acs green press march 2012

ACS Green Press

Army Community Service (ACS) Fort Drum, NY March 2012

Family Subsistence Allow-

ance What You Need To

Know - from your USC

2

Regarding Resilience : Tips, tools and techniques for practicing resiliency everyday

3, 4

ACS Friends and Neighbors

5

Relocation Readiness 6

Noteworthy Dates &

Events

7

Monthly Feature: Employ-ment Readiness Program

8

Soldiers, Family Members

and Entrepreneurships

TI Winery a Fruitful

Venture

9

...Fruitful Endeavor Con-

tinued Look Who’s on the

10

Financial Readiness: Before

You Work From Home

11

ACS Events and Classes 12,13

ACS Contacts 14

Inside this issue:

~A tree free newsletter

Direct questions / feedback To: Sarah Lynch : 772-5374 [email protected]

March Facts and Trivia

Birthstone: Aquamarine believed to have healing powers for the eyes and throat overall wellbeing.

Flower: Jonquil (aka Daffodil or Narcissus) symbolizing friendship and domestic happiness

Fun Fact: March 21st is the first day of Spring! March was named after the Roman God Mars

Zodiac: Pisces and Aries

Famous Birthdays: Sinclair Lewis, Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin,

Thomas Edison, Gertrude Stein, Rosa Parks,

National What Month? - Irish American Month, Music in our Schools Month, Women’s History Month, Poetry Month,

Red Cross Month and Social Workers Month

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY

Did you know -

That the mission of the Ft

Drum Army Community

Service (ACS) is to facilitate a

commander’s ability to

provide comprehensive,

coordinated, and responsive

services that support the

readiness of Soldiers, Civilian

employees and their Families?

We also provide services to

retirees.

That ACS provides support

and services within 14 major

program areas?

That each program area has

numerous services within it

that further help us to meet

the needs of our Soldiers and

Families?

That between January and

December of calendar year

2011, ACS provided

assistance 504,643 times

to a Soldier, Civilian, Retiree

or Family member.

Do you think based on that

number that ACS makes an

impact on the Fort Drum

Community?

ACS currently has 39 commit-

ted, hard working staff members

providing comprehensive and

supportive services dedicated to

meeting the needs of our

Soldiers, Civilians, Retirees and

their Families. And if we can

not help you, we will find

someone who can.

Over the next few months we

want to spotlight our programs

and the component services

within them to better inform

the community of who we are

and what we have to offer when

needs arise. While we feel many

have heard of ACS, few really

know the depth of our services

and what we have to offer our

community. So please watch

and learn over the next few

months and I’ll bet at some

point and time you’ll find your-

self saying, ―I didn’t know they

do that‖. In any case, our

ultimate goal is to have you

THINK ACS FIRST!!

Did You Know? By Catherine Ferran, ACS Chief

ACS Green Press March 2012

What You Might Need To Know

from your ACS Unit Service Coordinator (USC)

Army Commu-

nity Service

utilizes a Unit

Service Coordinator

(USC) to reach out to command teams

to find out the type of information and

referral needed to best support their

Soldiers and Families. The USC goes

directly to the unit and completes a

desk side needs assessment to

determine unit specific needs.

Recently information was put out

regarding changes to the Family

Subsistence Supplemental Allowance

Program. Here is what you need to

know:

The Family Subsistence Supple-

mental Allowance or FSSA, is an

additional monthly payment that assists

eligible service members with feeding

their families. Here is how it works:

A service member with multiple

family members who meets

income-eligibility requirements may

participate in the program.

If a Soldier is on Supplemental

Nutrition Allowance Program

(SNAP– Formerly Food Stamps),

he or she will qualify for FSSA, usually

for the same dollar figure or higher, but

the money comes to the Soldier in their

pay, rather than in the form of a debit

card

How much can a Soldier Receive? The

rate of FSSA eligibility depends on the

household income and the number of

individuals in the household. Members

can receive up to $1,100. per month. For

example, if you have five people in your

household and your income is below

$2,836 per month, including allowances

and bonus money, you may qualify.

How do I apply? Go to

https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/fssa/ to see

if you qualify If you find that you qualify,

complete and print the application and

bring the form to your local Army

Community Service (ACS) Financial

Readiness office for further assistance.

