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Monthly Snapshot June 2016

For many, summer is a time where life slows down. Long hours at the office are swapped out for long days at the beach. The hustle and bustle of the school year is replaced with afternoon naps, water balloon fights and trips to the zoo. It is a time depicted by a wraparound porch and a tall glass of lemonade. The days are longer, the weather is brighter, and even the traffic gets lighter- altogether a time referred to as the “lazy days of summer.” However, not everything slows down. Children, including military children, continue to need support and Our Military Kids continues to work as hard as ever to provide it.

At Our Military Kids, June was busy as usual. We gave out over $146,000 through 354 grants. Not surprisingly, the most popular activity was summer camp which accounted for nearly 20% of all grants during the month. Other popular activities included swimming, soccer, martial arts, gymnastics and horseback riding. We also funded activities such as cooking, sewing, Motorcross and viola. As summer should be, the activities and the children doing them were diverse, enriching and fun.

As life takes a pause during these summer months, we ask our donors to stay the course. The programs at our Military Kids are yearlong which means they require a yearlong commitment. This commitment includes a number of components, finances naturally being one of them. During this time of sun and fun, please remember that fundraising cannot take a break in order for a non-profit to continue serving its clients. Our Military Kids is no exception. We wish you a safe, happy and healthy summer and we thank you for your continued support.

RESTON, VA — The Fourth Annual Serving For Heroes Charity Open was held July 8-10 to support Our Military Kids, a McLean-based nonprofit that provides support to the children of deployed National Guard and Military Reserve personnel as well as  severely injured Service Members and Veterans from all branches. Our Military Kids organization supports these children through grants for extracurricular activities. Presented by Keller Williams McLean/Great Falls, the United States Tennis Association-sanctioned tournament was hosted at Lake Newport Tennis Facility in Reston, VA.  Since 2012, the tournament has hosted approximately 500 tennis players and has raised over $25,000 to support wounded veterans as well as to ease the emotional and physical hardships that many military children experience while a caregiver is deployed. All of the proceeds from this year’s tournament benefitted Our Military Kids

“Initially, the Serving For Heroes Charity Open raised funds to assist in the recovery process for wounded veterans. In 2015, I decided to broaden the scope a little bit to focus more on the military families who also endure incredible emotional and physical hardships that tend to be overlooked,” said Wilson Paine, the tournament director and organizer. “That is what attracted me to Our Military Kids. They understand that supporting military families and more specifically military children is an extension of supporting our veterans. Their grants offer an outlet to ease the emotional toll placed on military children while their parents are deployed. It’s such a worthy cause and felt like a natural fit for this tournament’s mission.”

This year, the Serving For Heroes Charity Open raised more than $10,000 for Our Military Kids. Ninety-seven USTA members competed in the Open, and approximately 250 people attended the event.

The winners of the matches were: Nicholas Daly (National Tennis Rating Program Men’s 3.5 Singles), Griffin Graves (NTRP Men’s 4.0 Singles), Nicholas Colletti (NTRP Men’s 4.5 Singles), Christine Becer (NTRP Women’s 4.0 Singles), Casey Nunneker/ Brandon Ward (NTRP Combined Men’s 8.0 Doubles), Jennifer Huppert/ Agnes Trice (NTRP Combined Women’s 8.0 Doubles), Laurentiu Popescu (Men’s Open Singles), Alicia Wise (Women’s Open Singles), Safin Bouland/ Mark Prettyman (Men’s Open Doubles), and Vinnie Khera/Pavlov Khera (Mixed Open Doubles).

The weekend included raffles with prizes donated by local Northern Virginia organizations.  Lunch was provided by Carrabba’s Italian Grill, who also donated their profits to Our Military Kids. The tournament was a great event that supported military personnel and their families and provided an opportunity for the USTA community to give back as well.

Sponsor Main & Crosses’s owner, Smith Chaiyakan shared his thoughts on the event,   “We are happy to support such a great cause! As a prior Military Active Duty Service Member I know how hard it is when parents are overseas and kids are left behind.”

“I am very happy to once again bring an event like this to our local community,” commented Open director Paine. “The tournament has experienced enormous growth over the past three years and the outpouring of support from the tennis community, Keller Williams Realty, the Reston Association, and all our partners has been amazing.”

Our Military Kids Executive Director, Linda Davidson expressed her gratitude, “We are grateful to everyone who participated and volunteered at the Serving For Heroes Charity Open, with a special thank you to Wilson Paine, the event organizer.  Our Military Kids appreciates the support for our troops’ most precious assets – their children. The money raised to help fund our grant program is significant, but equally important is the reminder to the community that we all have an obligation to support our military families while they selflessly serve to protect our freedoms.”

