Fort Belvoir's Family Readiness Group continues to help military Families on and around the post receive important information and get to know each other. Now, the FRG is looking for some help.
Volunteers are needed to help teach readiness classes for the Army Community Service's FRG, according to Carol Janer, FRG program manager. The group will sponsor a roundtable at the ACS building on Sept. 19, from 10:30 a.m. to noon to talk about volunteerism.
An FRG's purpose is to strengthen the resilience and morale of Soldiers and their Families.
"A lot of people think that FRGs are connected to deployments only, but that is not true," Janer said. "They support deployment if a unit is going through a deployment cycle, but a Family Readiness Group is there all of the time, regardless of the deployment."
Most of the FRG volunteers are military Family members, Janer said.
FRG leaders hear about issues that Families and Soldiers are dealing with and take those issues to unit commanders. In addition, unit commanders can take their knowledge and pass it along to the Families through the FRG leaders. The group is also there to help out Families in times of crisis.
The purpose of the FRG roundtables is to give group leaders information about the location of events as well as tips and resources for military Families, Janer said. About 25 people attend the roundtables, which are held once a month. During the August roundtable, FRG leaders shared tips for sending children back to school and provided free backpacks and school supplies to military Families.
FRG leaders also teach military spouses how to prepare their Families for emergencies, Janer said. There have been a lot of weather emergencies that have affected Fort Belvoir in recent years.
In addition, Janer encourages new unit commanders to tell military spouses and Family members about the work that servicemembers within the units are performing. Military spouses can cope better with the varying work hours of their servicemember-spouse when they know about how important the work at hand is, Janer said.
Amy Altersitz, the 1st Battalion, Warrior Transition Brigade FRG leader, said her Family has been through deployment several times. She said that Fort Belvoir's FRG has provided incredible support and many Families would be lost without the support of the FRG.
"It is just a great support network," Altersitz said. "It is like your Family almost, whether you are experiencing deployment or any other kind of activity. They take the whole Family into consideration."
In the future, Janer also wants to provide military Families with booklets that share information on FRG fundraising. The booklets would also include a list of places that FRG leaders can hold meetings for free.
For more information about the FRG, or to volunteer to teach, contract Janer at (703) 805-5683.
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