Two grants have been awarded to University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension for different types of military camps to be held in 2011. It is going to be a busy, yet exciting year for Operation: Military Kids!

The Military Extension Adventure Camps grant came about as a result of post-camp evaluation data from five military family camps held in Kentucky in 2009 and 2010.  Those evaluations revealed that offering families who have experienced at least one deployment time to bond as a family unit and attend camp experiences as a team were especially important and meaningful.

This grant, which consists of seven different camps, is for service member parents and their teenage children to attend and reconnect after deployment. The seven camps will take the previous family camp format to a newer, more intimate level by bringing military parents and their teenage children together for high-adventure, team building experiences.  Camps will include backpacking trips, canoeing and coastal canoeing trips, wilderness survival, white water rafting, and cold weather camping.  These camps will be free of charge for the service member parent and their children (ages 12 - 19).  The University of Kentucky Family Center will provide a support piece to this grant project by developing a new module for their "Blue to You" educational series that will focus on military families as they reintegrate.

The second grant will fund three Operation: Military Kids Family Camps similar to those offered in 2009 and 2010. Families will attend these overnight camps as a family unit.  The locations will be the Newport Aquarium in Northern Kentucky, Louisville Science Center in Louisville, and Mammoth Cave in south central Kentucky.

Additional details, including dates and application deadlines, will be available later this spring.  If interested in learning more about both grants and how you can get involved, contact:

Kerri Ashurst, Senior Extension Specialist

Updated:  February 2, 2011