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Donations Fuel Hope for Successful Season of Giving

MCLEAN, VA – After fretting over the best route to take to raise its lagging donations, the Our Military Kids train is starting to pick up speed, thanks to an initial push by Fisher House Foundation, provider of temporary homes for families of military members receiving medical treatment.

Our Military Kids, which provides extracurricular activity grants to children of deployed and wounded warriors, recently had to reduce grant amounts for the first time in 12 years. After hearing about the cuts from a Fox News report, Ken Fisher, Chairman and CEO of Fisher House Foundation, presented a check to OMK for $250,000 and a challenge to others to step up and help.

“Supporting [Our Military Kids] is a natural extension of our mission at Fisher House….We both understand that not only the service member serves, but the entire family sacrifices,” Fisher said.

In response to the news story, and following the Fisher House presentation, a South Carolina businessman, wishing to remain anonymous but referred to as Living Dunes, has issued a public challenge: He will match every donation made at OMK’s website up to $250,000 through Veteran’s Day.

“This week, the good news keeps coming,” said OMK’s executive director, Linda Davidson. “I am moved by the generosity of Fisher House and by their desire to help shine a spotlight on the needs of military children. These donations signal the beginning of better collaboration among military family advocates. And it’s time.”

Since April 2005, Our Military Kids has delivered more than 55,000 grants, totaling $22 million. In 2014 all of its federal funding was cut, making for total reliance on private donors. “We’re grateful for this recent support, but our mountain is steep,” Davidson said. “Deployments and struggles for wounded military members continue, the need is still there, and we already receive nearly 500 eligible applications each month.”

Noting this week’s donor response, reporter Diana Falzone called the Fox news release about OMK’s cuts “the little story that could.”

Recalling the children’s story about the train struggling over mountains at Christmastime, Davidson is taking the “I think I can” approach. “Our Military Kids only has a 6-person staff and a small cadre of dedicated volunteers. I can recount so many stories of how activities have empowered military children. We simply need to provide them opportunity and hope.”

As they approach the season of giving, this small but mighty nonprofit, may just get back on track.

(Please email comments to JSMcSpadden@ourmilitarykids.org.)challenge2

Click here to accept the challenge!

 

 

By Judy McSpadden

Lockheed Martin has given generously to Our Military Kids for many years – in fact, since OMK’s inception. Its recent donation, however, differs from most in that it restricts a third of its total to a specific kind of earmlockheed-stemarked activity, STEM programs.

Lockheed, an aerospace, defense, security and technology firm, wants kids to get excited about science, technology, engineering and math, said Jennifer Mandel, manager of the STEM Portfolio at Lockheed. “These are the jobs of the future,” Mandel said.

Our Military Kids grants pay for a variety of activities — arts, sports and other enrichment programs — for children whose military parents are deployed or recovering from injury. So far, 90 OMK grants this year have paid for children’s STEM programs. AT&T, another OMK donor, has also restricted its grants to STEM-related activities.

Rylan Sellers, age 9, used his OMK grant to attend Camp Invention last summer. “The camp covered more than inventing,” said Rylan’s mom, Tami Sellers, who described the camp activities that brought computers, engineering, biology and mapping to life. “For example, the kids had to develop this island. Bananas had to get to the monkeys – or something like that,” she laughed. “He loved every minute of it.”

According to Ms. Sellers, the camp happened at a very appropriate time. Rylan’s dad was on an 11-month military deployment to Guantanamo Bay, and Rylan’s sister, age 4, had health issues. “There was definitely stress,” said Ms. Sellers, whose husband, Don, a member of an Army National Guard security unit, had formerly served on active duty.

“We no longer had the support system we were used to,” Ms. Sellers said. “Rylan had to get used to being more independent, while I looked after his sister. But the hardest thing for me was to stop their grief while Don was gone.”

“This kind of stress is why we’re here,” said Linda Davidson, Executive Director of Our Military Kids, “Extracurricular programs reduce a child’s stress, increase academic performance, and enhance the well-being of the entire family.”

sellers

Rylan and his sister hug his dad at a recent Alabama National Guard welcome home ceremony. His dad had been deployed 11 months.

According to Davidson, Lockheed has continued its support of OMK programs through thick and thin, giving every year since 2005 for a total of nearly $600,000. “Lockheed has proved a wonderful corporate partner, giving not only funding but a variety of opportunities for our military families.”

Lockheed, a company of 100,000 employees working in areas such as aeronautics and space systems, has soaring in its DNA. Partnering with educators within nonprofit groups and schools, it provides curriculum and even its own engineers as teachers of kids, k-12. Its newest STEM education program, “Generation Beyond,” works with NASA to teach middle school children about deep space. Mandel said, “They’ve even outfitted a school bus as a virtual reality experiment.”

The interest in STEM education reaches far and wide. During last year’s White House Science Fair, President Barack Obama said: “[Science] is more than a school subject…. It is an approach to the world, a critical way to understand and explore and engage with the world, and then have the capacity to change the world….”

