The Beyond the Yellow Ribbon of Albert Lea steering committee is working to make itself better known as soldiers with Albert Lea’s Delta Company are preparing to deploy to Kuwait this month.

John Severtson, chairman of the committee, said that he wants families of service members to know there’s help available — and not just for families of Delta Company soldiers. He said there are other families in the area with deployed service members to Afghanistan, among other places.

“We will keep on going even when Delta Company comes back,” Severtson said.

For now Severtson is working on finding volunteers and fielding requests for help from families of service members. While he hasn’t had a lot of requests yet, the group has responded to those who have asked for help.

“We have people who want to help and be on call,” Severtson said.

In an effort to improve communication, and show that the committee wants to be recognized as a Yellow Ribbon Community officially, the group has started a Facebook page. The committee will find out by August whether they will be officially recognized.

“We hope our action plan is approved,” Carlson said. “In the meantime we need to be able to provide services.”

A Yellow Ribbon Committee is one that makes a comprehensive network and coordinates resources to support military families. Severtson said service members should be able to know their families are taken care of so they can take care of their mission overseas without worrying about everyday issues back home.

“It’s important for us to let them know we’re back here supporting their family,” Severtson said.

The committee hopes the Facebook page will connect everyone in the community and not just service members and their families.

“We’re just trying to get the word out as much as possible that this organization is there to help and be some sort of resource,” J.D. Carlson said.

Carlson is the chairman of the law enforcement subcommittee for Albert Lea’s steering committee and hopes the Facebook page becomes popular. There are links to various resources on the Facebook page. Carlson is also working with the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce to create a list of businesses that provide military discounts, which they hope to list on the Facebook page. The committee also plans to add videos to the page.

For more information Severtson can be emailed at johnbecca@msn.com. For immediate assistance for families of service members call 507-473-3480.