Once counseled by ACS, have your com-

mander certify the form, then take the

application to your local personnel office

for final processing and forwarding to

DFAS.

If I already receive SNAP, can I apply

for FSSA too? Yes. Once you begin re-

ceiving FSSA, you must report FSSA as

income to the SNAP office. FSSA may

TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!!!

IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY RECEIVING FAMILY SUBSISTENCE

SUPPLEMENTAL ALLOWANCE OR FSSA

ANNUAL RECERTIFICATION IS DUE BY THE END OF

FEBRUARY.

TO RECERTIFY VISIT: www.dmdc.osd.mil/fssa/

affect your eligibility for other income-

based public assistance programs. The

FSSA payment will end up replacing the

SNAP benefit as the additional income

will exceed the SNAP guidelines.

If I am already receiving FSSA do I

need to recertify? Yes, no matter

when it started, you must recertify in

February of each year.

If you are not sure whether you qualify

for FSSA, visit the website and fill out

the application. It’s free to fill it out–

just make sure you enter only your legal

dependants on the form and have their

social security numbers handy.

Think ACS First!

If you are part of your unit command team and would like a visit

from your Unit Service Coordinator,

please contact Sarah Lynch at

772-5374


Regarding Resilience: Tips, tools and techniques for practicing

resilience everyday!

By Jenn Eichner, MRT 772-2848

How was your month? Have you been feeling resilient through produc-tive thinking? Hope so. This month, I thought I would take a break from the practical exercises and tell you a bit about how Master Resilience Training (MRT) was developed and brought to you. MRT was established by the Chief of Staff of the Army in 2008 to increase resilience and enhance performance in Soldiers, Family members, and DA Civilians as part of the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness initiative. The core training competencies include: Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Opti-mism, Mental Agility, Strengths of Character, and Connections. These competencies are the result of exten-sive research done by two renowned scholars of positive psychology, Dr. Martin Seligman and Dr. Karen Reivich. Here is how Dr. Seligman describes his contributions and the development of the training program in an excerpt from a 2011 article in the Harvard Business Review. ―Optimism Is the Key‖ … Although I’m now called the father

of positive psychology, I came to it the long, hard way, through many years of research on failure and helplessness. In the late 1960s I was part of the team that discovered ―learned helplessness.‖ We found that dogs, rats, mice, and even cockroaches that experienced mildly pain-ful shock over which they had no control would eventually just accept it, with no attempt to escape. It was next shown that human beings do the same thing. In an experiment published in 1975 by Donald Hiroto and me and replicated many times since, subjects are randomly divided into three groups. Those in the first are ex-posed to an annoying loud noise that they can stop by pushing a button in front of them. Those in the second hear the same noise but can’t turn it off, though they try hard. Those in the third, the control group, hear nothing at all. Later, typically the following day, the subjects are faced with a brand-new situation that again in-volves noise. To turn the noise off, all they have to do is move their hands about 12 inches. The people in the first and third groups figure this out and readily learn to avoid the noise. But those in the second group typically do nothing. In phase one they failed, realized they had no control, and became passive. In phase two, expecting more failure, they don’t

Why Resilience? even try to escape. They have learned helplessness. Strangely, however, about a third of the animals and people who experience inescapable shocks or noise never be-come helpless. What is it about them that makes this so? Over 15 years of study, my colleagues and I discovered that the answer is optimism. We devel-oped questionnaires and analyzed the content of verbatim speech and writing to assess ―explanatory style‖ as optimis-tic or pessimistic. We discovered that people who don’t give up have a habit of interpreting setbacks as temporary, local, and changeable. (―It’s going away quickly; it’s just this one situation, and I can do something about it.‖) That sug-gested how we might immunize people against learned helplessness, against depression and anxiety, and against giving up after failure: by teaching them to think like optimists. We created the Penn Resiliency Program, under the direction of Karen Reivich and Jane Gillham, of the University of Pennsyl-vania, for young adults and children. The program has been replicated in 21 diverse school settings—ranging from suburbs to inner cities, from Philadel-

(Continued on page 4)

Upcoming MRT Dates

March 12 Module 1 9:30am-2:30 pm

April 9 Module 2 9:30am-2:30 pm

May 21 Module 3 9:30am-2:30 pm

June 11 Module 4 9:30am-2:30 pm

August 13 Module 5 9:30am-2:30 pm

All Modules will be held at ACS

Times include 1 hour lunch break

"Each leaf,

each blade of grass

vies for attention.

