Military Kids Can Apply for Free Summer Camps

Military Kids Can Apply for Free Summer Camps

With the temperature rising and the school year drawing to a close, parents across the nation are starting to think about summertime plans.

Military families can get a head start on their planning today by applying for the National Military Family Association’s Operation Purple Summer Camp program. The nonprofit organization launched this free program nine years ago to support military children, ages 7 to 17, dealing with the stress of war.

The weeklong camps are open to military children of all ranks and services, both active and reserve. Officials will give priority to children who meet the association’s deployment criteria and have never attended an Operation Purple camp. Families should submit their application by midnight EDT on April 19. To find out more about the camps and to make application go to: 2012 Operation Purple Camps.

The goal of the Operation Purple camp program is to give military children tools to help deal with the stresses that result from a parent’s deployment, through a memorable camp experience in a “purple” environment.

At Operation Purple camps, military children experience an exciting week of outdoor fun and adventure.

This summer children will attend an Operation Purple camp at one of 16 locations in 14 states: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and West Virginia.

Here's a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

The Operation Purple program was created in 2004 in response to the call from military parents to "help us help our kids." The mission of the Operation Purple program is to empower military children and their families to develop and maintain healthy and connected relationships, in spite of the current military environment. We do this through a variety of means, including the healing and holistic aspect of the natural world. The program is joint or "purple"— and open to children and families of active duty, National Guard or Reserve service members from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or the Commissioned Corps of the US Public Health Service and NOAA.

Since its creation in 2004, the Operation Purple program has grown to serve approximately 45,000 military children and teens. The Operation Purple program also includes family retreats at national parks and specialized family camps geared to address the needs of children and families of our nation’s wounded service members.

If your kids are into Ice Hockey you may want to look into Defending The Blue Line Keeping Military Kids On The Ice.

"Defending the Blue Line has experienced tremendous success by providing equipment for the kids, grants to help pay their association fees, summer hockey camps and NHL game tickets so the whole family can go enjoy a pro-game before or after a deployment," says President and Founder of Defending the Blue Line, Army Sgt. Shane Hudella.

Named after the line that marks the start of the defensive zone in hockey, "Defending The Blue Line" was created in 2009 by a group of active duty soldiers.

The program helps military families offset the expensive costs of having their children in a hockey program while their mom or dad is overseas.



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