DoD Military Outreach Initiative
ASYMCA has partnered with the Department of Defense (DoD) on a $31-million initiative to provide eligible military families and active duty personnel with access to youth development, family strengthening, and health and well-being programs through memberships at community YMCAs nationwide. Membership fees are underwritten by the DoD and administered through Military OneSource.
The ASYMCA-DoD Outreach Initiative responds to a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008, which requires the Secretary of Defense to develop a plan to support military family readiness and to ensure that military family readiness programs and activities are available to all military families, including those of the National Guard and Military Reservists.
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Operation Kid Comfort
Operation Kid Comfort creates custom-made quilts for children of deployed military personnel who experience grief from missing their mom or dad.
Created in 2004 at Ft. Bragg/Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville, N.C., ASYMCA’s Operation Kid Comfort is designed to address the emotional stress that children of military personnel suffer during a parent’s absence from home, providing free quilts for children ages 6 and under and pillows for children ages 7 and older. To date, the program has made nearly 6,000 quilts for children of deployed parents.
9/11 National Day of Service
Greater DC Cares, the leading and largest coordinator of volunteerism in the region, chose Operation Kid Comfort as the flagship service event for its 9/11 National Day of Service events. As the banner event, more than 200 volunteers created dozens of quilts for children all over the country.
Click here for more information, to request a quilt or to volunteer.
Military Family Month
Military Family Month was established in 1993 by the Armed Services YMCA, with the U.S. Government recognizing the occasion every year since. President Barack Obama proclaimed November 2009 as Military Family Month, calling on all Americans to honor military families through private actions and public service for the tremendous contributions they make in the support of our service members and our Nation.
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Operation Outdoors
In 2007, More than 3,000 service members and their families attended camp free of charge, thanks to a $400,000 grant from the California Community Foundation’s Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund.In 2008, the Sierra Club donated $1.5 million to be used over the next three years in support of a resident camping experience for military children.
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Student Art & Essay Contest
The annual ASYMCA Art and Essay Contest is officially launched every November and is open to all eligible children of U.S. active duty or retired service members. Winners are chosen the following Spring.
Winners of both the art and essay contests have their winning entries displayed in a number of locations in the Washington, D.C., area, including in the Russell Rotunda, and are recognized at an annual luncheon on Capitol Hill. ASYMCA awards U.S. Savings bonds totaling $7,600 to 1st and 2nd place winners of both contests, as well as honorable mention recipients of the essay contest.
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Operation Hero
One of ASYMCA’s keystone programs is Operation Hero, a program that aids children from six to 12 years of age who are experiencing temporary difficulty in school, both socially and academically. Often these difficulties are caused by frequent moves and family disruption due to deployments. Referred by teachers, parents or school officials, the semester-long program provides after-school tutoring and mentoring assistance in a small group with certified teachers. Operation Hero facilitates a positive environment, encourages responsible behavior, and gets children back on track in school, both academically and socially.
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Operation Holiday Joy
The holidays can be an especially trying time for the families or our service members currently deployed overseas. As hundreds of thousands of military families await their loved ones’ return, it’s our job to make their days a little brighter and their holiday season a little more joyous.
ASYMCAand Woman’s Day magazine, in partnership with the Military Channel, partner every November (Military Family Month) to sponsor Operation Holiday Joy, a national holiday drive to raise money for military families in need. All donations are used to purchase toys and holiday food baskets for military families in need. The drive has resulted in contributions totaling more than $720,000 from more than 6,900 generous donors.
