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WASHINGTON D.C. (April 2, 2008) - In mid-March, Indiana school
administrators, military support groups and volunteers met at the
Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds in Noblesville, Ind., to learn
about ways to assist children affected by a family member's
deployment.
One way is through "Operation Military Kids," a program
initiated by U.S. Army Child and Youth Services. Now in 42 states,
the program works through the 4-H program and other volunteer
organizations that connect with military youth and provide support
through a network of community resources.
"The idea of the meeting is to give training to the educators to
know what steps they can take to form the right connections (to
help military kids)," said Judy Hauser, 4-H project
coordinator.
She stressed how important these connections were in
establishing resources to assist military children in times of
trouble or confusion.
"Socially, it gives them support through being able to interact
with other kids on their level, do fun activities away from school,
plus gain support from the volunteers," said Amy Nierman, a 4-H
member with the Purdue Extension. "It gives the youth an
opportunity to meet with other kids throughout the county, focusing
on things they are interested in."
During family meetings like those held by the Family Readiness
Group for the Indiana National Guard, 4-H volunteers try to provide
children with fun educational activities, including packets created
specifically for them.
Another program 4-H participates in is the assembly and
distribution of "Hero Packs" for children. Hero Packs are backpacks
or sacks filled with fun things to occupy children's time.
"When you work on projects with kids, they tend to talk more and
open up about things," said Jacque McBride, a counselor at South
Elementary School, in Danville, Ind.
She said the program has given her a lot of insight on things
that could be done when dealing with military children. "I think it
will help give me some ideas on who to talk to, and things to do
with (the children)," McBride said. "I would like to be more
connected with them and be more open.
"I've been brainstorming some ideas on, like a wall of fame for
the military, to put up in the hallway and things like that," she
added.
4-H is a youth organization administered by the Cooperative
Extension System of the U.S. Department of Agriculture with the
mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while
advancing the field of youth development." The four "H's" stand for
head, heart, hands and health. The organization provides
extracurricular activities in every county in the United States,
including arts and crafts, photography and working with
animals.
Editor's Note: To find out about more individuals,
groups and organizations that are helping support the troops,
visit www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil. America
Supports You directly connects military members to the support of
the America people and offers a tool to the general public in their
quest to find meaningful ways to support the military
community.
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