St Petersburg Times talks about Operation Hug-A-Hero
February 16, 2011 by Lisa Berg
Filed under News & Events
Executive Director, Lisa Berg was contacted by reporter Ileana Morales in mid-January to learn more about our cause. At the time, Mrs Berg was enjoying some family time as her husband, Benjamin Berg, USCG was home for a visit from the Middle East. Miss Morales and Mrs Berg reconnected and together learned about a local family who is currently without Daddy.
The Brian Dorr Family was gracious enough to let us into their home to allow us to learn more about their lives as an Army Family and their own experiences with Hug-A-Hero dolls while Daddy serves our country.
Please read the St Petersburg Times articles posted on TBO.com: Hug-A-Hero dolls help military children keep deployed parent close.
Wives & Military Deployments – SPECIAL REPORT by NEJM
January 15, 2010 by Lisa Berg
Filed under Military Families, News & Events
An interesting story published on Thursday January 14th, 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled “Deployment and the Use of Mental Health Services among U.S. Army Wives” discovered that the wives of soldiers deployed suffered higher mental health issues.
This was the largest study ever undertaken. The results are very conclusive and indicate “that the mental health effects of current military operations are extending beyond soldiers and into their immediate families.”
The study shows again “that when a service member deploys, the entire family deploys,” said Air Force Maj. April Cunningham, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
The results of this study mirror the findings from the RAND Corp. study of military children that we reported on last month in our Operation Hug-A-Hero SPECIAL REPORT,Children and Military Deployments that discusses Deployment Effects on Children of Military Families. The NEJM story details the fact that Children of deployed parents suffer more emotional issues, particularly if separations are long or the parent at home is troubled.
It’s a fact … kids do worse when Mom does worse. “So if spouses are more likely to need mental health services as deployment times increase, than their kids are more at risk.”
The NEJM story is pretty technical, so if you want an easier read, I would suggest the USA Today summary that you can read by clicking here: Army wives with deployed husbands suffer higher mental health issues.
The NEJM report along with the RAND report signify that children of military parents are adversely impacted emotionally with a parent who is deployed away from home for significant amount of time. This is the main reason that Operation Hug-A-Hero was created. We can and have made huge positive psychological impacts to the children that are recipients of our FREE Hug-A-Hero® dolls.
Download a copy of this Report
Beltran Family Testimonial
December 9, 2009 by Lisa Berg
Filed under Letters of Thanks
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
