donations so that more Daddy Dolls will find their way to the arms of children who miss their parent. A donation of $25 can get a doll to a child.

Click here to read the entire TBO story entitled Hug-A-Hero dolls provide comfort to children of deployed military.

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December 2, 2009 Press Release – OHAH offers public opportunity to support ‘littlest heroes’

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OHAH’s Exective Director Featured on Tampa’s 10 Connects.com

OPERATION Hug-A-Hero’s Executive Director, Lisa Berg was featured on Tampa Bay’s WTSP TV Channel 10 Connects.com on Friday December 18, 2009. You can check out the text of the interview from 10 Connects Web site where you can view the interview. Or you can view it right from the home page of Operation Hug-A-Hero in our Featured Video on the right sidebar ->.

Here are Lisa’s comments from the interview:

I was happy to come down and interview. What a warm welcome 10 Connects gave me. Couple other points I didn’t get a chance to make: MacDill AFB Enlisted Spouse’s Club raised money for our cause to help those on MacDill in need. Please contact us to find out how to place a doll into the loving arms of a child in need right here in Tampa. Also, ANYONE can donate. Every $1 helps. In recent days, groups have come forward to donate instead of buying each other Christmas gifts (RNs from Orlando and Kansas City). We thank each of you for your support. Let’s Help our Little Heroes left behind. Let’s support our troops who are protecting us by us providing comfort to their children. Think about these children right now as we all plan to celebrate the holidays with loved ones. Thanks for your interest!

Related Posts:

Afghanistan Troop Surge – Public Opportunity to support littlest hero’s

Deployment Effects on Children of Military Families – SPECIAL REPORT -

Children & Military Deployments – SPECIAL REPORT -

At Operation Hug-A-Hero® we know firsthand the negative effects deployments can have on children. After all Hug-A-Hero® Dolls were created by two military wives who struggled with a way for their children to be able to connect with their fathers who were deployed Marines. That was the original basis for Daddy Dolls®. The founders Tricia and Nikki, saw the huge psychological payback for their own children by seeing the connection their own children had with the dolls, which bear the image of their fathers. Several years later the nonprofit OPERATION Hug-A-Hero was created.

Up until recently little was known about how children were affected by long absences from parents who were deployed overseas and the reintegration after their return home. The National Military Family Association commissioned a study by the RAND Corporation that addresses this issue.

The research is among the first to explore how these children are faring academically, socially, and emotionally during an extended period of wartime. Results show that children from military families studied may be experiencing above average levels of emotional and behavioral difficulties, relative to national norms.

This report has had a fairly wide media response and has been published in Stars and Stripes, New York Times and the Science Daily to name a few. We have provided links to the actual reports for your benefit.

You can read the full report from Rand’s Press Release – here Longer Parental Deployment Linked to More Emotional Challenges for Military Children

Additionally you can download the full report in a PDF format directly from the National Military Family Associations website.

Views from the Home Front – The Experience of Children from Military Families
Here are the major points from this report:

■ Children in military families experienced emotional and behavioral difficulties at rates above national averages.

■ About one-third of the children reported symptoms of anxiety, which is somewhat higher than the percentage reported in other studies of children.

■ Self-reported problems varied by age and gender: Older youths and boys reported more difficulties with school and more problem behaviors, such as fighting; greater numbers of younger children (compared with older children) and girls reported anxiety symptoms.

The results also revealed challenges posed specifically by deployment:

■ Longer periods of parental deployment (within the past three years) were linked to greater difficulties in children’s social and emotional functioning, at least based on caregiver reports.

■ Deployment-related challenges varied by age and gender: Older youths experienced greater school- and peer-related difficulties during deployment; girls experienced greater difficulties during the period of reintegration than did boys.

■Children whose caregivers had better self-reported mental health were better able to cope with the deployment experience both during and after.

■ Living on-base was linked with reduced difficulties both during and after deployment.

The results represent an important first step in understanding the link between parental deployment and military child and family well-being. The findings suggest the need for more research to improve understanding in several areas, including the link between caregiver mental health and child well-being and the reasons why girls and older youth may be reporting more challenges with deployment. The results also highlight several avenues for possible intervention. For example, families may benefit from targeted support to deal with stressors from multiple months of deployment, rather than only during initial months. Further, families in which caregivers face mental health issues may need more support for both caregiver and child.

Reports like this validate the OHAH mission and are the reason why our volunteers are eager to help us achieve our goals.  We want to help our military children who are faced with the inevitable. Founder of Operation Hug-A-Hero®, Tricia Dyal, states “We want to be able to help these children by providing them with a coping mechanism before that parent ever deploys. A Hug-A-Hero® doll should be their security blanket.”

Download a copy of this Report

“The Real Heroes” ARC Event Recap – Rizer Family

Daddy Dolls our parent sponsor, works within the military community on other benefits that sometimes provide parallel relationships that are both supportive of Daddy Dolls business and that also bring awareness  and support to our Non Profit Mission to provide Free Hug A hero Dolls to Those families who meet OHAH eligibility requirements. In that venue back in October 2009 Daddy Dolls sponsored an event with the American Red Cross of San Diego. We recently received permission to  publish a letter we had received from this event. Here is the event recap.

“Daddy Dolls, Inc. has partnered with the American Red Cross San Diego/Imperial Counties Chapter to help provide Hug-A-Hero dolls to children who are missing their mommy or daddy.  In a recent breakfast honoring “The Real Heroes” which took place on board the USS Midway, there were surprises waiting for some of the Little Heroes in attendance.

