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Registration is OPEN for February & March Events
Boots Off Family Camp:
Sleeping with the Sharks
February 15-16, Newport
Join us for this fun-filled overnight with family building activities provided by the Child & Youth Program team as well as ocean exploration and hands-on fun with the staff from the Oregon Coast Aquarium! This opportunity is open to families with children 6 years or older. You must be a dependent or immediate family member of a current Army National Guard Service member to attend due to funding restrictions.
Register Now! This event fills fast!
Military Teen Scene:
Are You A Goonie?
February 27, Bend
Teens are LOVING the Military Teen Scene! Who doesn't love The Goonies! Plus teens are learning skills to help them at school, with friends and to help them reach their goals! Don't miss your opportunity to attend when we come to your community! Open to Teens ages 11-18. Join other military connected teens for a night at the movies! Dinner, Resilience Building Activities, Movie & Popcorn and More! Bring your pillows & blankets and be prepared for fun! Limited Space Available!
Register Now!
College Campus Visits!
March 24
Pickup available from Camp Withycombe and Anderson Readiness Center
Calling HS Sophmores, Juniors and Seniors - are you still deciding what to do after High School? Join other military teens to check out Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. You and a parent/guardian will get a full tour of both campuses, as well as some special presentations on admissions, FASFA, and we will be having lunch at the UofO Erb Memorial Hall.
Register Now!
Note: Registration for the Young Leaders Conference and the Youth Military Ball is not open yet. We will send a separate email to our newsletter list when registration opens.
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We know that Oregon has many youth making a difference in their communities and achieving big dreams and we want your help sharing their inspiring stories. Every month we want to feature an outstanding Military Youth and we need your help! If you know of a child or teen that is doing amazing things in their life please complete the following short survey. Open to all Branches!
Military Youth of the Month Nominations
Operation Homefront today announced the 90 semi-finalists - representing all five service branches and the National Guard - for the 2015 Military Child of the Year® Award. 2015 marks the seventh year Operation Homefront has presented the award, which will be given to one outstanding military child from each category: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and National Guard.
 | | Lily M. |
Each semi-finalist will be interviewed by Operation Homefront staff, and award recipients will be chosen by a panel of judges including senior retired service members, senior spouses, members of Operation Homefront's Board of Directors, and other leaders in the military support community.
The recipient of the Military Child of the Year® Award for each category will be announced in March. Each award recipient will receive$10,000 and will be flown with a parent or guardian to Washington, D.C. for a special recognition ceremony on April 16, 2015.
 | | Brianna S. |
Ideal candidates for the Military Child of the Year® Award demonstrate resilience and strength of character, and thrive in the face of the challenges of military life. They demonstrate leadership within their families and within their communities.
"Our Military Child of the Year Award honors those young patriots who overcome the difficulties presented by deployments, relocations, and other challenges of military life," said Tim Farrell, Chief Operating Officer for Operation Homefront. "These exemplary young people set an example for others to emulate in their communities through leadership, resilience, and a commitment to excellence in all that they do."
Congratulations to the Semi-Finalists from Oregon!
Lily M. - Age 13 - Portland
Brianna S. - Age 13 - Oregon City
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Our Military Kids Grants now available to children ages 3-18!
Our Military Kids is proud to announce that we have made our program available to children age 3-18. We are thrilled to be able to make our grants available to pre-school age children, once again. We understand how hard it is to keep three and four year-olds busy while their mother or father is deployed overseas.
Thanks to the help of our generous corporate sponsors, we are very excited to share the news! 
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.
Our Military Kids, founded in 2004, fills these gaps with a simple grant program that pays for children's activities. Eligible families apply for a 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. The check to pay for the activity is sent directly to the service provider.
Our Military Kids helps families who often fall outside the parameters of established support programs - the families of National Guard and Reserve service men and women who have been and are continuing to sacrifice so much for our country.
See below for the updated applications for these programs as well as answers to frequently asked questions!
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New App Alert:
Babies on the Homefront
ZERO TO THREE has developed a great new resource, Babies on the Homefront. This free app for smart-phones, available in both English and Spanish on iTunes and the Google Play store, is designed especially for military and veteran families as they navigate the many transitions that are part of serving, including deployment and reintegration, moving, and transitioning back to civilian life. The app makes it easy to select from behavior tips and activities for parents and children, with a special section for parental self-care. This product was made available through a generous grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Learn more at www.babiesonthehomefront.org or download your free app today!
 ZERO TO THREE ha desarrollado un excelente recurso nuevo, "Los bebés de familias de militares y veteranas". Esta aplicación gratuita para teléfonos inteligentes, disponible en inglés y en español en las tiendas iTunes y Google Play store, está diseñada especialmente para las familias militares y veteranas mientras afrontan las numerosas transiciones que forman parte del servicio; por ejemplo, despliegues militares y luego cuando debe reintegrarse, la mudanza y la nueva transición a la vida civil. Con la aplicación es fácil seleccionar técnicas de comportamiento y actividades para los padres, las madres y los niños, además de una sección especial para el autocuidado de los padres y las madres. La elaboración de este producto fue posible gracias a una generosa subvención de la Robert R. McCormick Foundation. ¡Aprenda mucho más en www.babiesonthehomefront.org o descargue su aplicación gratis hoy mismo!
