Home Front Hero, Profile: Colleen Saffron

I met Collen a year and a half ago through Christian Military Wives. What I have come to admire the most about her is her faith in Christ, her devotion and love for her husband and family, and her willingness and desire to reach out and offer practical help to other families. Colleen has helped many of us at CMW in one way or another, whether through prayer, offering sound advice, or pointing us to resources.

She knows the military inside and out, and after being an Army wife for more than 20-years she possesses a tremendous amount of experience and wisdom. These are all of the qualities that I have had the pleasure of witnessing up close and personal, but let me pull some information for you from the Bio she sent to me and you to will see an Army wife extraordinaire!

I will have the pleasure of interviewing Colleen and other women who participate in Operation Life Transformed this month. We will be announcing the airing date of that special broadcast here at You Served.

It’s not mentioned here in the Bio, but Colleen and her husband were invited to the White House for President Bush’s farewell address! It was her second trip to the White House and to meet the President. This video records her first meeting with President Bush. Colleen was one of last year’s reciepients of the Presidential Volunteer and Service Award. If you forward to 9-minutes in you will hear Colleen’s name mentioned for the first time and then again around 16-minutes. The whole video is worth watching.

LINK to video

COLLEEN SAFFRON
Colleen Saffron is 37 years old and an 20 year army wife who has served alongside her husband to receive the Molly Pitcher and the Commanders Award for civilian service over the years as well as filled executive positions on the board for PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel through the Chaplain’s system), been involved in FRG, and also participated in community programs and volunteered in her children’s schools.

In May of 2004 her husband was severely injured in Iraq and thus her participation and service to the military community changed. Seeking to pursue her family’s own financial stability should they need to be retired medically immediately from military service, she returned to school and graduated with honors from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh with her degree in Residential Interiors.

In March of 2007 she joined with her current business partner Air Force wife Tania Mercurio and Navy wife Kim Marrero, to create Operation Life Transformed. A nonprofit charitable foundation that serves the military community by educating and training military spouses and care givers to our nation’s war wounded in rapid certification programs that allow them to work from home while continuing in their role as military spouse or caregiver. This is done for free through donations from corporations and private donors at no cost to the military families.

She has spent countless hours seeking to further educate the general public about the needs of the care givers to our nations wounded as well as create partnerships with a network of programs to meet the immediate needs of military families in crisis. She has worked to create a pilot program that gave 10 web based businesses to families of war wounded soldiers called Project Hope as well as received the Newman’s Own Fisher House Grant within the first 3 months of conception of the program. She also works with her partners to raise funds and create unique ideas to raise money for programs and funding for the training of the spouses.

To date Operation Life Transformed has paid for over 100 spouses and caregivers to enter into online training programs for careers o in fields that are done from the home which allows both military spouses and caregivers to our war wounded to continue in their main roles as support to their soldier while still bringing in a viable second income for their family. She has helped to create unique programs with Central Texas College and worked with families across Texas and the US to improve their quality of life through employment.

Colleen’s joint creation of Operation Life Transformed with her partners has brought awareness to the cause of military families and their unique needs. Colleen herself has provided numerous interviews with radio and news media such as to Army Wife Talk radio, speaker for the Soldier’s Angels Convention in San Antonio, KLIF radio the Wells report with Jon-David Wells, Talking With Heroes Radio and the Ft Hood Sentinel to name a few. She has worked to make this organization a recognized part of America Supports You a Department of defense Program and works to find unique solutions for the unique situations military families face in the realm of employment and as war wounded care givers transitioning to civilian life. She conceptualized, designed and oversaw the creation of a pendant called to Devotion to honor military spouses which is exclusive through Operation Life Transformed to raise awareness for military spouses and caregivers.

Colleen is, for all legal purposes considered deaf and depends on assistive devices such as hearing aids and a service dog to aid her in her day to day life but allows nothing to slow her down. She does not only work 8 to 10 hours a day with her duties as Chief Communications Officer of Operation Life Transformed but also manages to find free time to speak to groups of children and other organizations about her hearing dog Gretchen and the organization who trained and gave her to her Texas Hearing and Service Dogs. They have even featured on the front page of the Killeen Daily Herald. Colleen is the mother of 3 teenagers ranging in ages from 14 to 19 and makes herself available to them and their friends
as well as to their church and school programs and projects throughout the year including the Signs of Love Sign Choir, Take Five Drama Ministry costumes and other events such as the Choir boosters and FCA is her newest endeavor this school year.

Her first priority will always be her family. She is currently still going through the recovery process with her husband as he faces his surgeries and rehab from his injuries sustained in 2004 as she pursues her goals to see Operation Life Transformed grow into an organization that serves the military community for years to come.

Colleen’s dedication to the military community is evident throughout her husband military career and will continue as a legacy through her creation and leadership of Operation Life Transformed as well as her continued work with her FRG and other local programs such as THSD and working with her children and local church congregation. In April of 2008 her dedication led her to be awarded the Ft Hood Volunteer of the year and on May 6, 2008 she was invited to the White House and received the President’s Award for Life Time Volunteer service on Military Spouse Day representing Army Spouses from President George W. Bush.