Along with the sacrifice of having a parent away in service for months at a time, 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. Additionally, because these families are Guard and Reserve, they are geographically dispersed throughout the country and often live too far from military bases and installations to access the available support services.

Children of Wounded Warriors face similar financial difficulties along with the challenges of learning to adapt to the physical, mental, and emotional changes in a loved one. Life often becomes all about helping the Wounded Warrior heal and recover, often meaning a relocation to be near the military hospital where the service member is undergoing treatment.

Our Military Kids steps in to help these children by providing them with grants to cover their fees for sports, fine arts, and tutoring programs. The families tell us where they’d like to participate in an activity, and Our Military Kids writes the check to the service provider. Grants cover up to $500 for six months of participation. The impact of the grants goes far beyond financial benefits.

One example is nine year old Matthew. In the third grade, he was subjected to a bully who took great joy in bringing him down. She made comments including “I hope your dad dies,” and “he goes over there to get away from you.” Once, she even told him he had to go home because his dad had been killed. Needless to say, this took a major toll on Matthew. His grades dropped dramatically and he spiraled into a deep depression. Matthew’s mother got him a grant for tutoring, and he is now on the above average scale on his state-mandated tests, even scoring as gifted in some areas. As his grades improved, so did his self-esteem.

There are dozens of stories like Matthew's. In our survey of grant recipients, 80% said their children had an increase in stress and anxiety when a parent deployed, but 98% said that participation in activities benefitted their children during the deployment.

Please help us provide more grants to these children. You can either make a general donation, or choose to donate to the specific programs below. All donations will be used in local areas.

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