Program shows military families they matter Help with lawn care and home repair make life easier for the ones left behind By Monique Balas News-Chronicle Of all the things Kathy Ammerman has to worry about, her lawn is no longer one of them. Ammerman, whose husband was deployed to Iraq on March 1, is receiving help with mowing her one-acre De Pere through a program coordinated by United Way of Brown County. Military Families Matter is a program designed to help families with a member deployed overseas to cope with home repair and summer lawn care, which can be complicated for a parent juggling child care, work and other responsibilities. "The reason we chose to do this project is, we went out and talked with the armed forces and what we found out was there were issues related to financial stress and issues related to home maintenance while the enlisted are away," said Toni Loch, president and CEO of United Way of Brown County. "Most often, it was men who were deployed, and if you had a leaky faucet and overflowing toilet ... when we asked families what their needs were, that's what they told us." Through another program, United Way had tried to help on the financial front, so this time it has partnered with Northeast Wisconsin Building and Construction Trades Council, Ariens Co. and local volunteers to get the appropriate help to families like Ammerman's. "It is truly comforting when volunteers or civic groups make sacrifices and validate the sacrifice that soldiers are making," Ammerman said. United Way volunteer Chris Elliott has mowed Ammerman's lawn once and will come back as needed. "His actual words were, 'You will never have to worry about your lawn,'" Ammerman said. It's helpful for Ammerman, whose husband, Dan, is in Iraq and probably won't be back until next year. That leaves her to raise 4-year-old Lucy and 9-year-old Keith. It is hard, she said, but then her outlook brightened. "Things like this make it easier," she said. "When military families know they don't have to do it alone, it makes the sacrifice easier to bear." Ammerman is an adviser to the Family Readiness Group, which helps families of the Army's 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion deal with a broad array of issues ranging from financial matters to insurance needs. Because of her role with that group, she was contacted by the United Way to serve as a liaison and inform the families she works with about Military Families Matter. "The Family Readiness Groups is a means for getting more current information, a way to find out what community services are offered to us," she said. Ammerman's group connects people with help on all sorts of issues ranging from insurance questions to finances. She said there have only been a few people so far who have requested help from Military Families Matter, but "the goal would be to double that by next month," she said. Ammerman urged families who are part of the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion to call Mike Erickson at 336-6049, Ext. 5, to receive assistance. The Family Readiness Liaison group will connect them to the appropriate outlet. The group's next meeting will be at a picnic July 12 at Legion Park in De Pere. As for the Military Families Matter Program, Loch hopes it will help as many area military families as possible. "I think it's just a great way for United Way to bring people together that can help impact lives and improve lives," she said.