Grey Oaks Country Club Supports Operation Hug-A-Hero
July 20, 2012 by Lisa Berg
Filed under Fund Raising
The wonderful community of Grey Oaks Country Club is holding their 4th golf tournament in support of Operation Hug-A-Hero on Saturday July 21st. Our Executive Director, Lisa Berg will be present to personally thank the community and golfers for their generosity. Their continued support and participation is a testament to the SW Florida community – rich in patriotism and home to many retired service members.
OPERATION Hug-A-Hero volunteer, Michael Cox, whose son-in-law is a United States Marine, has led the effort to establish the tradition of a series of golf tournaments to benefit OPERATION Hug-A-Hero at premier golf courses in SW Florida. Cox’s goal is to continue to support non-profit organizations who provide resources to our military. We are honored to accept their support once again, helping our little heroes left behind.
For more information, please contact us at info AT operationhugahero.org!
Way to go Mike and our thanks to all of the players for their support!
Bill Compton 4th Annual Support Our Troops 5K and 1M Family Fun Walk in Walled Lake, MI
May 25, 2012 by Lisa Berg
Filed under Events, News & Events
WALLED LAKE, MI, May 27, 2012 – The Walled Lake Downtown Development Authority (DDA) will hold 4th annual “Bill Compton Support Our Troops 5K Run and 1M Fun Walk” Memorial weekend on Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. at E. Walled Lake Drive and Ferland Street in Walled Lake’s Historic Lakefront District.
If you are in the Detroit, MI area this Memorial Day weekend, please come out and support our cause! Executive Director of Operation Hug-A-Hero, Lisa Berg will be at the event to personally thank the Walled Lake Community and Downtown Development Authority. We are proud to align ourselves with this amazing community again.
To see our Press Release, please click here
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Operation Hug-A-Hero Supports our Nation’s Fallen Heroes
August 8, 2011 by Lisa Berg
Filed under General, News & Events
The Operation Hug-A-Hero family extends their heartfelt prayers and sympathy to the families of the 30 U.S. Special Operations Troops killed over the weekend in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. These fallen heroes will always be cherished by their loved ones and their bravery and service to their country will never be forgotten by a grateful nation.
Operation Hug-A-Hero would like to offer each child affected their own custom-made Hug-A-Hero Doll of their fallen hero, their daddies. We believe our special dolls can provide a tangible, comforting connection for these children in the coming transitional months.
If you know a child directly affected by this recent tragedy who might benefit from a Hug-a-Hero doll, please contact Operation Hug-A-Hero at (888) HUG-0329, ext. 101 (484-0329).
If you would like to help Operation Hug-A-Hero in providing a little comfort to the children of our fallen heroes, please go to www.operationhugahero.org to make your tax-deductible donation.
We have set up Special Monitoring of our phone lines for this so that we can promptly respond to assist the Children (our little Heroes) in their time of need.
Hittin’ the Links for OPERATION Hug-A-Hero – SOLD OUT
June 15, 2011 by Lisa Berg
Filed under Fund Raising
Friends of OPERATION Hug-A-Hero in Naples, FL are hosting their inaugural golf tournament in the SW Florida area at the Grey Oaks Country Club on Saturday, June 18, 2011. It is only fitting that this tournament coincide with Father’s Day weekend, as so many of the heroes that we honor at OPERATION Hug-A-Hero are fathers that are deployed in harm’s way. The tournament’s capacity of 80 players was quickly reached – a testament to the SW Florida community – rich in patriotism and home to many retired service members.
OPERATION Hug-A-Hero volunteer, Michael Cox, whose son-in-law is a United States Marine, has led the effort to establish the tradition of a series of golf tournaments to benefit OPERATION Hug-A-Hero at premier golf courses in SW Florida. Cox’s goal is to organize at least 2 more tournaments in 2011.
For more information, please contact us at info AT operationhugahero.org!
Way to go Mike and our thanks to all of the players for their support!
Schools “Dress Down” for OPERATION Hug-A-Hero
April 11, 2011 by Lisa Berg
Filed under Fund Raising
Schools “Dress Down” for OPERATION Hug-A-Hero
Join us in celebrating the Month of the Military Child by “Dressing Down” at your school! Don’t have a uniform dress code at your school? Join us in a “Pennies for Heroes” fund drive instead!
For our “Dress Down” fundraiser, you determine the amount of the donation that earns your students a dress down day, and we will provide a customized promotional flyer template for you to promote your tribute to military children.
For our “Pennies for Heroes” fundraiser, put a collection receptacle in your school office, cafeteria, gymnasium during sporting events and raise funds for OPERATION Hug-A-Hero! Again, we will provide a promotional flyer for you to post and distribute to your students and on your website.
For more information, contact our Director of Development, Stephanie Crabb at 888-HUG-0329, ext 113 or Stephanie At operationhugahero.org.
Down Load a Full Resolution PDF -SAMPLE-Version of our Dress Down FLYER 
Children & Military Deployments – SPECIAL REPORT -
December 15, 2009 by Lisa Berg
Filed under Military Families, News & Events
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
Motorcycle Ride for OPERATION Hug-A-Hero & Children’s Bicycle Rodeo
October 6, 2009 by Lisa Berg
Filed under Fund Raising, General
Be one of the first 100 to register and receive a FREE t-shirt!
October 24th 2009 in Jacksonville, North Carolina there will be (2) great events to support our Military and Operation Hug-A-Hero. These events are for the entire family. The first event is for all the Motorcycle Enthusiasts. This Harley Ride is just for you. For the second event be sure to bring your children along for the Bicycle Rodeo, where the kids get to dress up their bikes with all kinds of free stickers and then a contest for the best dressed and a lot of other categories for them to win prizes with their bikes. Lot’s of fun stuff for children of all ages; there will be Face Painting, a Rock Wall, Giveaways, Live Music, Food and more.
So be sure to set the date (October 24, 2009) on your calendar for these two great fun events at the New River Harley Davidson off Wilmington Highway in Jacksonville, NC.
Event 1 – Harley Ride for Operation Hug-A-Hero
Fall is in the air! Rain or shine, be a part of the first ever ride in our community for our littlest heroes!
Ride for Operation Hug-A-Hero – Jacksonville, NC
October 24, 2009
New River Harley Davidson/Buell
2394 Wilmington Highway
Jacksonville, NC
The Harley Ride is Sponsored by:
$20 Solo Rider (Free Event T-Shirt to first 100 registered riders) 9:00 AM Kickoff and Registration 11:00 AM Kickstands Up After Party – WRNS Your Country 95.1 FM Broadcasting Live – Kids Bicycle Rodeo For more information, contact: Tricia Dyal @ 910-333-1502 or tricia AT operationhugahero.org
Event 2 – Kids Bicycle Rodeo and Family Fun
Kids Bicycle Rodeo and Family Fun – Jacksonville, NC October 24, 2009 New River Harley Davidson/Buell 2394 Wilmington Highway Jacksonville, NCThe Kids Bicycle Rodeo and Family Fun is Sponsored by: Accent Real Estate
Be one of the first 100 to register and receive a FREE t-shirt!
Ride for our Cause!