Kid Drawing

 

Drawing above created by 8-year-old, Gabrielle Barrera, who received her Our Military Kids grant for a tennis program.

Our Military Kids is proud to announce that it has received a grant from the Bob
Woodruff Foundation (BWF) to support the children and families of post-9/11 injured service members
and veterans.  BWF works to ensure that injured veterans and their families are supported after they
return home to successfully transition to the next chapter of their lives.  The team at BWF navigates
proposals from over 46,000 nonprofit organizations to find and fund innovative programs in
communities where veterans, their families and caregivers live and work.

Receiving a grant from BWF is an honor.  The grant recognizes the dedication, focus and effectiveness of
the Our Military Kids’ staff, volunteers and supporters.  As a grant recipient, Our Military Kids continues
to be part of the BWF Stand 4 Heroes Network, a collaboration of top-tier programs and advocates that
work to help our heroes on the Homefront.

“We are pleased to have the Bob Woodruff Foundation partner with Our Military Kids again this year to
fund a significant number of grant awards for the children of our nation’s injured service members,” said
Executive Director Linda Davidson.  “It is important to know that the injury of a service member impacts
the entire family.  Supporting the children goes a long way in helping the military family to begin feeling
normal once again; this is so essential to the overall healing process.”

The program developed by Our Military Kids covers fees of up to $500 associated with extracurricular
programs such as sports, fine arts, camp, STEM, and tutoring.  Since 2005, Our Military Kids has provided
more than 54,000 grants totaling $22.5 million to children of service members from every branch of the
military living in all 50 states, U.S. territories, and Washington, DC.

NEW YORK, NY – based Bob Woodruff Foundation was co-founded in 2006 by award-winning
ABC Television anchor Bob Woodruff and his family after he sustained serious injuries while
covering the Iraq war. Their own experiences inspired them to help make sure our nation’s
heroes have access to the high level of support and resources they deserve, for as long as they
need it.  You can learn more about the Bob Woodruff Foundation at bobwoodrufffoundation.org.
We encourage you to follow @Stand4Heroes on Twitter or like BFW’s page on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/StandforHeroes

McLean, VA-based Our Military Kids provides tangible support to the children of deployed
National Guard and Military Reserves, and children of all severely injured personnel through
grants for sports, fine arts and tutoring that nurture and sustain the children during the time a
parent is away in service to our country or recovering from combat related injuries. Our Military
Kids serves to keep military children engaged in activities of their choosing, helping to relieve
the stress of separation from a parent by providing a positive distraction, minimizing emotional
destabilization, building self-esteem, and enabling academic achievement.  To learn more about
Our Military Kids and join in this effort, visit http://ourmilitarykids.org/

On July 3, 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) recognized the service of U.S.
military personnel and their families by holding the first ever major league baseball game on a military
installation. Fort Bragg, located in North Carolina, is the largest military base in the world with a
population of over 250,000. MLB distributed 12,582 free tickets to the Marlins-Braves game through a
lottery system. Military public affairs representative, Christina Douglas, called Sunday’s game, “the most
meaningful event I’ve seen. Major League Baseball and the Players Association have gone above and
beyond for our service members, their families and the whole Fort Bragg community.”

The Major League Baseball Players Trust also awarded $100,000 to the nonprofit, Our Military Kids, to
help provide extracurricular opportunities to the children of military personnel. The Players Trust
Director, Melissa Persaud, commented, “The Players are honored to be in the position to help support the
efforts of Our Military Kids, and to recognize the organization’s commitment to help the children of
military personnel during a week when the baseball world shifts its attention to Ft. Bragg and the historic
game between the Marlins and Braves.”

With a full stadium, Sgt Traci Gregg of the 82nd Airborne opened the game with the Star Spangled
Banner followed by four military helicopters flying above the field. “This is a literal example of what
makes America special,” Lt Gen Stephen Townsend, commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps,
said, “You’ve got this community here, this sports community here, this community here in Fayetteville,
North Carolina, and the soldiers and the services, and the civilians and the family members of Fort Bragg
— all came together to make this event possible.”

Our Military Kids Executive Director Linda Davidson was present at the game to receive the donation
from the Players Trust. She expressed her gratitude to all involved. “We are thrilled that the Major
League Baseball Players Trust is joining Our Military Kids in supporting our troop’s most precious assets
– their children,” she said. “It is significant that this historic game and the presentation of this gift are
taking place over the July 4th weekend. It serves as a reminder that we all have an obligation to support
our military families while they selflessly serve to protect our freedoms.”

After the Marlins defeated the Braves 5-2, the players from each of the teams stayed behind to sign
baseballs and give them out to the crowd, marking the end of a historic and successful event.