When Jasmine was in 8th grade, her father was on yet another deployment. Nicole came home from a long days work to find the power turned off. It’s not that she didn’t have the money to pay the bill, it was fact she was struggled, like we all do, to do everything alone while her spouse was deployed.
Nicole wasn’t connected to the base or base services because they were a Guard family – like most guard and reserve families. She was ingrained into her community, yet her civilian friends couldn’t grasp what she was feeling or coping with. Nicole felt very alone and knew she needed strength for her children. She knew there had to be help out there for her family and she was determined to find it.
She didn’t have to go further than her computer to find help. Nicole came across an organization while searching for help that knew exactly what she was going through – Our Military Kids.
Our Military Kids is an organization that fills the gaps with a simple grant program that pays for children’s activities. Eligible families apply for a $500 grant, and within days of receiving the application in the Our Military Kids office, a packet is sent to the child thanking them for their service to our country and notifying them of the award.
During deployments, many Guard and Reserve families are financially stretched and cannot afford the fees for sports, fine arts, or tutoring programs so crucial to a child’s sense of well being.
