Written by,  Angela caban

With the stress of yet another school year approaching, there are many different programs this year that want to help military families. If it is one thing we are good at, that is adjustment and change. But I think there is so much we can handle at a time. This year programs such as “Our Military Kids” and the “Operation Homefront Back-to-School Brigade” are helping military families get the supplies and extra support needed for the back-to-school season.

The average amount spent on each child during the back-to-school season on school supplies is $75, and that isn’t even counting uniforms, sports equipment or clothing. And for parents that have more than one child, this season can be quite a stressful one.

Operation Homefront Back-to-School Brigade

Operation Homefront volunteers have been quite busy this season getting school supplies sorted out and distributed to military children all across the country. This year thanks to the generosity of the volunteers and Dollar Tree stores, thousands of military children are ready for school with full backpacks. The Back-to-School Brigade has collected over 26,000 backpacks of school supplies for children. This can be a very big help when most families are struggling with more than one child and multiple separations.

Ann, an Army National Guard spouse living near Fort Monmouth, has three children and a husband who is currently deployed. “All three of my children are within the school age and I was not sure how I would buy all the supplies needed this year. On top of their athletic supplies they need, this would have been an extra burden I just would have not been able to afford. I can’t thank Operation Homefront enough for providing my boys with everything they need for school. It is truly a lifesaver.”

For more information on the “Operation Homefront Back-to-School Brigade”, please visit their website.

Our Military Kids

The Our Military Kids is a nonprofit organization that provides grants to military children whose parents are deployed with the National Guard or Reserve, and children with a Wounded Warrior parent from any branch of the military. The grants offered go up to $500 which can go towards any extracurricular activity that your child is involved in. For deployments of more than one year, the child is able to receive two grants, one every six months.

This can help parents extremely in paying for activities that is simply putting a strain on the budget. It is important for children who have deployed or injured parents to stay connected with the community and help keep them distracted away from the negative of deployment and the military life. Especially for our National Guard and Reserve families who do not live on base.

For more information on the “Our Military Kids” program visit this website.