The Trevor Roman Foundation Newsletter

June 2011

—————————————————————-

—————————————————————-

In This Issue

• USO Tour Q&A with Trevor Romain
• Video Spotlight
• USO Tour Profile: Fort Riley
• Trevor’s Art: Give Yourself A Hug

—————————————————————-

—————————————————————-

A Note From the Director

Dear Friend,

Greetings from Trevor Romain’s Comfort Crew!

The Trevor Romain Foundation and the USO are committed to providing support and comfort to our nation’s youngest heroes. Over the past nine months, tens of thousands of military children across the country were beneficiaries of our most recent collaboration, the With You All the Way USO Tour.

During the tour, Trevor visited schools both on and off bases to help children with the social and emotional needs they are facing as military children. Children growing up in the military today have only known war time and many of them have had parents deployed over half of their lifetimes. Many issues arise as the deployments continue. Many children turn to bullying or aggression as a way to get their needs met.  Oftentimes children don’t know how to ask for help with some of the feeling they are having.

In the spring of 2010, the USO released a new animated DVD, produced by The Trevor Romain Company. It is titled With You All The Way! Dealing with Deployment. In the DVD, Trevor interacts with a cast of animated characters to help them learn simple ways to deal with deployment and their feelings. The tour is an extension of the DVD.  The Trevor Romain Company has produced a series of award winning DVDs that help kids cope with issues they deal with on a daily basis, especially military kids. These topics include bullying, cliques, fears, homework, and health.

Here is a message we received from a military spouse after Trevor visited her daughter’s school at Ft. Campbell.

Dear Trevor Romain,

It makes me cry to write this letter but happy tears for a change.  My step-daughter has been very depressed since her dad was deployed.  She watches the news all the time and has been so sad and low that it seems like a different person in her body.

You came to talk at her school here at Ft. Campbell and shared humor and stories about the USO. She spoke with you after the presentation.  You comforted her, listened to her and gave her a few tips on how to deal with her feeling instead of being bullied by them.  She said she really thinks you care about kids. Well, she came home a different child.  She immediately wrote her dad and planned what they were going to do when he comes back.

I hope every kid with a deployed parent gets to hear your presentation.  I only wish they could all spend a little time with you like my daughter did.  It was only a few minutes, but a few minutes that gave a little girl hope.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Mr. Romain

Sincerely

An Army Mom

Thank you for your support,

Ronda Englander

Executive Director
Trevor Romain Foundation

—————————————————————-

With You All the Way USO Spring Tour Q&A with Trevor Romain

The With You All the Way Spring USO Tour ended last month.

On the Tour, Trevor and the team met with children, parents, and staff at bases and schools all over the country.

With the tour over, we sat down with Trevor to share his thoughts on the tour, his experiences, and the thousands of military children he met along the way.

Q: Can you describe what you talk to kids about on the tour?

Our presentations cover many pertinent topics that affect military kids. We talk about bullies, moving, deployment, wounded warriors, facing fear, making friends, doing homework and even how to take care of your body.

Q: What do you hope children take away from your presentations?

The tour is designed to foster a peer-to-peer culture while teaching kids how to support each other, ask for help, express their feelings, manage their feelings and how to put into practice the coping skills taught during our presentations…

Click here to read the full Q&A and to see pictures from the Tour

—————————————————————-

Video Spotlight

With You All The Way Fall USO Tour:

—————————————————————-

USO Tour Profile: Fort Riley

Fort Riley was the first base in the U.S. on the With You All the Way USO Tour and was heavily deployed so it was a good time to visit.

Tour Dates: October 13-14, 2010.

Number in attendance: Over 1,000 children, parents, and staff.

Location: Fort Riley is located near Manhattan, Kansas, one hour west of Topeka (the state capitol), in the northeastern part of the state.

Number of schools and children: There are 5 elementary schools and one middle school located on base, with over 2,600 students.

A note on the Fort Riley Tour Stop:

There were two things that stick out about the visit to Ft Riley.

One was a small event that the local USO put on. April Blackmon, the USO Center Director, did a great job of putting together an evening for deployed families. Every child there received a With You All the Way Deployment Kit. The kids were so excited and the parents were so appreciative.

The event was very meaningful to April as well, as she grew up in a military family and understands the challenges these kids face….

Click here to read the full profile

—————————————————————-

Trevor’s Art: Give Yourself A Hug

For a note from Trevor about this image, and for a full size version to download, click on the image.

—————————————————————-

—————————————————————-

About the Comfort Crew for Military Kids

By the end of 2010, our resources had reached well over 30,000 military families, and we have great expectations for this year. With your support we hope to continue to help children meet the challenges of military life.

If you would like to support the work of the Trevor Romain Foundation, please see the Support Us link below.

—————————————————————-

Help Us Support Military Children!

—————————————————————-

Thank you for helping us support military families. With your help, we can make a difference!

Sincerely,

The Comfort Crew

www.TrevorRomainFoundation.org
info@trevorromainfoundation.org