Please read on to hear about the heartfelt experience this had on the children attending, especially little Miss Katie Rizer.”

“Good afternoon: Words cannot express how grateful I am for what your company did in support of our Real Heroes Breakfast. The event, held on board the USS MIDWAY was very successful, attracting over 800 people from our community, all of whom were touched by the Hug-a-Hero dolls at their tables. When it was announced that the individuals on the dolls were real service members currently deployed and that the dolls were donated as gifts to their families, a long applause erupted throughout the hanger deck. Many folks throughout the morning commented on the dolls and on how real they made the experience of military families who find ways to cope with missing parents and absentee spouses as a measure of their commitment to something bigger than themselves.

Your generosity also allowed us to invite ten Marines from the Wounded Warrior Program at Balboa Naval Hospital. They were grateful for the invitation and enjoyed a front row seat as they heard Rear Admiral Bonnelli thank them for their sacrifice and services. Most of all, I want you to know that your generosity made all the difference in the world to Katie Rizer, a six year old young girl whose father is currently deployed aboard the USS SAMPSON. Katie misses her father terribly and her mother Rebecca feels the pain of trying to help a young girl understand something that, on an emotional level, no six year old can understand. Katie and her mother were able to attend the breakfast as quests of your company.

I had the privilege of escorting them to their table. As we reached the table and I was introducing them to others seated there, Katie’s eyes became as big as saucers and she could not contain herself. Politely but with great emotion, Katie drew her mother’s attention to the center piece and said, “Mommy Look! It’s Daddy.” Everyone at the table turned to Katie who was a picture of unabashed joy. Rebecca, seeing the picture of her husband and watching her daughter’s joy, could not contain herself. Large tears filled her eyes and she sobbed deeply while a touching smile crossed her face. Katie’s natural response and the warm and supportive response of those seated at the table made it a moment to cherish. Rebecca let me know several times during and after the event how much this meant to her and to Katie. You and your company helped make that possible.

I know of no other way to tell you how much I appreciate what you helped me do and the potential impact of your contribution, than to send you a picture. Please enjoy and share the moment you helped create………………..Best and more later, Charlie

Charlie Fleishman

Manager, Services to the Armed Forces

American Red Cross San Diego/Imperial Counties Chapter”

Beltran Family Testimonial

Here is a great heart felt story about a family whose children are recent recipients of Hug a Hero Dolls.

Brendan and Alamae love their daddy dolls. They never want to go anywhere without them.  Brendan has to go to the hospital once a week and he takes it with him each time.  The nurses and doctor think it’s the coolest thing ever!!  Alamae is 7 years old and she’s a real daddy’s girl.  She loves to keep her doll close.  She brings her daddy to school and shows him to everyone. It is her favorite thing to take for show and tell.  She gets to talk about him to her friends and I know that makes her so proud!  These dolls are the most amazing thing ever created. We are so thankful for them.  We take them everywhere we go…hospitals, restaurants, and best of all to their military support group.

Amanda Beltran

Related Posts:

Shear Family Testimonial

Hahn Family Testimonial – 4H club Donation

Wilson Family Testimonial – Marine Corps Family

Press Release December 2, 2009

Afghanistan troop surge:

OPERATION Hug-A-Hero® offers public opportunity to support ‘littlest heroes’

Members of the public are invited to join OPERATION Hug-A-Hero in easing the burden of separation from military parents to be deployed in Afghanistan troop surge.

Jacksonville, NC (PRWEB) December 2, 2009 — With the recent announcement that an additional 30,000 troops will be deployed to Afghanistan, OPERATION Hug-A-Hero has stepped forward to help provide comfort to America’s “littlest heroes,” the children of America’s service men and women who will soon deploy.

A 501(c)(3) organization serving the children of military, law enforcement and first responder families, OPERATION Hug-A-Hero provides durable, washable high quality dolls with a full-body photograph of a parent to children of America’s heroes.

With the news that additional service members will deploy in support of the Afghanistan troop surge as early as next month, OPERATION Hug-A-Hero is determined to do its part to honor and support the children left at home.

“It is very easy for the public to lend their support,” said Lisa Berg, OPERATION Hug-A-Hero Executive Director. “Donations may be made online by going to our website, www.operationhugahero.org/. It’s that simple, and givers will have the pleasure knowing their contributions have added to the quality of life for one or more of those children in need.”

“Though a doll cannot solve every issue a child may face while their parent is deployed, it certainly goes a long way to providing an emotional security blanket for the littlest heroes at home,” said Tricia Dyal, OPERATION Hug-A-Hero Co-Founder. “We’ve even heard of children keeping their parent in the circle of family life by photographing the Hug-A-Hero doll at every significant family event, such as a birthday party or holiday celebration.”

Anything that can reduce stress, relieve anxiety and bring comfort to the child of a deployed service member is an important endeavor, said Berg.

“If you have been wondering what you can do to give back to America’s heroes, then now is the time to act. Please consider putting a service member’s mind at ease by doing this kindness for his or her child. I have seen the impact these dolls have made on the lives of the children and families who have received them,” said Berg. “I know we can get a Hug-A-Hero doll into the arms of every child in need.”

Note: Members of the media interested in covering this story may contact Lisa Berg via e-mail at lisa@operationhugahero.org or by telephone at (910) 546-3127.

Download a copy of this PressRelease