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Oregon National Guard Child & Youth Program
Oregon Military
Teen Panel
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Share your ideas for events and venues
Do you know an amazing Military child or teen? Let us know who it is!
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 Oregon National GuardChild & Youth Program3225 State Street Salem, OR 97309 503-584-2389 cyp@oregonbtyr.orgOregon Military Teen Panel ormtp@oregonbtyr.org Your Child & Youth Staff
 Hank BauerLead, CYP Coordinator 503-584-2346 or 503-602-9021 michael.h.bauer10.ctr@mail.mil Sarah JohnsonCYP Coordinator 503-584-2390 or 503-530-9094 sarah.m.johnson120.ctr@mail.mil All staff are contractors with Cognitive Professional Services
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 Kristin Marquardt Youth Outreach Program Coordinator Contractor: TSICorp Office: 503-584-6670 Cell: 503-569-2394 kristin.e.marquardt.ctr@mail.mil
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If You Had $500, How Would You Spend It?
Over the past decade, Our Military Kids has awarded nearly 50,000 grants totaling $20 million, helping children to stay active and healthy when a parent is deployed with the National Guard and Reserve or recovering from severe injury sustained in service overseas.
On September 8th, Our Military Kids held a celebration event to mark its tenth anniversary of a nonprofit organization. Five outstanding children were honored at the event, all of whom received a grant in the past ten years. Tori opened up the event by singing God Bless America. She received a grant to participate in a children's choir while her father was deployed overseas. It helped her cope with his absence after her family's home was destroyed by fire.
Next up was a performance by Collin Squires, who learned to play piano with his first grant. His love for music, discovered with that first grant, inspired him to learn guitar and saxophone, too. Collin sang and strummed a song by Simon and Garfunkel for the audience at the event.
Oregon's military connected youth have these same opportunities to tap into their talents and show off their skills by utilizing the Our Military Kids Grant. This grant has recently been extended to ages 3-18 and can go towards more than 50 different types of youth program activities. A quick and painless one page application can save you as much as $500 dollars towards your children's extra circulars!
The picture above is a wonderful example of a program available to our youth right here in Oregon, Northwest Youth Corps. After connecting with the organization, they are ready and willing to work with their first military connected youth who intends to utilize the Our Military Kids Grant! Keith, Deputy Director at NYC, expressed his excitement to be able to provide military connected youth a rewarding and unique opportunity as well as do his part in supporting military families.
Northwest Youth Corps offers a challenging education and job-training experience helping youth and teens build the skills needed to lead a full and productive life. This awesome opportunity is available to youth ages 12-18 with programs lasting as short as a day to as long as 6 weeks! Youth will have a once in a lifetime chance to learn critical outdoor skills, make lifetime friends, and explore the natural treasure of Oregon's lands.
For more information on the Our Military Kids Grants please visit www.ourmilitarykids.org.
For more information on the Northwest Youth Corps please visit www.nwyouthcorps.org.
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Family Activity Time: Valentines Plans and St. Patrick's Day Fun
(NOTE: These links take you to privately sponsored websites. Please be aware we do not endorse or promote this site or any affiliated sites.)
Kids's Kitchen: Heart-shaped Homemade Pepperoni Pizza
Personal pan pizzas are so fun for kids to help prepare. Even more so when you form them into hearts for Valentine's Day. Heart-shaped pizza crusts, heart-healthy homemade pizza sauce, and heart-shaped pepperoni - awesome!
You can adapt this recipe for many other holidays using cookie cutters. I love to purchase graduated sets of different shapes, so we can do many fun things in different sizes. Not only are shapes great for presentation, but they also create great teaching moments and are fun for children to help with.
Some of our favorite shapes are hearts, snowflakes, and flowers, but you can purchase many other shapes in craft stores or online.
Courtesy of makezine.com
St. Patrick's Day Scavenger Hunt
We love an adventure and thought it would so fun to go on a scavenger hunt for a pot of gold! We love this site because it has all of the clues written out and easy to follow!
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Family Foundations seeks National Guard or Reserve Couples expecting Their First Child for Pilot Program. Earn up to $100!
Family Foundations is a program developed at Penn State that helps couples make the transition to parenthood in a healthy way. This period, when a couple has their first child, is often quite stressful for new parents. Family Foundations has been shown to have multiple benefits including:
* Reduced parent stress, depression, and anxiety
* Better couple teamwork and support around parenting
* Reduced family violence
* Warmer and more patient parenting
* Better child self-regulation, social adjustment, and school adaptation
* Fewer child emotional and behavior problems
The Family Foundations Program is being adapted for Military families and the program is searching for couples expecting their first child to participate in the program. Each family could earn up to $100!
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