Even weeds

carry tiny blossoms

to astonish us."

- Marianne Poloskey,

Sunday in Spring

http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/prpsum.htm

Why Resilience symptoms of depression and anxiety but within a month or so are, by physi-cal and psychological measures, back where they were before the trauma. That is resilience. On the other end are people who show post-traumatic growth. They, too, first experience de-pression and anxiety, often exhibiting full-blown PTSD, but within a year they are better off than they were be-fore the trauma. These are the people of whom Friedrich Nietzsche said, ―That which does not kill us makes us stronger.‖ I told General Casey that the Army could shift its distribution toward the growth end by teaching psychological skills to stop the downward spiral that often follows failure. He ordered the organization to measure resilience and

phia to Beijing. We also created a 10-day program in which teachers learn tech-niques for becoming more optimistic in their own lives and how to teach those techniques to their students. We’ve found that it reduces depression and anxiety in the children under their care. In November 2008, when the legendary General George W. Casey, Jr., the Army Chief of Staff and former commander of the Multinational Force in Iraq, asked me what positive psychology had to say about soldiers’ problems, I offered a simple answer: How human beings react to extreme adversity is nor-mally distributed. On one end are the people who fall apart into PTSD, depres-sion, and even suicide. In the middle are most people, who at first react with

(Continued from page 3) teach positive psychology to create a force as fit psychologically as it is physically. This $145 million initiative, under the direction of Brigadier Gen-eral Rhonda Cornum, is called Com-prehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) and consists of three components: a test for psychological fitness, self-improvement courses available follow-ing the test, and ―master resilience training‖ (MRT) for drill sergeants. These are based on PERMA: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment—the building blocks of resilience and growth…. Have a great month – good luck and good thoughts!

Topics of discussion are open to anything related to the wellness of the Military Family, to include (but not limited to)

Financial Management Reintegration Challenges Changes in Self and Soldier Combat Stress Children & Deployment

Facilitated by ACS Mobilization & Deployment and the Military Family Life Consultant Program (MFLC)

FAMILY WELLNESS SUPPORT GROUPShare your experiences to help others and let other’s experiences help you!

Meets on the last Thursday of the month10-11am & 6-7pm in ACS

(AER Conference Room) Upcoming dates:

23 February, 29 March, 26 April, 24 May, 28 June

Communication Community Activities Supporting a Special Needs

Family Member Stress Management


http://csf.army.mil/

http://csf.army.mil/


ACS Friends and Neighbors-Promoting Community

“Each friend represents a

world in us, a world possi-

bly not born until they

arrive, and it is only by this

meeting that a new world is

born.”

-Anais Nin (American

Writer and Diarist)

This months Spouse in the

Spotlight is, Rossie Touchstone,

of Mississippi. Rossie, and her

daughter eleven year old Chloe,

joined her husband Tyler at Fort

Drum in 2009 after he returned

from a deployment. Since she

was a Massage Therapist by trade,

Rossie went to work for the Spa

at Fort Drum.

Soon, an opportunity presented

itself as the contract for the Spa

through AAFES came up for bid.

Since Rossie had previously been

self employed, she decided to

submit her bid for the Spa. Need-

less to say the bid was accepted,

and in December of 2011, Rossie

became the proud owner of a

successful full service salon!

Rossie admits that once you have

been self employed, it can be

difficult to work for someone else.

She explained working for some-

one else is sometimes more

challenging for Spouses because

of frequent moves and difficulty

working around having small

children at home especially while

your Soldier is deployed. Rossie’s

husband Tyler is currently

deployed with 10th Sustainment.

On the other hand, she also

recognizes that owning your own

business can be a lot of hard

work. Her advice to Spouses who

are considering opening a busi-

ness is to set a goal, make a plan,

follow the steps, and stay deter-

mined. She also expressed the

importance of marketing yourself

and your business to be competi-

tive. She suggests that Spouses

who are planning to open a busi-

ness research and take advantage

of programs like Employment

Readiness who offer workshops

to educate Spouses on the

process.

Rossie attributes her success to

her staff which consists of both

Military Spouses and civilian staff.

