Operation: Military Kids Influencing the Lives of Children
America’s military families know that they face challenges different from those faced by most. Helping families to become resilient is the mission of University of Idaho Extension’s Linda Gerber at Boise. She coordinates the UI Extension 4-H Youth Development program designed to help military families.
“Operation: Military Kids develops resiliency in young people with a special concern for those in stressful life circumstances,” Gerber said. “Many children have experienced the war time deployment of one or more parents and children who have been separated from parents for prolonged periods of time.”
Through federal funding and cooperation between the military, 4-H development programs and the UI Extension, O:MK has been influencing the lives of children ages 6 through 18 since 2005. Skill-based activities ranging from outdoor adventures to babysitting, science and art give military youth a chance to relate and learn together.
Since the 2001 World Trade Center attack, the parents of 10,767 Idahoan children have deployed for military service. She said O:MK reached 2,810 children in 2014.
Volunteers working with O:MK youth have benefited as well. Many are retired military personnel and find solace and resolve in volunteering, she said. The program has formed a community that Gerber is pleased to take part in.
“Members of the military and their families have all made great personal sacrifices to ensure each of us have the personal freedoms we all enjoy. Our part is to never forget them and to support them in any way we can,” Gerber said. “It will never be enough to equal what they have given.”
Holly Waite, mother of three adopted siblings and military wife, sent O:MK a heartfelt thanks for her children’s positive experiences. Her husband deployed in 2010 shortly after they decided to adopt children and move. Waite called it “an extremely trying separation for our little family” and said O:MK created a safe, understanding environment for her children.
“This has been the purpose of Extension for over 100 years, to extend our knowledge into the community around us in a useful way, to make a difference,” Gerber said.