Companies like Lockheed, operating through organizations like Our Military Kids, are working toward enhancing national competitiveness on the world stage…and beyond.

(Please email comments to JSMcSpadden@ourmilitarykids.org.)

McLean, VA – Members of the Our Military Kids Board of Directors took an unprecedented step at its September board meeting, voting to decrease OMK’s maximum grant amount per child from $500 to $250, effective Oct. 1.

According to Linda Davidson, executive director, donations are not keeping pace with the increasing demand for grants. “There’s a perception out there that deployments are down, so the need must be down. But that just isn’t so,” Davidson said.

Gen. Daniel Allyn, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, said earlier this year, “With 186,000 deployed on a daily basis in 140 countries, you understand my discomfort with trying to continue to meet…current operations with a force that is getting smaller.”

“Deployments are continuing, Guard and Reserve are as critical to the security interests of our country as ever, and wounded warriors are trying to heal,” Davidson said, “Many of these warriors have children, and the children continue to need our attention.”

The Our Military Kids mission is straightforward: support children of National Guard and Reserve service members, as well as children of active and reserve wounded warriors, by paying fees associated with athletic, fine arts and tutoring programs. Research shows that activities like these help children cope with anxieties and other challenges that arise when a parent is absent during deployment or distracted during recovery.

Since April 2005, the organization has delivered more than 55,000 grants, totaling $22 million. In 2014 all of its federal funding was cut, making for total reliance on private donors.

“The organization continues to respond to the plea of a service member who said: ‘Please don’t send cookies, care packages or socks. Just help take care of our children’,” Davidson said.

“Every American has an opportunity, an obligation, to take care of military children while their military parents serve overseas or recover from visible and invisible wounds of war.”

(To comment on this story, email JSMcSpadden@ourmilitarykids.org.)

 

 

 

 

[Our Military Kids 4a-m-cover-lowreswelcomes this guest post by Bill Smith, author of the recently published Four A.M. December 25. Mr. Smith has been an educator and an elementary principal for 30 years. Not only will the book’s plot resonate with children who have experienced a parent’s military deployment, but the rich illustrations offer details to think and talk about long after the reading is over. Proceeds from the book’s sale go in part to Our Military Kids. To order a book, go to www.billosmith.com.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Bill O. Smith

Jeffrey was fighting again.  The recess aide hauled him into the principal’s office, my office.  Jeffrey had smacked a little girl in the sandbox, who was minding her own business.  He then yelled at the aide. I asked Jeffrey if he thought he should apologize.  He nodded yes.

The recess aide came in with the little girl, holding her hand.They faced Jeffrey, a tough little first grader. Jeffrey’s chest began to heave. He opened his mouth to apologize. And then, he burst into tears, into loud, uncontrollable sobs. The rest of us just stared at each other, speechless. I dismissed the others and called home. Jeffrey’s grandmother answered. Jeffrey’s dad was in Afghanistan. And Just that weekend, Jeffrey’s mom had also been deployed to parts unknown.

So many little ones cannot, or will not, verbalize their distress. Some bury their fears deep inside, and others like Jeffrey take out their distress on others.

I wish we had someone from Our Military Kids when I was an elementary principal. We did not, so we did our best to handle tough situations at school. Of course,  a child’s distress does not end when school ends. In fact, for many, school is a distraction and a safe haven that disappears when a child must go home to face the ghost of a missing loved one.

Mid-Michigan Honor Flight Lake Ann Camp October 12, 2016 Great Lakes Images/John L. Russell)

Mr. Smith (right) autographs a copy of Four A.M. December 25 for a military veteran in Michigan.

And that is where OUR MILITARY KIDS makes all the difference. The activities provided are far more than mere distractions. Each activity is a building block towards healing, courage, and a strong sense of self-confidence.

We are so proud to partner with OUR MILITARY KIDS, INC. It somehow seems like a perfect match that a children’s picture book like FOUR A.M. DECEMBER 25 should provide help and healing for children.   It is especially satisfying to know you are a four-star charity as rated by Charity Navigator.

Many thanks to OUR MILITARY KIDS, and to all of you who purchase FOUR A.M. DECEMBER 25.

 

MCLEAN, VA — During the month of October,  scores of KFC restaurants are selling $40 coupon books for a dollar. Buying a book not only gets customers plenty of food and drink, but indirectly supports children of deployed and wounded military members.

This is the fourth year that KBP Foods, a chain operating 359 KFC and multi-brand restaurants across 14 states, has partnered with Our Milkpblogo-squareitary Kids, a nonprofit giving grants for sports, fine arts and tutoring. These services nurture and sustain children while their parents are serving in hostile areas of the world or recovering from injuries sustained during service.
“The goal in 2016 is to raise $250,000,” said Linda Davidson, executive director for Our Military Kids. “We’ve been so impressed with the commitment, energy and passion of the entire KBP Foods team. KBP Foods has been a wonderful partner. Not only are they successful in raising significant funds to support the grant program, but they also help remind our military families that a grateful nation thanks them for their service and sacrifice.”