Rossie expressed that they all have

a terrific working relationship and

they love the clients they serve.

The clients are Spouses and

Soldiers just like Sarah Muffoletto

one of the spa’s Cosmetologists,

and her husband CW2 Fernand

Muffoletto who is with 1-10

Aviation, or Myndee Ellis another

Cosmetologist and her husband

Chris who is a SSG with 3-6 FA.

Or clients who support the Fort

Drum Military community as civil-

ians like Katey Doti who is from

Watertown and works as a nail

technician at the Spa. Whatever

the case, Rossie and her staff are

ready and willing to make your

spa experience a good one.

Army Community Services would

like to congratulate you Rossie

and your staff on your success!

We are happy you are part of our

Fort Drum Community.

Rossie Touchstone Business Owner and This Months Spouse in the Spotlight

If you are thinking about opening your own busi-

ness, Contact Employment Readiness to sign up

for the Build Your Own Business Workshop

772-9916 or 772-2737


Relocation Readiness is here to help!

Get up to date accurate information about your move.

Get the inside scoop on your new installation.

ACS Relocation Readiness –

Wants to Help You Get Smart About Your Move!

Even if you have moved in the last two years, rules and regula-

tions have changed. A few minutes of your time before you start

PCS ing can save a huge headache later.

Think ACS First!

An International Spouse’s Perspective by Svetlana Adams

Team Building (AFTB) Because of

taking advantage of the opportunities

that the Army offers, I have success-

fully completed several classes includ-

ing AFTB, Job Searching and Resume

Writing. I have also begun volunteer-

ing at ACS. All these opportunities

gave me an amazing experience,

knowledge and idea about my new life.

Lastly, I applied for my U.S. citizen-

ship. With the helpful staff at Fort

Drum ACS, I finished my application.

It took less than three months from

the date I filed until I attended my oath

ceremony. I feel different. Now that I

am an American, other doors are

opening for me to go through and my

future is bright.

For more information on Citizenship

and Immigration Services, please call

the Relocation Program at 772-6553.

Also, please join our International

Spouse Group. The next meeting is on

April 20 from 0930 to noon at ACS!

The international

Spouses of Fort

Drum offer a diverse

perspective on what it

is like to be an Army

Spouse. ACS has an

active Spouse Support Group for Inter-

national Spouses to share experiences,

cultures and friendship. The following is

a first person account of what it was like

for Svetlana Adams to embark on a new

life as a military Spouse.

I was a girl who lived in Russia and I

didn’t know that my life was about to

change. I met my husband, an American

Soldier, and that is when the challenge

began.

First, I had to get a permanent resident

card. For me, a Russian citizen, the

process took three months with the

background check.

Then, I had to get to know my husband’s

life, the military life. I did this through

attending ACS classes like Army Family

"We invent nothing, truly. We borrow and

re-create. We uncover and discover. All has been

given, as the mystics say. We have only

to open our eyes and hearts, to become one with that which is."

Henry Valentine Miller (American Writer/Painter)

Fundraising Campaign Kickoff

29 February

Fundraiser to run until 31 May

Donations can be made in the

form of check, credit card or

allotment

Spouse and Children AER Scholarship

Program

Application Deadline is 2 April 2012

for the 2012-2013 Academic Year

Go to www.aerhq.org

My Spouse My Hero

Attention Soldiers

ACS Wants To Hear From You!

In honor of

Spouse Appreciation Day

May 11, 2012

Write in and let us know Why You

Appreciate Your Spouse

Use Your Creativity to express how

much you appreciate your Spouse for

their love and support!



ACS Employment Readiness Program

The Army Community Service

Employment Readiness Program (ERP)

serves Spouses, Family Members,

Soldiers, Retirees and DOD Civilians

with their search for employment.

The Army recognizes that as a Military

Spouse, frequent moves and having to

run households and raise the kids alone

for extended periods of time can cause

certain challenges when it comes to hav-

ing a career of their own. As a matter of

fact, Dr. Jill Biden, our nations second

lady, understands the challenges Spouses

and Families face and has launched a

nationwide campaign to encourage

Americans to recognize, honor, and sup-

port our military Families. Dr. Biden

was quoted saying ―She was joining

forces with the federal government and

businesses across the country to improve

employment prospects for military Fami-

lies.

