Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Extends Discounts for Military Families

 posted on April 19th, 2011 by Thomas Smith, Social Media Director, Disney Parks

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has a long-standing history of honoring military personnel and their families, and today, we’re pleased to announce that we are extending our discounted theme park tickets and room rates for active military and spouses, retired military, National Guard and Reservists through September of 2012. This extension coincides with The Walt Disney Company’s participation in “Joining Forces,” an initiative launched by the White House to bring attention to the unique needs of America’s military families.

Earlier this week, First Lady Michele Obama and Dr. Jill Biden joined the hosts of “The View” to discuss their involvement with “Joining Forces.” They encouraged all Americans to show their gratitude to service members and their families and discussed how companies like Disney and others from across the country are coming together to help military personnel. For more information, go to www.joiningforces.gov to learn how you can get involved.

All areas of The Walt Disney Company are working with “Joining Forces” to support this great new initiative. Disney plans to donate 25,000 Disney/Hyperion books to the USO for the United Through Reading military program, which gives deployed troops the opportunity to read their kids a virtual bedtime story when they can’t be there in person. Disney will also send more than 200 “Operation Disney” care packages filled with DVDs, books and games to USO centers worldwide which will also include 4,000 Disney Digital Book online memberships.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is proud to support the brave men and women who serve our country in a variety of ways. Discounts are available throughout the year on select Disney Cruise Line itineraries and Shades of Green, a resort on Walt Disney World property operated by the U.S. Armed Forces, caters exclusively to military families and provides discounted room rates. And at both Disneyland park in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida, military personnel and veterans from all branches of the military are honored daily at a special Flag Retreat Ceremony where they are asked to step forward to be recognized as the colors are retired each afternoon.

U.S. Military Shopper Community

If you are a past or present U.S. military member and/or an immediate family member of a past or present U.S. military member, then you’ll want to check out this opportunity to join the U.S. Military Shopper Community. The U.S. Military Shopper Community (a service of Acosta Insights) is an online community comprised of U.S. military shoppers across America willing to share their opinions about the grocery shopping experience.

As a member of this military shopper community, you will have the opportunity to share your opinions about your grocery shopping experience through:

 
* On-line surveys about products, retailers, manufacturers, etc. Earn points by taking surveys that you can then redeem for Amazon gift cards.

* Bulletin boards where you’ll be able to chat with other community members about a particular topic

* On-line focus groups where you will share your opinion about current products, or learn about new products or concepts before they arrive on the shelves

* You will be compensated for any research you participate in while in this community. Keep in mind that the research will never focus on your military experience, only on your grocery shopping experiences.

Are you interested? Head over here to apply. Are you a current member of this community? If so, please share your experience below.

Base housing LEVELED after tornado!

This is just devastating, I hope our readers are ok! Tarawa Terrace II, base housing ON  Camp Lejeune got hit by a tornado last night and had 12 homes leveled, 60+ obtain structural damage and possibly be unlivable, and 50+ more with minor damage (broken windows/roof damage)! Many homes are STILL without power almost 24 hours later... On top of alllll that, they still have an "unknown number" of base residents who sustained injuries, all they know now is there's a 23 month old baby boy who is STILL in critical condition. To just to add salt to the wound (which doesn't really seem like a big deal considering the injuries and damage to peoples houses) but what about automobile damages? I mean that could break some military family's who could bairly afford a car in the first place, ya know... 

 

 

Lejeune neighborhood recovering after tornado

By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer, Marine Corps Times, Sunday Apr 17, 2011

A toddler remains in critical condition and several residents of a Camp Lejeune, N.C., neighborhood were injured Saturday when a highly destructive tornado cut through the area around 9 p.m. and damaged more than 100 homes.

Residents of Tarawa Terrace II were still recovering Sunday from the shock and devastation, and base leadership planned to hold a town hall meeting Sunday afternoon.

Of the homes damaged, 12 have been deemed uninhabitable, as many as 60 sustained structural damage severe enough that may make them uninhabitable and about 50 more had minor damages, such as broken windows, torn gutters and roof damage, Camp Lejeune spokesman Nat Fahy said.

The toddler, a 23-month-old boy, suffered multiple trauma injuries, Fahy said, including a fractured pelvis, fractured femur, cracked ribs and a collapsed lung. He is at Pitt Memorial Hospital with his mother, Fahy said.

