For the past three years, UNH Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development program has participated in a nation-wide program called Operation: Military Kids (OMK). New Hampshire OMK was recently chosen as one of 15 states to receive a grant to expand the current program.

The grant includes hiring new employees and having an active partnership with the Joint Family Support Assistance Program (JFSAP), located in Concord. The newly-created JFSAP was established by the U.S. Department of Defense; a major goal of the program is to integrate programs and services into a well-defined and well-publicized system of support, accessible by military members and families throughout the deployment cycle.

JFSAP works with all military branches, as well as active duty Guard and Reserve, serving as a resource for families while paying particular attention to those geographically dispersed from a military installation. As part of the new collaboration, OMK will have its own representative in the JFSAP office to act as a liaison between the two partner programs.

The OMK expansion grant provides an additional $50,000 of funding, to be used in part to hire an OMK program coordinator, who will assist with the expanded programming of OMK. This added position will help us widen the scope of military family programming. We project that the new OMK program coordinator will be in place by early March.

This grant also designates funding for a new babysitting program designed to train baby-sitters for military families. This project will be a partnership between OMK, 4-H County Extension Educators, the local Red Cross and the National Guard Family Program.

These collaborations will result in a “train the trainer” education program in which adults statewide are educated in the curriculum. Those trained will present the babysitting program to others who wish to conduct the programs locally, or present the program directly to youth in their own area (i.e. 4-H Clubs, Boys and Girls Clubs, etc).

In addition to the expansion grant, New Hampshire OMK was notified it received another grant that will provide funding for a weeklong overnight camp for military children during the summer. This grant will help a certain number of military youth from New Hampshire, and a surrounding radius, attend this camp free of charge. In addition to this camp, which takes place at Bear Hill 4-H Camp in Allenstown, there are also plans for a camp in the North Country. This will allow OMK to reach out to military children across the state.

These camps will give military kids a chance to connect in a fun, relaxing atmosphere. In addition to traditional camp activities, both camps will include special military-themed events, such as a mock deployment and field trips. For the past two years, the Speak Out for Military Kids (SOMK) team has come to camp and created a DVD that sheds light on issues faced by military kids. First-hand interviews from campers and footage of camp activities provides insight into the life of a military kid and educates others on ways they can help. The SOMK team will take part in this summer camp experience and create a similar multi-media project. These DVD’s are made available to all who request them.

During the months of September through January, we reached 61 people with seven different “Ready Set Go!” trainings around the state. These presentations are offered to participants who want to gain an understanding of military culture, the deployment cycle and learn how they can partner with OMK and others to meet the needs of military kids. The OMK program also was involved in specific youth focused partner programs. A few examples include the Apple Hill Farm Military Appreciation day reaching approximately 100 military folks, a Military Appreciation Day at FunSpot with approximately 375 attending and a Family Fun Ski Day with 100 people from all different branches of the military having a great time skiing and snow-tubing.