ERP recognizes, as does Dr. Biden,

how much our Army Families have to

offer local employers. The ERP staff is

dedicated to promoting Spouses and

Family Members as the valuable assets

they are, to the local businesses and

employers around the Fort Drum

Community. ERP works diligently to

offer up-to- date resources and informa-

tion on available employment opportuni-

ties, employment trends, and profes-

sional development trainings to improve

the overall marketability of Army Spouses

and Family Members

Employment Readiness uses a variety of

methods to achieve this goal.

For instance, through monthly career

development seminars, Employment

Readiness helps job seekers identify and

develop some of the skills needed to stand

out in today’s job market. The topics

covered include Career Fair Preparation,

Career and Life Portfolio Building, Face-

book Marketing Development, Finding a

Job Using Social Networking, Networking

with LinkedIn and Negotiating Job Offers.

Another way Employment Readiness

helps Spouses and Family Members keep a

competitive edge is through four regularly

scheduled monthly trainings.

Employment 101, which was devel-

oped with the inexperienced job

seeker in mind, provides resources

and information to enhance employ-

ment skills in areas such as job search-

ing, resume and cover letter writing

and interviewing tactics.

Build Your own Business is a work-

shop coordinated with ERP and pro-

vided by the Small Business Develop-

ment Center of Jefferson County for

anyone interested in opening their

own business. The workshop covers a

complete review of composing a busi-

ness plan, where to find financial re-

sources, how to choose the appropri-

ate form of business, and a review of

the New York State tax guide for new

businesses.

The Federal Employment workshop,

which was designed to help job seek-

ers navigate the federal application

process, reduces the stress of applying

for federal jobs by explaining the

process, providing an overview

of federal employment benefits,

offering resources to enhance

writing a federal resume and pro-

viding a comprehensive overview

of building your federal resume

using USAJOBS.

ERP offers Resume Writing

Computer Lab which is a work-

shop that allows job seekers to

utilize the ERP computers to

create a resume with staff avail-

able to answer questions and

assist as needed

Computer Basics for job seekers

is offered in conjunction with

Jefferson Community College to

provide two computer work-

shops monthly Utilizing Jeffer-

son Express a mobile technol-

ogy classroom, to teach work-

shops including Computer Ba-

sics, Basic Excel, Intro to the

Internet and Searching, Intro to

Word and Intro to PowerPoint

Emailed electronic vacancy list-

ings. Employment Readiness

will also meet with you one-on-

one to assist with your employ-

ment needs. Clients receive a

weekly updated job vacancy list

If you are interested call Mandy or

Tim at 772-9611 or 772-1090 for an

appointment or to sign up for one

of our workshops. ACS Programs

exist to make your life easier.

-Think ACS First!


Have you ever had an idea for a

product or a business that you

thought would just take off? Have

you dreamt of being your own boss?

Maybe you have been unable to find

employment in your chosen profes-

sion and had a desire to try some-

thing new? If you answered yes to

any of these questions, your not

alone.

Many military Soldiers and Family

members are exploring self employ-

ment, business franchises, or open-

ing a small business as an avenue to

gain financial security, create a pro-

fession that works with the chal-

lenges of frequent moves, daycare

issues or even to meet a need that

they recognize as unfilled in a com-

munity have establishing roots in.

Whatever the motivation explore

one of these ventures, it can be a

little scary to take the initial plunge.

First, you have to get past the fear

and decide to be committed. Being

self employed is really very similar

to working for someone else. Real-

izing this may help you address any

fears you may have about striking

out on your own. Whether you are

self employed, a business owner or

an employee of someone else, your

success and continued financial

security depends the same influenc-

ing factors; the economy, your

clients, patrons or customers, a

good business plan, advertisement

and marketing and your perform-

ance.

So you may be wondering, if it is

that simple why am I punching the

time clock or working for a boss

that reminds me of nails on a chalk-

board? According to Robin Ste-

phenson, Certified Business Advisor,

it often comes down to education.

Not necessarily a formal education

but making an informed decision.

Ms. Stephenson, who has been with

the Small Business Development

Center of Jefferson County for over

22 years. She states that people can

have a skill or trade but that alone

wont carry a successful business.

It takes planning, resources, realis-

tic expectations, goals, work ethic,

and commitment.

