In the News

Armed Services YMCA Receives $500K from Jolie-Pitt Foundation to Support Military Kids Affected by Iraq War
National Mentoring Program will Expand to Serve more Children
Washington, D.C. – The Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA), the nation’s leading nonprofit organization supporting junior enlisted military personnel and their families, is proud to announce a $500,000 donation from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, an organization founded by actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The funds will go toward the ASYMCA’s Operation Hero program, a mentoring program for military children who experience temporary difficulty in school, both socially and academically, due to emotional stress from deployment, family disruption and frequent moves. Click here to read more.

'Daddy Blankets' help comfort children of soldiers
November 11, 2007 | The Fayetteville Observer
Three dozen volunteers gathered at Fort Bragg’s Armed Services YMCA to craft quilts for children just like Christian.
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Military Families Reconnect at Retreats
November 11, 2007 | Associated Press
Separated by Army deployments for nearly half of their 13-year marriage, Nancy and Sherwood Smith were eager to reconnect — especially after his tour in Iraq last year. Fortunately for the couple, the local chapter of the Armed Services YMCA is treating them to a weekend getaway at a rustic lodge in Kansas' Flint Hills.
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Armed Services YMCA Honors Military Medics, Corpsmen
March 8, 2007 | American Forces Press Service
The Armed Services YMCA paid tribute to military medics and corpsmen here last night during its first Angels of the Battlefield awards dinner.
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Kimberly Dozier Thanks the People Who Saved Her
March 8, 2007 | CBS
CBS news correspondent Kimberly Dozier thanked the medic who helped save her life at the ASYMCA Gala in Washington D.C.
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Service Medics, Corpsmen Honored at Gala
March 8, 2007 | Navy Times
Medics and corpsmen, who are often unheralded yet routinely save the lives of troops on the front lines, were honored at a fundraising gala for the Armed Services YMCA in March.
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Forgotten Heroes
March 5, 2007 | Newsweek
Armed Services YMCA is featured on the Newsweek cover story as one of the top charities supporting American veterans.
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ASYMCA San Diego Receives Family Strengthening Award
January 2007 | PR Newswire
YMCA of the USA today announced the selection of five YMCAs engaged in exemplary family strengthening work in their communities as recipients of the 2006 Annie E. Casey Foundation FAMILIES COUNT! Family Strengthening Award.
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Operation Holiday Joy
December 2006 | Women’s Day
Every year we receive hundreds of letters from military families thanking Women’s Day readers for their generous contributions to the Women’s Day/Armed Services YMCA Holiday Drive.
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Student Art and Essay Contest
November 2006 | Military.com
As part of our Military Family Month celebration, the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) is proud to launch its annual art and essay contests for the children of active duty and retired service members from all branches of the military, including the National Guard and Reserves.
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Operation Holiday Joy
November 2006 | Women’s Day
To help the kids cope with their father’s absence, the Armed Services YMCA gave Bryanna a handmade memory pillow and Diana and Michael Jr. memory quilts, all with pictures of their father.
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Operation Hero
October 2006 | Military.com
With school back in session after summer vacation, the adjustment may be more difficult for the children of America's service men and women. Deployments and frequent family moves can make it challenging for children to focus on their classes and make friends. Often, those students who struggle typically enjoy school, but outside circumstances create a temporary hurdle that they need help overcoming.
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Operation Kid Comfort
September 2006 | Military.com
As I travel the country visiting Armed Service YMCA (ASYMCA) locations, I am always amazed by the wide-ranging impact ASYMCA programs and volunteers have on communities. However, it is the stories of individual families that are truly touching. It is those stories that remind me why I love my job.
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STARs Partners Assist ASYMCA
July 2006 |The Officer Magazine
The teen-age daughter of a Marine Corps couple was among the winners of the Armed Services YMCA Annual Art and Essay Contest sponsored by Lockheed Martin. ¬The contest winners and national ASYMCA volunteers, programs, and corporate sponsors—which included, along with Lockheed Martin, ROA STARs partners Northrop Grumman and SAIC—were honored at the19th Annual Recognition Lunch.
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Back to School
July 2006 | Military.com
During this time of war, many military families measure the length of their loved one's deployment in missed milestones. As they protect this country, American troops are missing many special moments with their families -- birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and at this time of year, the first day of school.
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Essay Winner Proud to be In a Military Family
May 2006 | Knoxville News Sentinel
The Armed Services YMCA, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization supporting the families of junior enlisted military personnel, awarded second prize in the ninth- and 10th-grade category of its annual essay contest, sponsored by Lockheed Martin, to sophomore Alexander King. Winners were announced May 11 at a luncheon in Washington.

Making Children a Priority
July 2006 | Military.com
Overseas deployment can be very emotional for even the bravest service man or woman. But the families they leave behind, especially the children, also experience complex and often conflicting emotions; and too often their needs are forgotten or overshadowed by the conflict in which their parents are fighting.
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Send a CD to a Soldier
July 2006 | Military.com
With American troops now in their fourth year of combat in Iraq, it is crucial to continue supporting them and their families with the same fervor as four years ago. And just as soldiers are still heroically serving this country, the families they leave behind still struggle with the pain of their loved one's absence.
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Local Student Wins Essay Contest
June 2006 | Northeast Mesa Lifestyle
Brenna Condon of Mesa, Arizona was awarded first prize in the first and second grade category of the ASYMCA annual essay contest, sponsored by Lockheed Martin. Seven-year-old Brenna will receive a $500 U.S. savings bond for her essay about her father being called into service following Hurricane Katrina.
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Service families need support
March 5, 2006 | H. Norman Schwarzkopf
The fighting in Iraq has been underway since March of 2003, making it such a constant part of our daily lives that it is easy to go about our business without ever thinking about the incredible sacrifices being made each and every day by the men and women in uniform.
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Many Support Causes That Show Troops They Care
June 2006 | Golden View newspapers of Dubuque, IA
(NAPS)—Many Americans have found a new way to show merican troops serving in Iraq since 2003 that they still care and that they haven’t gotten lost in the shuffle.
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Armed Services YMCA Recognizes Supporting Individuals, Organizations
By Samantha L. Quigley | American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 11, 2006 – The Armed Services YMCA honored individuals and organizations for their support of military families in 2005 at its 19th Annual Recognition Luncheon here today.
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Keep up to date with all the latest news and events happening at the Armed Services YMCA!

Media Contact
Janice Laurente
(202) 775-1401
janice.laurente@dittus.com

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