Military Family Support Organizations for Military Children & Families

Julie Provost

Non-Profit Organizations Supporting Military Families & Children

April is the Month of the Military Child. Our military children are resilient, understanding, and patient, as they have to be. They, too, go through deployments, PCS moves, and anything else military life might bring. It isn’t always easy, but the good news is that there are many programs and organizations out there to help.

Military OneSource

Military OneSource is a place to find a connection to information, answers, and support when military life happens. They can help you and your children overcome challenges, reach your goals, and thrive. They offer counseling, child care options, help for your PCS, and more.

Sesame Street for Military Families

Sesame Street has an amazing program for military families and children. They offer tools and videos to help children during military life, including deployments, family health, grief, relocation, and military homecomings. The videos are child-focused and feature Sesame Street characters to help children better understand what is happening in their lives.

Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA)

The Armed Services YMCA provides programs and services to the young men and women of the U.S. military. They support military families in youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. They offer programs such as  Operation Little Learners – an interactive educational program for parents and children, and  Operation Ride Home – financial assistance to active duty junior enlisted military and their families to travel home for the holidays

Military Families United

Military Families United is a not-for-profit 501 ( c ) 3 charitable organization whose mission is to honor the fallen and support those who fight by serving their families. They are a coalition of Blue Star, Gold Star, next of kin, veterans, and patriotic American families who share a deep appreciation for the men and women in uniform.

Blue Star Families

Military spouses founded Blue Star Families to empower military families. They help connect them with their neighbors, individuals, and organizations to create vibrant communities of mutual support. Blue Star Families offers a variety of events and programs, such as Blue Star Museums, Blue Star Parks, Blue Star Theaters, Blue Star Books, and different volunteer opportunities.

Camp Corral

Camp Corral’s mission is to transform the lives of children of wounded, injured, ill, and fallen military heroes by providing a unique summer camp experience. They have their camps all over the country.

FOCUS

FOCUS stands for Families OverComing Under Stress and provides resilience training to military children, families, and couples. They teach practice skills to help families and couples overcome common challenges related to military life. They help build on current strengths, teach new strategies to enhance communication, problem-solving, and goal-setting, and help create a shared family story. They work on emotional regulation, communication, goal setting, and managing trauma and stress.

Hope for the Warriors

Hope for the Warriors provides comprehensive support programs for service members, veterans, and military families. These programs are focused on transition, health and wellness, peer engagement, and connections to community resources.

Military Children Education Coalition

At the Military Children Education Coalition, they work to ensure inclusive, quality educational opportunities for all military-connected children affected by mobility, transition, deployments, and family separations. They offer programs, services, and professional development to meet the needs of military-connected students, parents, and professionals.

National Military Family Association

The National Military Family Association’s mission is to stand behind the entire military family. They offer Operation Purple which is a free summer camp for kids. They also offer family retreats, Healing Adventures, which is a family togetherness 3-day experience, and Buddy Camps which is a one-on-one bonding and resiliency-strengthening camp for children and their adult “buddy.”

Operation Homefront

Operation Homefront’s mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so they can thrive in the communities they have worked hard to protect. They have a wide range of programs and many help military children. They offer programs such as the Military Child of the Year, the Back-to-School Brigade, Holiday Meals, a Holiday Toy Drive, and Star-Spangled Baby Showers.

Our Military Kids

Our Military Kids’ mission is to empower military kids with sports, arts, and other activities while their parents are deployed or recovering from severe injuries sustained during combat. They support children ages 5-12th grade of deployed national guard and reserves service members as well as children of wounded veterans from all service branches. They offer grants that provide up to $300 for a chosen activity.

Salute the Kids

Salute the Kids is a 501 ( c ) (3) non-profit organization that provides free weekend camping adventures for children of US military service members. They offer family camps for military kids and their families, twice a year, the next one is in Flint, TX from May 1-3.

United Through Reading

United Through Reading’s mission is to connect military families separated by deployments or other military assignments and to provide the bonding experience of shared storytime. The UTR program eases the stress of separation for the service member, spouse, and child, helps build family bonds and resiliency, and cultivates a love of reading among military children.

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