Our Military Kids® is a national nonprofit funding activities like sports, fine and performing arts, camps, tutoring, and more for the children and teens (age 1-18) of deployed National Guard, deployed Reserve, or Veterans receiving care for post-9/11, combat-related injuries or illnesses.
CHECK YOUR ELIGIBILITY AND APPLY FOR ACTIVITY FUNDING
Our Military Kids activity awards are proven to build children’s self-confidence, enhance overall family wellness, and strengthen a shared sense of community. Children are empowered to select an activity in their local communities, whether it’s horseback riding, gymnastics, swimming lessons, art classes, or driver’s education, and have expenses covered by Our Military Kids activity awards throughout their parent’s deployment or combat-injury care.
One Army National Guard spouse shared: “When my husband deployed overseas, it hit our youngest son, Aidan, really hard. He didn’t want to go to school and had night terrors. I felt so alone. I didn’t know how to fix it.
His therapist said he needed something he loves, something he can control. That thing was football, but we just couldn’t afford it. We applied for a grant from Our Military Kids so he could play, and that program saved him. He had mentors, father figures, friends that came back season after season. He had consistency. And I had support. I felt seen.”
Throughout their father’s deployment, Aidan and his brother Colin each received Our Military Kids activity awards to cover football fees and swimming lessons, lifting a weight from the entire family’s shoulders.
“When Our Military Kids stepped in, just knowing this organization was helping take care of my family while I was gone was a huge relief,” their father told us. “It allowed me to refocus and re-engage with my job and did wonders for my own mental health.”
For siblings Gibson and Mattis, support from Our Military Kids throughout the years as their father receives care for combat-related injuries has been monumental. From cheerleading, football, lacrosse, swimming lessons, summer camp, and more, Our Military Kids activity funding has kept them active and thriving during this time.
Their father, a combat-injured U.S. Army Veteran, shared: “Our daughter Gibson is named after my best friend who was killed in action during our tour in Iraq. She emulates his kindness and teamwork during her cheer, swim, and lacrosse seasons.”
Learn more about Our Military Kids, see the impact stories, and check your family’s eligibility and online at: https://www.ourmilitarykids.org
