Welcome to our Website!

We're Massachusetts Chapter 1 of the Blue Star Mothers of America - Mothers who currently have or had children serving in the U.S. Military. We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) service organization, chartered by the U.S. congress, supporting each other, our children, and everyone who serves in our military while promoting patriotism. We welcome fathers, family, and friends of our servicepeople as our associate members. 

CHECK OUT OUR CHAPTER'S FACEBOOK PAGE! 

Our chapter has started a Facebook page - You can check it out Here . Check it out! We'll still keep official records and photo galleries on this official chapter website, but the Facebook page lets members (and other interested folks!) post comments and pictures from events as they happen. If you like our page, let us and everyone know by clicking this "Like" button: 

Members: If you have ideas for taking advantage of the Facebook page, post them on the page so we can try them out. Let's try to get the page full of interesting comments and pictures! 

MAY 2012 MEETING COMING UP

Our next meeting will take place Wednesday May 16 at our usual time (7 PM) and place (Leominster Veterans' Center) - find the clickable map on the Meetings and Events page. Look for the agenda for this meeting on the Members Only page soon; draft minutes for the April meeting are already posted. And, we'll have a speaker - see the next item. See you there! 

OUR SPEAKER AT UPCOMING MAY MEETING

At our May meeting, C. David Gordon, President of the Fort Devens Museum, will be our speaker. You can find out about the museum at http://www.fortdevensmuseum.org/ .

FULL MEMBERSHIP OPENED UP TO MORE MOTHERS!

A recent change in the law (since we're a congressionally-chartered organization, after all), just passed by congress and signed by President Obama, allows Foster Mothers, Grandmothers, and Female Legal Guardians of active duty and retired servicepeople to join us as Full Members. Even if you don't fit into any of these categories, you're welcome to join as an Associate Member (and even Dads fit into this slot!). Come to our meeting and look us over - we think you'll decide to join.  

SUCCESSFUL GIRL SCOUT COOKIE PACKING IN MARCH  

Our chapter packed and shipped hundreds of packs of Girl Scout Cookies to active duty servicemen and women - both deployed and stateside - at the Veterans' Center on Sunday March 11, 2012. Chapter members, Brownie Scouts from Leominster Troop 11188, and members of Leominster Fire Dept, Group 2 gathered at the Veterans' Center to pack and ship. It was a fun afternoon. For more pictures, look here.  

BSMs HONOR VETERANS' DAY 2011

Chapter 1 members honored veterans at several observances in our area. Denise MacAloney, Nancy Siegel, Rose Annese, and Kathy Giordano attended a memorial screening of Restrepo in Harvard, MA. After the screening,  Army Sergeant Brendan O'Byrne spoke about his experiences at OP Restrepo and returning to civilian life after deployment. Sharon Bouchard and Debbie Cameron attended observances in Leominster. They took pictures - Here's one; click this link for the rest

OUR CHAPTER ANNOUNCES A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Our chapter will award two $300 scholarships for the 2012-2013 school year to local students from military families who meet certain additional requirements. This web page contains links to all of the details. Applications must be completed by April 30, 2012. Good luck! 

MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN FRUITLANDS MUSEUM GALLERY OPENING

On September 11, 2011, Members of Chapter 1 participated in the opening of the photographic exhibit Witness to Global Conflict: 9/11 and Beyond at the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA. Speakers included Brendan O'Byrne, a member of the platoon that hosted Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington in Afghanistan; John Gerlaugh, representating OSD from the National Defense University; MA State Representative Jennifer Benson; and our chapter's own Blue to Gold Representative Rose Annese.  We have posted pictures of the opening ceremony and overviews of the galleries here.  

New Pages Added to Blue Star Mothers' Chapter 1 Photo Gallery

We add new pages to our album a few times each month. You can go to the album pages by title here, or by image here. 

Members can have a personal album of their own for picture-sharing; for information, look up your password and go to the members-only page

Recent Highlights and Links pages added!

We've added a Recent Highlights page and a Links page to this website. On the highlights page, you can scan our recent activities and click through to picture galleries of ones you'd like to see more of. On the links page, you can click through to see the nice things that other sites are saying about us, or visit sites of organizations that we work with. 

About Our Chapter

We are proud to be the first chapter in Massachusetts, and to join the list of state branches of the Blue Star Mothers of America across the United States. 

If you're the mother, grandmother, or foster mother of a veteran or serviceperson, you're welcome to join us as a full member! (Other relatives and friends can join as Associate Members.) For more information, please call or email one of our officers. Our members are from many towns throughout  the state. The South Shore and Worcester area are well-served by our sister chapters, the Eastern Massachusetts Chapter 2 and the Central Massachusetts Chapter 3. 

We meet on the third Wednesday evening of each month in the Leominster Veterans' Center, 100 West Street, Leominster, MA.

Members-Only Calendar and Activity Pages!

Click Here to visit our Members-Only Calendar and Activity Pages!  (Member Username and Password Required!) 

 

 

 

Entire contents Copyright © 2007-2012 Blue Star Mothers Massachusetts Chapter 1.  Comments about this website? Email to webmaster@bluestarmomsmassch1.org