Crafting at the Pentagon

Crafting at the Pentagon

Fiskars shared a day of fun and crafting with Pentagon employees, April 24-26, during National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.  Creating a craft together is one way to help families reconnect after being separated by many miles, or long hours on the job, while serving in the Armed Forces.

The event was hosted by “America Supports You” and “Connect and Join,” two organizations that support military families.  More than 500 DC area children came for the event.  Fiskars, along with other sponsors, provided tools and scrapbooking supplies.  Melanie Bauer, Manager, Education; and Suzanne Fanning, Sr. Manager, Public Relations, participated as craft instructors.  “It was an awesome event,” says Suzanne Fanning. “Seeing parents work with their children is very touching, especially knowing the parents work at dangerous jobs.”  Melanie Bauer adds, “Crafting projects can help children communicate when something is bothering them, but the event was also a great way for kids to share a portion of their parent’s work life in a fun and special way.” 

Kids had a good time punching shapes and gluing them together to make colorful bookmarks.  Kid-friendly squeeze punches and hand punches in fun shapes were used to help moms and dads craft with their children.  

About Connect And Join:

Connect And Join is a family support and education services publishing company that produces a series of multimedia products, primarily a Web-based subscription communication and activities based portal that enables separated families to stay in touch. Connect And Join was developed by publisher Linda Dennis after viewing A Tour of Duty: Kosovo, a personal account presented by Colonel James Lockemy of the South Carolina National Guard. With volunteer support from the professional and educational community, Connect And Join has completed a successful pilot and interviews with military families in the development of the portal. For more information, visit http://www.connectandjoin.com. Connect And Join is a proud team member of America Supports You.

About America Supports You: America Supports You is an ongoing, nationwide program organized by the Department of Defense to showcase Americans’ support for the men and women of the Armed Forces and their families. Since its launch in November of 2004, the America Supports You program has welcomed over 250 homefront organizations and more than 35 corporations to the team. Many America Supports You supporters support the troops through letter writing, care packages, helping the wounded when they return home, assisting military families, sending an email or kind gesture—to learn more about how you can support military personnel visit www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil.

By Steve