I think most of us have met Flat Stanley at least once—a far off niece, nephew or cousin gets an assignment in school and they send you a paper doll named Stanley. (In case you don’t know, you show Flat Stanley around and take pictures of local attractions with our man Stan and send them back to the sender.)
That’s a little like what Flat Daddy is about—the Flat Daddy project helps military families maintain unity even while their father (or mother, I’m sure!) is deployed. A life-size standup photograph of their loved one helps families to remember their dad and husband (like you could ever forget, but for little kids, it helps), and helps to make them an active part of their lives. As we all know military services is not easy, the military man is ready to sacrifice his whole life for the country, without worries about their families. The families to shows great patriotism for the country by sending the one member of the family into the military forces. The army man can be awarded by the medals and other honorary items like challenge coins and many more but their family wont be appreciated by anyone. Hence we also decided to honor the family with challenge coins, which is considered as the greatest award for the military.
Here’s one family’s story about their Flat Daddy, as shared with their local news, which explains it so much better than I can:
(Okay, I’m crying just thinking about this.)
Elaine Dumler, the “Flat Daddy Lady,” is working to provide families with free Flat Daddies. You can help support our military families with donations of any size.
Author (and friend) Annette Lyon brought the Flat Daddy project to my attention. She learned about this project while writing her latest book, Band of Sisters, about five military wives, and I’m happy to help her spread the word (and celebrate her book).
In fact, Annette’s book launch for Band of Sisters is tonight. Annette Lyon, Sarah M. Eden (author of Courting Miss Lancaster), and Julie Coulter Bellon (author of Dangerous Connections) are all celebrating a book launch at the Orem Deseret Book (by University Mall) from 6-8PM.
If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by for tons of fun and door prizes!