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Military members miss a lot when they are deployed. They miss out on holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Fourth of July as well as special events such as anniversaries, birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day and, sometimes, even the birth of a child.
The Speak Out for Military Kids (S.O.M.K) group in St. Clair County decided to take action and help! This group of both military and non-military kids ages 12 to 17 was organized by University of Illinois Extension and the 126th Illinois Air National Guard. The group's overall mission is to raise awareness about the issues military families face and to motivate the public to actively support these families in practical, hands-on ways.
To help military families "re-capture" the holidays and special events they missed during deployment, the S.O.M.K. group recently organized and conducted a Holiday Walk at Belleville East High School. The day's activities included a youth performance of the Ghost of Fun Times Past as well as a "Time Machine" that transported families back in time to relive the holidays spent apart due to deployments. Service members and their families whispered magical wishes to Santa, blew out birthday candles, celebrated anniversaries, hunted for Easter eggs, and much more during this first-ever event. A special meal, courtesy of the L 'Ecole Culinaire Competition Team in St. Louis, gave families the chance to connect with others in similar circumstances.
"My husband has been deployed since September and he just returned in late March," remarked one military spouse. "He missed holidays and two of our three daughters' birthdays, as well as our birthdays and anniversaries. This (Holiday Walk) was such a bonding time!"
"More than 30 youth, 12 adult volunteers and numerous local sponsors who donated supplies made the event possible," said Dawn Waller, Extension youth development educator in the Madison-St. Clair Unit.
Speak Out for Military Kids is a component of Operation: Military Kids, a national initiative providing ongoing community support for the children of service members in the National Guard and Army Reserves. Operation Military Kids will be offering four overnight summer camps for youth who meet these criteria. Two camps will take place in Waterloo (southwest Illinois) and two in Princeton (northwest Illinois). For more information on these camps, contact Linda Kupferschmid at lkupfers@illinois.edu or call 217-265-8209.
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