Youth

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2010 - The Defense Department has launched a free, online tutoring service for servicemembers and their families.

The site - http://www.tutor.com/military -- offers round-the-clock professional tutors who can assist with homework, studying, test preparation, resume writing and more.

Marine Corps and Army families have had access to the program for more than a year. Seeing the value, Defense Department officials decided to expand the service to encompass all servicemembers and their families, officials said.

"Providing 24/7 academic and career support for military families during a time when so many parents have a deployed spouse has been an important and well-received benefit for Marine Corps and Army families," said Tommy T. Thomas, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy.

"We are pleased to expand this program to all U.S. military families and provide peace of mind that their children are never alone when it comes to learning - there is always a certified, professional tutor available to help," he said.

Active-duty servicemembers, National Guard and reserve personnel on active duty in a deployed status, Defense Department civilians in a deployed status and their dependents are eligible to participate, officials said. Along with test preparation, the site is open to students of any age - from kindergartners to high school seniors - for one-on-one help in math, science, social studies and English.

Many of these students, officials said, are making the most of the live, one-on-one help. "Thanks for having this service when our family is separated at this time due to deployments and training," a 6th grader of a Marine commented. "My father is unable to help one-on-one."

"I really appreciate this," another program participant, a 9th grader, said. "It really helps me understand my schoolwork. It's going to really help me ace my exams coming up! I am definitely going to use this very often."

Tutor.com's network includes more than 1,800 professional tutors and career specialists who have delivered more than 5 million one-on-one tutoring sessions since 2001, officials said. Each tutor is certified through the site, and all sessions are recorded for quality control.

Written by Elaine Wilson, American Forces Press Service

 

Edison: Measles is a leading cause of vaccine-preventable disease and kills an estimated 197,000 children each year, mostly in Africa and Asia.However, largely thanks to the Measles Initiative, measles deaths have been reduced by 74% globally between 2000 and 2007. This reduction is even greater in Africa, where measles deaths have plunged by 89% in the same time period.Through the efforts of the Measles Initiative, millions of children are getting the opportunity to have a healthier life. It costs less than $1 to vaccinate a child against measles.

 

The American Red Cross held a national youth art contest from April through November to help promote and increase the awareness of the Measles Initiative among youth. Within the Tri-County Chapter, the artwork submitted by Renee Cai, a first grader at James Madison Primary School was selected as our local winner. A copy of her artwork can be seen below. Click on the picture to see a larger size on our Flickr site.

 

 

The Measles Initiative is led by the American Red Cross and its partners--Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, UN Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Initiative provides technical and financial support to governments and communities on mass vaccination campaigns, routine immunization and disease surveillance.

For information about the Initiative, please visit the official Measles Initiative web site.

Plainfield: The Tri-County Red Cross is seeking volunteers to come out on Saturday, October 24, 2009 for "Make a Difference Day" to clean up our disaster services canteen truck and supply trailer. We will be in downtown Plainfield's Parking Lot #9 between Front Street and Second Street (enter from either Central Avenue or Second Street) between 10am and 2pm that day. Click here to sign up for this event.

That day we will also be collecting old cell phones to turn in to phone cards for U.S. soldiers overseas, used ink toner cartridges, and new travel size tubes of toothpaste for our disaster kits. Please stop by the parking lot to drop off these items as well.

Plainfield, NJ: This summer we were hosts to a number of high school students from JP Stevens High School in Edison, NJ.  Instead of spending time at the pool or the mall, these kids gave their time to the Tri-County Red Cross to help us get our offices and supplies ready for the upcoming hurricane and home fire seasons.

No job was too small -- or too big.  However, we're pretty sure that if any of these kids sees a shredder again it will be too soon!

 

They also built shelves in our office for storing disaster supplies in case there is a major event like Hurricane Floyd, 9/11 or the Nor 'Easter.

and moved disaster supplies from our office to a storage warehouse in Elizabeth.  The storage locker, by the way, was donated by Access Self Storage as was the van.  Thanks!

 

 You can see more photos at out Flickr site!

Here are a few ways you can help out without spending a dime:

INSTALL A YAHOO! SEARCH BAR
Help raise money for local disaster relief in New Jersey by installing a search toolbar in your browser.  Just go to http://download.freecause.com/?toolid=59011 and every search will raise a few cents.  25 searches a day is about 75 cents, or about $200 a year with nothing out of your pocket.  Please install the toolbar and send it out to your friends.  There's also a Facebook app at http://apps.facebook.com/red_cross/home (you can friend me there, too!)

HELP WITH MARCH IS RED CROSS MONTH
We are asking businesses in our chapter (Warren, Watchung, Green Brook North Plainfield in Somerset, most of Union and Dunellen, South Plainfield and Edison in Middlesex) to help us out by selling Red Cross Squares for $1.  Customers pay a buck, write their name on the square and tack it on the wall.  If 100 businesses raise $250 each that's $25,000 for our efforts, get to demonstrate their support for the community, get a mention and link on our website, and get listed in our press release and newspaper advertisement.

We are also collecting coins throughout the area in front of businesses (Stop and Shop, Home Depots, Dunkin' Donuts, etc.) every Saturday in March.  In December we did a small run and raised $1500 in just three hours.  We're looking for people to help out between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to collect coins in Red Cross containers on March 7, March 14, March 21 and March 28.  It's a great way for groups, students and families to help raise money and awareness for the Red Cross.

HOST A FREE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS SEMINAR IN MARCH
This one won't raise any money, but it could save lives. The Red Cross will provide a free Be Red Cross Ready seminar (forty five minutes) to any group that asks us, and it's all free.  Your Lions Club, Elks, library, church, business, Rotary or whatever can host the seminar for your own members, or sponsor it for the community to help raise awareness for your group.  It costs you absolutely nothing, and helps prepare families to handle emergencies that may come up from house fires to major flooding.

Just send me an e-mail, or call at (908) 756-6414 if you are interested in any of these programs.  If you are outside of my chapter, don't worry about it.  You have a local Red Cross, too and I will be happy to help you get in touch with them!

Nathan Rudy

Executive Director, Tri-County Red Cross

http://www.tricountyredcross.org

rudyn@usa.redcross.org

(908) 756-6414