Monthly Snapshot

April 2016

Our Military Kids spent a busy and productive April celebrating the Month of the Military Child. At the center of this was our Inaugural Benefit held on April 20 at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, VA. This event, whose theme was, “Military Service is a Family Affair”, was designed to bring together the Our Military Kids family- staff, volunteers, grant recipient families, donors, Board Members, advocates and supporters- to recognize and thank the military families of Our Military Kids. Many speakers referenced the adage that, ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ Here at Our Military Kids, we not only understand this but we experience it each and every day. We simply could not do the work that we do without the village that works right alongside with us. On April 20, it was a rare and special occasion where different members of that village could come together to celebrate the families of Our Military Kids and to witness firsthand some of the talent that our grants have helped grow. To date, each month in 2016 has seen an increase in applications from 2015. April was no exception. Our Military Kids distributed over $141,000 through 328 grants. This brings our yearly total to $619,000 and 1,459 grants- an increase of 45% from last year. These numbers give us a great deal of information. Importantly, they remind us that service members continue to be deployed and they continue to return with injuries, both visible and invisible. It is of great consequence that everyone- service providers, politicians, civilians- remain aware that the military remains active overseas and that military families continue to be affected. As long as there is a need, Our Military Kids is dedicated to serving these military families who continue to be affected by overseas deployments. It remains our hope that this need decreases rather than increases and that there comes a day when our services will no longer be necessary. Until that day, we remain committed.