Soldiers, Families, and Entrepreneurship Ms. Stephenson travels to ACS

monthly to teach the Build Your

Own Business Workshop for

Employment Readiness. Whether

your considering working from

home or opening a larger scale

business, she encourages Soldiers

and Families to educate them-

selves and make informed

decisions when deciding to open a

business. She reminds them to

network. “Soldiers and Families

are connected to one of the larg-

est networks there is –each other!

Take advantage of the opportuni-

ties like Employment Readiness’

Work From Home Career Fair and

Army Volunteer Program’s annual

Super Sign Up to make connec-

tions, form partnerships and ex-

plore resources. Ms. Stephenson

pointed out that this area has had

a few Service Members and Fam-

ily members successfully open

businesses. With the right moti-

vation, education and idea you

can succeed in opening your own

business.

From Soldier to Local Business Owner– Thousand Islands Winery a Fruitful Endeavourer

One of the most

unique tourist

attractions in the

area, the Thou-

sand Islands

Winery is just a

short 30 minute

drive north of

Fort Drum.

Located in the heart of the beautiful

Thousand Islands region near the scenic

St. Lawrence River, the winery boasts

some of the most breathtaking views

and scenery in the state as well as won-

derful award winning wines. The win-

ery is also much more than just a tour-

ist attraction, as its roots are tied closely

to the US Army and Fort Drum.

Thousand Islands Winery is a family

owned farm winery located near Alex-

andria Bay, New York. The property

was purchased in 2002 by then US

Army Captain Stephen Conaway and

his wife Erika. He was the third Cap-

tain to have owned the property.

Captain Massey, a famous Riverboat

Captain, owned the property since the

1930s and Captain Schaffer who owned

the land from the 1970s to 2002 was in

the US Army Reserves. Inspired by the

Rhine River and wine country while

stationed in Germany, Conaway

decided that this piece of land would be

the perfect place for a winery. So when

he retired from the US Army, Conaway

(Continued on page 10)


Congratulations to the following Employment Readiness clients who have recently landed a job!

Bethany Armstrong Honeywell Sarah Bowe Quest Diagnostics Brenda Criswell American Eagle Pauline Henry-Drummond Carthage School District Michael Knight Mainscape Landscape Courtney Spearman Manpower If you are one of our clients who has recently become employed, we want to hear about it! Give us a call so we can highlight your accomplishment and inspire others!

Thousands Islands Winery-A Fruitful Endeavour

set to work on opening the first winery

in this part of New York.

The Thousand Islands Winery opened

its doors in 2003 with a small tasting

room and production area. It now has

acres of vineyards, multiple production

buildings, a large tasting room, and

multiple gorgeous event facilities. The

winery produces over 23,000 cases of

wine per year that are sold at wine

stores and liquor stores throughout the

nation. Thousand Islands Wines come

in 17 different varieties in addition to

four specially commissioned 10th

Mountain Division Association wines.

As a retired Captain from the US

Army, Conaway created these specialty

wines to honor the soldiers on Fort

Drum and support the 10th Mountain

Division Association. All proceeds

from the sales of these wines benefit

(Continued from page 9) the 10th Mountain Division Association.

The Thousand Islands Winery also offers

a Family Readiness Group (FRG) Fund-

raiser program. FRG Fundraisers are a

great way to raise awareness and funds

for various morale building activities for

military units and their families. Since

wine always makes a great gift, it’s an easy

sell that really benefits the FRG. The

winery creates a personalized label with

the unit’s name and insignia as well as a

custom order sheet that can be passed

out to potential customers. The order

sheet explains the fundraiser’s purpose

and parameters and contains a sample

image of the custom label. An unlimited

amount of wines with the unit’s specialty

label may be purchased throughout the

duration of the fundraiser and a percent-

age of the sale is refunded to the unit

hosting the fundraiser. The winery’s

fundraising coordinator keeps track of

everything and fills orders as they are

placed. Special events such as ―Date

Night at the Winery‖ or ―Ladies Day

Out‖ can even be arranged in

conjunction with the fundraiser in

order to provide an extra fun sales

push. If you are interested in starting

one of these fundraisers for

your unit, please contact the fundrais-

ing department at fund-

[email protected].

