NBC Publishing, Blue Star Families and Vulcan Productions Debut Deployment and Reintegration Handbook for Military Families and Friends

New Everyone Serves e-book offers support and advice

through every stage of deployment and reintegration
 

New York, NY and Washington, DC (March 27, 2013)— NBC Publishing, Blue Star Families and Vulcan Productions are proud to announce today a new, free e-book to assist military family members and friends cope with the emotional toll of deployments and reintegration. Everyone Serves: A Handbook for Family and Friends of Service Members During Pre-deployment, Deployment and Reintegration is now available for download from Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google, Kobo and Sony platforms. Everyone Serves debuted today at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes job fair in New York City. This free resource is available to the millions of military family members and friends, including more than two million children, who have experienced a deployment or reintegration with their service member during the last twelve years of war. A unique handbook, Everyone Serves was developed by military family members to help the family, friends and support network of United States service members better understand what to expect from a deployment and reintegration life cycle, and gain the tools to keep them and their families strong before, during and after separations. “When your service member is deployed, you live for the day they come home,” said Vivian Greentree, Ph.D., a military spouse and Director of Research and Policy for Blue Star Families. “Even through the joy of being reunited, both deployments and homecomings take an emotional toll on everyone, and each presents unique challenges. The Everyone Serves handbook is the first comprehensive resource for military family members and friends to help guide them through the many stages of deployment and reintegration.” Helping to address the full spectrum of emotions that accompany a military deployment and reintegration, Everyone Serves features videos, interactive worksheets and an up-to-date resource section, highlighting mobile apps that help enhance the military lifestyle. The material is delivered in a user-friendly format, highlighting key topics and tips in each section covering relationships, communication, self-care, and offering information on the possible emotional affects of each stage of deployment and reintegration. “As more than twelve years of continuous war comes to a close, military families and friends are facing the challenge of adjusting to life at home with their service members, or are still experiencing the cycle of deployment and reintegration,” said Michael Fabiano, Vice President and General Manager of NBC Publishing. “While service members spend most of their careers training for deployment, their family and friends do not. Everyone Serves offers much-needed information and support for the millions of military family members and friends who provide vital support to our nation’s service members.” Everyone Serves also features sections on caregiving and transitioning to civilian life, both topics of growing importance to our nation’s service members and their families. Military family members and friends can find themselves caring for wounded warriors who have sustained traumatic and life-altering injuries. Everyone Serves offers information and a list of resources to turn to for help and support. Additionally, as the military services reduce the size of their forces, more veterans and their families are transitioning to civilian life. This type of reintegration brings its own set of hurdles for service members, and their families and friends. “Everyone Serves provides a great starting point for anyone who is or has been affected by a deployment or reintegration. As the wars come to an end, more service members and families are transiting to civilian life, or managing the long-term care of a family member. These are all areas addressed in Everyone Serves, making it an important resource for all military service members, families and friends,” says Bonnie Benjamin-Phariss, Director, Vulcan Productions. The fact that Everyone Serves is available digitally means it will reach more people impacted by military life than ever before, using all aspects of e-publishing to deliver enriching and informative content to military family members and friends. Support for Everyone Serves was provided by HealthNet and Defense Centers of Excellence. # # # About Blue Star Families Blue Star Families is a national, nonprofit network of military families from all ranks and services, including guard and reserve, dedicated to supporting, connecting and empowering military families. With our partners, Blue Star Families hosts a robust array of morale and empowerment programs, including Books on Bases, Blue Star Museums, Operation Honor Corp, Blue Star Careers and Operation Appreciation. Blue Star Families also works directly with the Department of Defense and senior members of local, State and Federal government to bring the most important military family issues to light. Working in concert with fellow nonprofits, community advocates, and public officials, Blue Star Families raises awareness of the challenges and strengths of military family life and works to make military life more sustainable. Our worldwide membership includes military spouses, children, parents, and friends, as well as service members, veterans and civilians. To learn more about Blue Star Families, visit http://www.bluestarfam.org.  About Vulcan Productions Vulcan Productions is the award-winning media company created by philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen. It produces compelling films, innovative digital programs, and outreach initiatives designed to explore critical issues and inspire people to take action. Its programs have won numerous broadcast and journalism awards, including the George Foster Peabody Award, the Emmy Award, the Grammy Award, and the Wildscreen Panda Award. Vulcan Productions has developed social action campaigns that accompany its media projects, including an impact campaign for This Emotional Life, plus “Early Moments Matter” and “A Handbook for Family & Friends of Service Members”— outreach toolkits dedicated to early attachment and support of military families. Vulcan Productions also developed Success at the Core, a web-based education initiative that uses media to help leadership teams in middle schools enhance quality instruction in science, math, and literacy. For more information, visit: http://www.vulcanproductions.com/ About NBC Publishing NBC Publishing, a division of NBC Universal Media, LLC, launched in January 2012 and will be releasing eBooks and enhanced eBooks throughout the coming year. This publishing group is part of NBC News and works across all divisions within NBC, Universal Studios, and Comcast. For more information, visit www.nbcpublishing.com.

For more information contact: Marie Wicht NBC News e: marie.wicht@nbcuni.com