06/30/2005

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‘Operation: Military Kids’ Launches in Ohio: 4-H Program Recognizes Children of Soon-to-Be Deployed National Guard Parents as Heroes

Writer:

Martha Filipic
filipic.3@osu.edu
(614) 292-9833

Source:

Theresa Ferrari, 4-H Youth Development
ferrari.8@osu.edu
614-247-8164

Dona Leonhard, 4-H Youth Development
leonhard.10@osu.edu
614-292-3758

Sue Ann Carroll, Ohio National Guard
sue.ann.carroll@oh.ngb.army.mil
614-336-7456

Editor: Photos of the Hero Packs as well as photos of First Lady Hope Taft with 4-H State Ambassadors from Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Hancock and Washington counties are available; contact Martha Filipic, Theresa Ferrari or Dona Leonhard for information. Media who want to find local information about 4-H members assembling Hero Packs may contact Dona Leonhard. Those who want to find out about the next disbursement of Hero Packs may contact Sue Ann Carroll.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When members of the military are deployed, they often leave children behind. That’s especially difficult for families of National Guard and Reserve members, whose military obligations usually disrupt their everyday lives only one weekend a month and two weeks during the summer. In addition, National Guard members usually don’t have a structured, local military support system in place, because the members of one unit live in other areas around the state or region, said Theresa Ferrari, an Ohio State University Extension specialist with Ohio 4-H Youth Development

To recognize the sacrifices of these “suddenly military” children, “Operation: Military Kids” is offering Hero Packs to children and teens whose parents are about to be deployed in the National Guard. The first 50 packs distributed in Ohio occurred on June 25 and 26, during family pre-deployment briefings for Army National Guard units in Kettering and Bellefontaine, Ohio, and an Air National Guard unit in Springfield. The next one will be in September, with an engineering unit in Columbus.

Dona Leonhard, a graduate associate with Ohio 4-H Youth Development and Operation: Military Kids, was at Sunday’s disbursement in Bellefontaine, when packs were given to parents at the end of the day.

“It’s kind of a gloomy day. The military members sit in a six-hour meeting, where they are encouraged to get their affairs in order,” Leonhard said. “But seeing the excitement on their faces when they got the Hero Packs for their children was so rewarding.”

Hero Packs are backpacks specialized for the Operation: Military Kids program. They contain items designed to help children and teens deal with stress associated with a parent being away from home, and others to help them keep connected with their deployed parent or parents.

Sue Ann Carroll, the state youth coordinator for the Ohio National Guard, also attended Sunday’s disbursement. “I think it’s a great, great, great idea,” Carroll said. “I wish we had more packs, to give to kids whose parents have already been deployed. But there are limited resources and we had to make the decision to give these only to newly deployed families. They’re being very well-received.”

Hero Packs are funded by Operation: Military Kids, a federal program launched in April that targets 20 states with high deployment rates. Ohio received a $70,000 grant, with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Army Youth Development Project and U.S. Army Child and Youth Services, said Ferrari, the Ohio 4-H military liaison for the project. Ohio has materials for 500 packs, and has just ordered materials for 200 more.

On June 1, packs began being assembled by 12 4-H State Ambassadors in a special event with Ohio’s First Lady, Hope Taft. But most of the Hero Packs are being assembled by 4-H clubs across Ohio as a community service project, under Leonhard’s coordination. So far, 4-H clubs in Delaware, Fairfield, Hamilton, Hardin and Morrow counties have assembled a total of 260 packs.

“We wanted to help the 4-H’ers understand what a ‘suddenly military’ kid goes through. So, Dona and other students in a class I taught last quarter created a lesson plan for making Hero Packs,” said Ferrari, who is also an assistant professor in Ohio State’s Department of Human and Community Resource Development. “The lesson plan makes sure the 4-H members gain a greater understanding of the challenges of being in a military family.”

As part of the project, 4-H members write letters to the recipient of the pack, thanking them for the sacrifice they and their families are making and encouraging the recipient to learn more about 4-H. The letters are included with the rest of the items in the backpacks.

Carroll, of the National Guard, said the fact that the backpacks are being assembled by other youths makes the effort have more meaning for the recipients.

“It’s special, because other children are actually assembling these backpacks,” Carroll said. “They’re not just throwing these things into them. They’re really thinking about these kids, and writing a letter to them, thanking them for their sacrifice. When I told my 7-year-old about the project, he was thrilled about it. He asked me, ‘Do they really think the kids are heroes?’ And I said yes, absolutely.” Carroll, whose own husband also was deployed, said the packs should help ease the stress children face when parents must leave home.

Ferrari is also talking with representatives of the Reserve and hopes to expand the Operation: Military Kids initiative to their families soon.

Operation: Military Kids and 4-H also are planning a special camp for kids in military families at the end of July, Ferrari said. More information about the program in Oho is available at http://www.ohio4h.org/military. National information is available at http://www.operationmilitarykids.org.

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Among other items, the “Operation: Military Kids” Hero Packs include:

-- A backpack custom-made for the Operation: Military Kids program

-- A disposable camera, which children are encouraged to use to take pictures of themselves to send to their deployed parent.

-- Stationery and envelopes to write letters to the parent.

-- For younger recipients, a story book called “The Kissing Hand” by Audrey Penn, about a raccoon family facing a separation, with a sticker on the first page that includes information about sources of support for military families facing deployment. The book is accompanied by a raccoon hand puppet.

-- A day planner that can be used as a journal, which could be shared with the deployed parent when he or she returns home.

-- A 4-H stuffed bear, bandana, cap or other 4-H items.

-- A letter from the 4-H member assembling the pack, thanking the recipient for the sacrifice they and their family members are making.

--A “parent pouch” with information on available support services.

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