Thousand Islands Winery is proud to

support our troops and invites you to

do so as well by purchasing a specialty

10th Mountain Division Wine or

starting up an FRG Fundraiser for

your unit. The winery is a wonderful

tourist destination and the perfect

place for our soldiers to bring their

families for a day of relaxation and

fun. So add a visit to Thousand Is-

lands Winery to your 2012 wish list

today and “Wine Down in the Islands!”

Look Who’s on the Payroll: Employment Readiness Success Stories!


Before You Work From Home- What You Need to Know From Financial Readiness

Starting your own business is a great

achievement! From the financial per-

spective, the income your business

earns can be used for many things -

supplementing your family’s savings,

contributing to an emergency fund or

saving for future education expenses

for your children or yourself, just to

name a few. Here are some keys

points that may be helpful as you

begin your business:

Will you be conducting business on

Fort Drum? If so, be sure to come by

Financial Readiness to obtain a

Solicitation Permit application. You

are required to obtain this permit

before working from your home.

Financial Readiness will also tell you

how you may legally advertise your

business on post. For instance,

Commercial Solicitors are not al-

lowed to pass out flyers on post. The

application is free and the permit is

valid for one year, if approved.

What’s the bottom line? Take some

time to project the revenues and ex-

penses for the business. Essentially,

create a budget. For example: Are

there start-up costs that you’ll incur

before revenue begins to come in?

How long will it take you to break

even – and is this timeframe accept-

able within your current financial

situation? And consider; what are

your goals for the business? How

much money can you reasonably ex-

pect to ―net‖ each month? Having a

plan or estimate for these things will

help you feel confident as you tackle

each phase of your business plan:

from start-up and development to

maintaining and even growing your

customer base!

Keep Track. Before you book your

first client, sell your first product or

earn your first dollar, you’ll want to

keep track of any business related

expenses you have incurred. And as

customers start lining up and money

flows in; be sure to accurately track

your revenues. When tax time rolls

around it will be important for you

to know exactly what funds went

out and what cash came in. It may

also be helpful to track what per-

sonal assets were used for business

operations; how many hours were

used on the family computer for

business related tasks? How many

miles were put on your personal

vehicle during the year for business

purposes? And so on….

Check with Employment Readi-

ness Program. The Small Business

Development Office partners with

Employment Readiness to offer

classes on building your own busi-

ness. These classes are free to Sol-

diers and Family members. They

will also work one on one with you

to help you launch your successful

business.

Congratulations to you for stepping

out to become an entrepreneur –and

for bringing your family one step

closer toward financial independ-

ence! The Fort Drum Financial

Readiness Team is here to help an-

swer other questions you may have

or direct you to other helpful

resources!

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=work+from+home&view=detail&id=5A8BF72BBAF2A091E8945564C3871965FF088813&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR

ACS Classes and Events for the First Two Weeks in March DATE Class Time Location/Details

Thursday March 1: ESOL Class 0900-1200 ACS

CONUS PCS Brief 1530-1600 Clark Hall A2-A6

Friday March 2 : Hearts Apart 0930-1200 ACS

Monday March 5: Newcomers Orientation 0900-1130 ACS

Survivor Outreach Family Night 1800-2000 ACS

Tuesday March 6: ESOL Class 0900-1200 ACS

AFTB Level 1 0900-1600 ACS

Drum Family Welcome Tour 0930-1400 Departs ACS

From Victim to Survivor Educational Group 1130-1300 ACS

Stress Management 1330-1530 ACS

CONUS PCS BRIEF 1530-1600 Clark Hall A2-86

Wednesday March 7: 1st Term Financial Readiness 0830-1600 Call for location

AFTB Level 1 0900-1600 ACS

The Middle Years Parenting class 0900-1100 ACS

Infant Massage Monument Ridge CC 0930-1100 Monument Ridge

Thursday March 8: ESOL Class 0900-1200 ACS

Employment 101` 0930-1130 ACS

FRG Leader Training 0930-1300 ACS

Informal Funds Training 1400-1500 ACS

Informal Funds 1700-1800 ACS

CONUS PCS Brief 1530-1600 Clark Hall A2-A6

Friday March 9: In her Shoes: 0930-1130 ACS

Living with Domestic Violence

Monday March 12: Master Resilience Module 1 0930-1430 ACS

Resume Writing Computer Lab 0930-1030 ACS



Build Your Business Workshop 0930-1130

CONUS PCS Brief 1530-1600 Clark Hall A2-86

EFMP Support Group 1100-1300 ACS

From Victim to Survivor Ed Group 1130-1300 ACS

Wednesday March 14: 1st Term Financial Readiness 0830-1600 Call for location

Build Your Own Business 0930-1130 ACS

AFTB Level III 0900-1600 ACS



ACS Classes and Events for the Last Two Weeks in March DATE Class Time Location/Details