The second floor of the house where the boy was sleeping, he said, “was taken off from the bottom floor and flipped upside down.”

The violent twister was part of a major storm front that slammed many areas of North Carolina on Saturday.

“This is going to sound cliché, but it does resemble a war zone in some areas while other areas remain untouched. It cut a surgical path of destruction, which impacted the primary school before leaving the base,” Fahy said of Tarawa Terrace Primary School where the metal roof was peeled back and classrooms damaged by water.

Temporary shelter was opened at Tarawa Terrace Elementary School for displaced residents who needed immediate help, and the 250 students in pre-kindergarten through first grade who attend the primary school will finish out the year at the elementary school, he said.

There is “a heavy military police presence on scene” and at 5 p.m. the town hall meeting will be headed by Marine Corps Installations East commander Maj. Gen. Carl Jensen and base commander Col. Dan Lecce. The two officers spent the day in the damaged area inspecting homes and talking with residents.

Clueless People

So I made a late night run to CVS, while shopping I noticed a guy about my age staring at me. I tried to ignore him but every time I glanced in his direction he was looking at me. I go to check out and the guy comes and stands behind me in line...

Guy: "Excuse me?"

[I turned around and immediately realized WHO this guy was and why he was staring at me]

Guy: "You look familiar... Do I know you?"

Me: "Uhh... We used to date."

Guy: "Oh!"

[clearly wasn't expecting that answer] 

Guy: "Cristina right?"

Me: "Uhh no, Stephanie"

[I was clearly peeved at this point]

Guy: "Oh..."

[Still clueless]

Guy: "Wait yeah... We went out that one time" 

Me: "No, we went out for 4 months"

Guy: "Oh..."

[Still clueless]

At this point I had finished paying and I just turned to walk away without saying anything to him... This guy actually had the gall to shout "Ok, see ya later" as I was walking out the door.

Ok, first of all, this has got to be one of the things I hate most about moving back to my home town... And two, this guy is a flat out idiot... Because not only did we date for 4 months... We worked together for OVER a year (how I met him) and I'm not talking about working for the same company but never seeing each other... This guy worked like 10 feet from me on a daily basis... 5 days a week, for OVER a YEAR!!!  Ok, I'm done ranting. HaHa.

Reminder!

 If ya'll didn't see the post I posted last month, or have yet to vote... Here's a reminder...

Can ya'll do me a favor and vote for my childhood friend in Crate & Barrel's "Ultimate Wedding Contest"? Her and her fiance are trying to win $100,000 dream wedding and they entered a little late so they could use the help. Registration's not necessary, they let you log-in with your Facebook account so it makes that whole thing easy. 

Nicole & Peter: http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entry/157155?=f0

FREE Recordable Bedtime Story for Military Families with a Deployed Member!

A Story Before Bed is giving away 250,000 FREE Recordable Bedtime Story for Military Families with a member who will be deploying or is already deployed!

Go here for more information.

So… go on and share this freebie with everyone you know who can take advantage of it!!

A message from Jesse

"Hey guys, hope you read this part... looks like I'm in a hard battle for top 5, i wanna blow away the competition and want to climb to the 1 spot but I'll need some help... What I want is for you all to visit this link to Conan O'briens website and click LIKE for my image.

http://teamcoco.com/moca/gallery/digital-art?photo=6921#photo=6921

no signing up at all.. takes 2 seconds literally... click, then LIKE

When you share with friends let them know the same. You guys are great, You are helpin' out a fellow creative artist get some work out there.

Thanks again!"

FREE Photo Book for Deployed Soldiers + FREE Shipping!

Now THIS… is an awesome freebie!

Send a FREE 5×7 Photo Book to a deployed soldier + get it shipped for FREE!

Thanks to RocketLife, friends & family can create a FREE 20-page 5×7 Photo Book, and have it shipped for Free to your deployed soldier!

Go here to get started!

Time for a reality check!

The current salary for a member of Congress is $174,000 per year. The President of the United States earns (and I use that term loosely) $400,000 per year, plus a $50,000 annual expense account. In contrast a member of the United States military earns between $17,604 and $60,348. (Well, enlisted, that is. A four-star general's pay is equivalent to that of a member of Congress.)

