Navy Spouse Thanks Donors for Showing Families Support
When Jacob Anderson told his then-girlfriend, Caitlyn, that he wanted to join the Navy to provide for their family after they got married, he was worried she would be upset.
Instead, Caitlyn has embraced the role of military spouse. Since 2014, when Jacob first enlisted, they have moved from their central-California hometown to San Diego, then to Everett, Washington, and now Norfolk, Virginia, where Jacob, a petty officer first class, is stationed.
For the couple, like most military families, the relocations mean leaving behind the support system of family and friends, which can be difficult especially as their family grows.
Finding connections and support are two reasons Caitlyn, currently pregnant with their third child, attended a recent Operation Homefront Star-Spangled Babies® shower in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
“I only have a couple of friends in the area, and with all of the moves we haven’t been able to keep our baby gear from our other two children,” Caitlyn said. “I was really hoping to tap into the baby shower as a resource and get some support and just do something that made me feel special.”
“I want donors to know that their donation, no matter how big or small, is gigantic, as far as emotionally, for the military families that they are supporting.” – Caitlyn Anderson, Navy military spouse
Caitlyn found that and more. She was one of 50 moms registered for the event, which was possible thanks to generous sponsors Armada Hoffler, The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center, Tactical Baby Gear, Infantino, Motif Medical, Astro Event Company, and local quilters, along with Operation Homefront staff and its legion of volunteers.
The gifts included a Tactical Baby Gear diaper bag backpack, diapers, a play mobile, quilted items, and other baby essentials. Representatives from local resources available to military families supplied moms with information.
“I was actually blown away by how much we received both in resources and in gifts,” Caitlyn said. “I knew there would be a gift basket, maybe a little something, and it turned into someone using a wagon to help me to my car because I couldn’t carry it all.”
She also exchanged numbers with other spouses in the area.
“It’s nice to meet people in a similar situation to me,” she said. “The gals that I connected with also had children at home already and could relate to being a military spouse for a little while and still wanting to feel supported and celebrated, even with this not being our first pregnancy, but also having family so far away. It was great to add them to my circle.”
Caitlyn and Jacob are parents to two girls, ages 4 and 2. The family arrived in Norfolk in the summer of 2022, and they are still getting to know the area. Soon after arrival, Jacob deployed to the Mediterranean. He returned in April of this year. It was his second deployment. The first was to Sri Lanka.
Caitlyn is grateful to those who support military families.
“I want the donors to know that their donation, no matter how big or small, is gigantic, as far as emotionally, for the military families that they are supporting,” she said.
Since 2008, the Star-Spangled Babies program has provided critical baby supplies to more than 20,000 military new and expecting moms. In most locations, the families who participate have deployed or wounded service members or other junior and mid-grade service members in their families.