Thursday March 15: CONUS PCS Brief 1530-1600 Clark Hall A2-86

ESOL Class 0900-1200 ACS

Overseas PCS Brief 1330-1530 ACS

Friday March 16: Autism Support Group 0900-1100 ACS

Baby Boot Camp 0900-1600 ACS

Monday March 19: Budget Management 0930-1200 ACS

Computer Basics For Job Seekers 0930-1030 ACS

(This new training is an Introduction to the Internet and Searching)


Anger Management 1330-1530 ACS

1130-1330 Victim to Survivor Group 1130-1300 ACS

CONUS PCS Brief 1530-1600 Clark Hall, A2-86

Wednesday March 21: 1st Term Financial Readiness 0830-1600 Call for Location

AFTB Level II 0900-1600 ACS

The Middle Years Parenting Class 0900-1100 ACS

Infant Massage Monument Ridge CC 0930-1100 Monument Ridge

Thursday March 22: ESOL class 0900-1200 ACS

Federal Employment Workshop 0930-1130 ACS

CONUS PCS Brief 1630-1400 Clark Hall, A2-86

Computer Basics Excel 1300-1500 ACS

Friday March 23: In her Shoes- 0930-1130 ACS

living with domestic violence

Monday March 26: ACS Instructor Training 0900-1600 ACS


ACS Instructor Training 0900-1600 ACS

Basic Excel for Job Seekers 0930-1130 ACS


From Victim to Survivor Ed Group 1130-1300 ACS

CONUS PCS Brief 1530-1600 Clark Hall A2-86

Wednesday March 28: 1st Term Financial Readiness 0830-1600 Call For Location

ACS Instructor Training 0900-1600 ACS

Infant Massage-Monument Ridge CC 0930-1100 Monument Ridge

Thursday March 29: ACS Instructor Training 0900-1600 ACS

Family Wellness Support Group 1000-1100-1800-1900 ACS

Friday March 30: ACS Instructor Training 0900-1600

Think ACS First

Army Community Service

P4330 Conway Road

Fort Drum, New York

13602

Army Emergency Relief 772-6560, 772-8873 or 772-2855

Army Family Team Building http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000122037720

772-6710, 772-9229

Army Volunteer Program Coordinator http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Drum-Army-volunteer-Corps/13651504365912

772-2899

Exceptional Family Member Program http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Drum-FMWR-Exceptional-Family-Member-Program /104951319542718

772-5488, 772-0819

Employment Readiness Program http://www.facebook.com/#!/fortdrumemployment

772-9611, 772-2737

Family Advocacy Program (New Parent Support Program) SAPRP

772-4244, 772-6929, 772-2279

772-0596, 772-4070, 772-0748

772-5605, 772-5914

Financial Readiness Program http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Drum-financial-Readiness-ACS/1956662120473

772-0050, 772-5196, 772-8526

Information and Referral 772-6556, 772-6557

Military & Family Life Consultants 212-6919

Mobilization and Deployment http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Drum-Mobiliztion-and-Deployment/178420512193448?ref=ts&v=wall

772-2848, 772-0470, 772-2919

Outreach http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Drum-ACS-Outreach/180373271991692

772-5374

Relocation Readiness http:// www.facebook.com/pages/Fort -Drum -Relocation -Readiness Program/171335822906429

772-5475, 772-6553, 772-6902

772-6566

Soldier Family Assistance Center http://www.facebook.com/Fort.Drum.FMWR/SFAC

772-7781

Survivor Outreach Services http://www.facebook.com/fortdrumsurvivoroutreachservices

772-6357

acs green press march 2012

Documents

acs events

acs friends

acs contacts

acs chief page

readiness of soldiers

poetry month

schools month

supportive services