A family of four making $22,350 is on the federal poverty line.

Tomorrow the federal government is scheduled for a shut down. That doesn't mean the military gets to go home. On the contrary. They'll stay where they are. Go to work, fight terrorism, keep our country safe. Firefighters will continue to risk their lives. Police officers will continue to fight crime. They will do it all without a paycheck until Congress can pull their collective heads out of their collective... Well, you get the idea.

The most offensive part of this is who will continue to get paid. Congress. The President. They will continue to receive their paychecks. The people who put their lives on the line. No.

Just thinking about this makes me angry. Beyond angry. I know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck. My family has a long line of civil service, of putting lives on the line for the greater good of society.

Perhaps we need to re-think the pay Congress receives. In 1789, members of Congress received $6 per day per diem. Adjusting for inflation, that comes to about $151 a day. Last year (2010), the Senate was in session for 158 days. That comes to $23,858 per year. Even if we paid members of Congress for EVERY day of the year, it would be just over $55,000.

Think of the savings! How many members of Congress would be willing to take a pay cut of more than $100,000 per year? My guess is none... Instead, they will continue to look for ways to "balance the budget" without touching whatever effects them. Or the lobbyists who provide the "extras" they receive.

For whatever reason, Congress can't see the importance of those essential personnel who keep chaos at bay. I wonder how many people will be injured—or worse—because the lawmakers are so far removed from reality...

How a shutdown would affect troops, families

Re-post from: Marine Corps Times

By Karen Jowers - Staff writer

If the government shuts down at midnight on Friday, what are service members and Defense Department civilians expected to do? How will they be paid? What installation functions will remain open?

The intensifying budget crisis on Capitol Hill has sparked many concerns throughout the military community. While some details remain unclear, Pentagon officials have put out guidance in a number of key areas. Here’s a rundown of what is known:

Reporting for duty

Uniformed service members are not subject to furlough and must report to duty as normal during a shutdown. Reserve component personnel should refer to the DoD Contingency Guidance document and to their chain of command for specific information.

DoD civilian personnel must still report to work on their next scheduled duty day at their normal time and await further instructions.

The military will continue to conduct operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Japan, Libya-related support operations, and “other operations and activities essential to the security of our nation,” Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn said in a message to the DoD workforce Thursday.

Pay

If the government shuts down, the Defense Department will have no funds to pay service members or civilian employees for the days during which the government is shut down.

RELATED READING

• If government closes, commissaries will, too (April 7)
• Congress wrestles over shutdown, military pay (April 7)
• Report: Shutdown would hurt military families (April 6)
• White House official: No pay during shutdown (April 6)

The first payday that could be affected is April 15. So military and civilian personnel will receive one week of pay on that date for their work during the first week of April, but not for the second week, if the shutdown lasts beyond that payday.

All service members and civilian employees who are required to work without pay would have any delayed pay made up in full when the shutdown ends.

Military retirees are not paid from annually appropriated funds, so their benefits should continue without interruption.

Commissaries

Commissaries will be closed during a government shutdown under DoD’s current planning guidance, said Pentagon spokeswoman Air Force Maj. Monica Matoush.

The Defense Commissary Agency has asked for a redesignation of some employees in order to keep overseas stores open, but a decision on that has not been made.

Health care

Inpatient and essential outpatient care in military medical treatment facilities, emergency dental care will continue. Tricare spokesman Austin Camacho told the Defense Department newspaper Stars and Stripes that beneficiaries would see no loss of service or care.

Child care

Nonappropriated fund activities such as child care centers will be open in a limited capacity to accommodate active-duty personnel who must report to work, Matoush said.

Schools

Department of Defense Education Activity Schools and certain other education and training activities will remain open.

In addition, installation mess halls, contracting and logistics operations that support the “excepted” activities listed above, and financial management activities necessary to ensure the control and accountability of funds will continue to operate.

A shutdown would have little effect on military exchange operations, because the majority of their budgets do not rely on taxpayer dollars. “While the federal government shuts down, business at the exchange remains largely unchanged,” said Col. Virgil Williams, chief of staff for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. “However, some transactions may be delayed, such as the purchase of firearms which require background checks or other federal government actions.”