American Widow Project

For the second year in a row we are dedicating every week between Thanksgiving and Christmas we are spotlighting a worthy charity through a Ten Dollar Tuesday post. What does this have to do with $10, you ask? Everything. If 10 readers of The Shopping Mama give $10, that’s a $100 donation. That more of us that give, the more impact we can have. $10 can add up quickly and be incredibly meaningful to a charity and the families they benefit.

***

The American Widow Project was founded by Taryn Davis in 2007 after her husband was killed by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq. She sought out support from widows and found few resources or support groups for women her own age, war widows of our generation. She created the American Widow Project “a non-profit organization dedicated to the new generation of those who have lost the heroes of yesterday, today and tomorrow, with an emphasis on healing through sharing stories, tears and laughter.”

Since 2001, over 6,200 U.S. service members have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Around half of these service members were married, leaving an estimated 3,000 military widows across our country. While the service member’s sacrifice is acknowledged, many simply forget or fail to recognize the sacrifice of the spouse who is now left a widow of war. Oftentimes the invisible wounds of military widows are disregarded due to age or a simple lack of knowledge and understanding.

The American Widow Project provides online resources and support as well as AWP Get-Aways where women bond with others in a similar situation. Learn more from Taryn in the L’Oreal Women of Worth video below.

Obviously this is an organization that hits close to home. Three of us who write on this blog are military spouses. Two of our spouses returned from extended deployments this summer and Malia’s husband is currently deployed. (Yes, he deployed shortly after baby Kate was born.) We are thankful for the safety of our spouses, but not everyone is so lucky. I made my donation in memory of an F-16 pilot who died over the summer and left behind a wife and infant daughter.

Donate! Give today to the American Widows Project.