Md. Operation: Military Kids brings children of service members together
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”1839″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeIn”][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1500569010289{margin: 0px !important;border-width: 0px !important;padding: 0px !important;}”]Story and photos by 2nd Lt. Jessica Donnelly[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1500569354027{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”]The Maryland Operation: Military Kids hosted its annual summer get-away camp for children with military parents at the Western Maryland 4-H Education Center in Swanton, Md., July 22-28.
Nearly 140 children, ages 8-13, with active duty, National Guard and Reserve component parents from all military services participated in the week-long summer camp. The children came from states throughout the region, to include Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, to get a chance to meet other children who understand what it’s like to be a military child.
“We want these kids to get a chance to be around other military kids and see that they aren’t alone,” said Jayne Fitzgerald, Md. OMK project director.
Fitzgerald added that most of the children attending the camp have experienced a parent deploy overseas while serving in the military. In some cases, there are children of wounded warriors and others who have lost a parent in the military, but most are able to relate their experiences to one another and learn different ways of coping during a deployment.
Kinsley Wilde, Maryland National Guard Child and Youth Program coordinator for Western Maryland, explained that once the children realize how much they have in common, they quickly bond with their peers. Connections are made based on what service their parents are attached to and friendships are created that can last past the week.
During the camp, the children participate in swim lessons and sessions, canoeing, martial arts training, archery, outdoor cooking lessons, movie nights, capture the flag, as well as other teamwork and confidence building activities. They also attend classes that relate directly to being a military child, such as mental health classes, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder education sessions, and resiliency lessons.
The Maryland National Guard has participated in the summer camp since the beginning of the Md. OMK in 2005.
Fitzgerald explained that each year the camp has grown in numbers, with 120 children last year, and this year there were so many children signed up that some had to be wait-listed. The OMK coordinates the camp and reaches out to partner organizations, such as the Maryland National Guard Child and Youth Program, to inform military Families and coordinate the registration. The camp is 100 percent funded by the OMK with no cost to the Family, with donations accepted, and registration is first come, first served.
“We are very lucky to have such a great partnership with Operation: Military Kid,” said Wilde.
The Maryland National Guard Child and Youth Program also hosts their own annual camp for children of Maryland Air and Army National Guard members called Homefront Challenge. It is traditionally held at the end of June at the 4-H Camp at the Rocks in Street, Md. Registration is coordinated through the Child and Youth Program in the spring.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]