How Your Support Helps

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learn more about TAPS.

Thank you for considering TAPS for your charitable giving! The mission of TAPS is to provide a safe, loving environment which honors those who have made the ultimate sacrifice by caring for their loved ones. TAPS administers a variety of free emotional support programs for families, but the need for expanded services is tremendous.

Your funds will enable TAPS to meet its mission of caring for the loved ones of our brave Soldiers, Marines, Airman and Sailors, both on active duty and in the National Guard and Reserves. With the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, TAPS receives requests for help from a dozen new families a day, many with children under the age of 8 who are struggling to deal not only with the death of a significant adult in their life, a big brother/sister or a parent, but also with the compounded loss of their military life.

TAPS is truly a volunteer organization. All but a few of our staff are volunteers who are themselves the surviving families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to America. We are very careful with every penny we receive, and do our best to reduce our costs. Our modest office space is donated to us. Even our printing is provided at reduced cost, with an inkind donation upfront each year. Our only nonprogram expense is incurred in meeting the legal requirements for a nonprofit such as corporate status filings, taxes, audits, and accounting.

All of our telephone hotlines, postage, printing, supplies and staff are dedicated to direct services, and the need is growing daily.

With your help, TAPS will be able to do the following for the families, particularly those with young children, of those who are dying each day in Iraq

Hold the annual Good Grief Camp in three locations around the country for young military children who have lost a loved one.
Bring counselors on staff who will focus solely on the surviving children of those killed in the military (must be able to be on call 24/7).
Send comprehensive care packages to these newly bereaved families, which include appropriate books on understanding death, information about the new support group they have in TAPS, and resources to call upon.
Host our secure website for surviving military families that gives them secure chat rooms, information about coping with death, links to military information and resources appropriate for their loss.
Offer support groups facilitated by certified bereavement specialists in at least 200 communities across America.
Hire a program manager specifically focused on the issues affecting surviving families.
Hold the annual Good Grief Camp for young military children who have lost a loved one.
Have case workers available to help families gain the benefits due to them.
Staff a toll free hotline available 24/7.

TAPS gives surviving families a solid foundation on which to build a healthy future following a tragic loss. The average American doesn’t understand the immense sacrifices that military families make for America. Being a military family requires special people and dedication. When a parent in that family dies, the spouse and children deserve the very best care possible. These surviving loved ones learn coping skills and will begin to understand that the feelings they are experiencing are normal reactions to an abnormal event – the untimely death of a spouse or son or parent.

Thank you for your donation. We are grateful you have honored us by helping us care for our surviving military families, the living legacy of war.