Whether it’s a mother, a father, a son, or a daughter, losing a family member is painful and tragic. When a family member is lost while serving their own country, a complicated mix of emotions can rise up.

Wanting to help these families is a noble goal. It can be difficult, but there are ways to do it. Today’s Sponsor:  Lawn Care Sarasota

If you know the family of a fallen warrior personally, one way is to give the spouse of a fallen soldier a break from the regular day-to-day work they may have to do. Now that their spouse is gone, these tasks can feel overwhelming which can lead to feelings of helplessness and depression. Ask if there’s anything you can take off their plate for them. If they have kids, offer to babysit, pick the kids up from school, or take them out for a day. This will give the spouse some likely much-needed time to themselves where they can relax and practice the self-care that’s hard to achieve while looking after kids.

Another great way to help is by offering up your time to do any maintenance around the house. If the lawn needs mowing, gutters need cleaning, or any other household chore requires doing, this is something you can do to take the stress off the spouse. Considering offering to cook a meal for the family, since that’s one less thing the spouse has to worry about.

You should also make a point to check in with the family. Oftentimes, what people need to help grieve is to talk to somebody. You may never be able to fully understand what they’re going through, but they’ll appreciate that you care, and just having someone to talk to can be incredibly helpful.

You can also encourage the person to join a support group, or start counseling. Counseling is incredibly helping when dealing with grief and trauma, and joining a support group will help the spouse connect to other people experiencing what they are.

If you don’t know the families of any fallen soldiers personally but still want to help, there are absolutely ways to do that too. One of the best ways is by donating to charities. Before donating, be sure to take a look at the charity you’re thinking of donating to on a website like Charity Navigator. There are plenty of charities out there, but not all of them do what they claim to do. Be sure to check out the charity’s financial score, as that’s an indicator of how much of their income to use to provide the services they say they provide, and how much they spend on internal administrative costs.

You should also be mindful of a charity’s transparency and accountability score. This indicates how responsible the charity is, which is hugely important.

One really great charity to consider if you’re thinking of putting money towards the families of fallen soldiers includes the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. This charity was established in the 1980s after several servicemen were killed during a rescue mission in Iran. They left behind many children, and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation dedicated itself to providing financial aid for these children’s education. Today, they do the same for the children of other fallen soldiers and special operatives, as well as give out grants for severely wounded servicemen and their families.

Another amazing charity to consider is the Fisher House Foundation. This charity is committed to building comfort homes for the families of soldiers while their loved ones are in hospitals. The homes are close to the hospitals where their family member is receiving treatment, and the families are able to stay in these homes free of charge. They also provide financial aid and relief to other charities, as well as the families of servicemen who have died in combat.

Wanting to help the families of fallen soldiers is an incredibly noble and worthwhile cause. It may be impossible for you to ever truly understand what exactly the families are going through, but donating to charities that help the families of fallen soldiers is an amazing way to help. Just make sure to first always research the charity thoroughly on a website like Charity Navigator. This will help you distinguish the good charities from the bad, and will ensure your money is actually going towards helping the families of fallen soldiers.

If you know the family of a soldier killed in combat personally, make sure to check in with them often. Let them know that you’re always there if they need help, whether it’s just to talk, or if they need help around the house. Encourage them to seek out counseling and support groups, as these will be instrumental in the healing process.

The soldiers who died serving their country died for an incredible cause. Though they left behind spouses, children, parents, and friends, their memories will live on forever. An amazing way to help honor their memories is by finding ways to help the families they’ve left behind.

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