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NEWS | March 14, 2022

Month of the Military Child - April 2022 - "Military Kids: Embracing the Journey"

Throughout the nation, a variety of communities will take time in April to recognize the contributions of children whose parents serve in the military. Frequent moves, family separations through deployments, and reintegration following deployments can make school, home, and community-life challenging for military children. Yet, even in such circumstances, these military kids continually demonstrate resilience and courage. Here’s a snapshot of what the Illinois Army Nation Guard Child and Youth Program is doing to celebrate our military children during the month of April.  You can register for all the events online: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050F45A4AF2CA7F94-purple 

  • April 1st: Month of the Military Child Kick-off video. Watch with us as special guests give a warm welcome and tribute to our military kids! Follow us on Facebook at Illinois National Guard Youth Programs
  • April 3rd: Operation K.U.D.O.S (Kids Understanding Deployment Operations). Our kick-off celebration will be a mock deployment with a Color Fun Run held at Camp Lincoln. Kids and families are all welcomed to join in on the fun as kids will go through the phases of deployment and participate in a color fun run at the same time.
  • “Daily Social Media Themes”: Stay tuned for our announcements on Facebook at Illinois National Guard Youth Programs for the latest daily theme and silly shenanigans. Use the following hashtags to recognize your military child: #MOMC, #MonthoftheMilitaryChild, #PurpleUp, #ngcys22 #ILMOMC
  • “Purple Mondays, Red Fridays”: Wear PURPLE on Mondays to support our military kids! Wear RED on Fridays to show your support those soldiers who are deployed.
  • “Read with Me!”: A daily reading by Lincolns Challenge Cadets all month long. Check us out on our Facebook at Illinois National Guard Youth Programs.
  • “Virtual Spirit Week”: A Virtual Spirit Week will be hosted April 11-15th leading up to Purple Up Day. Check out our Facebook and see what each day will bring!
  • “Purple Up! For Military Kids” Day: Wear your purple and register for a Purple Up Virtual Meet on April 15th. Kids will receive a Purple Up kit full of activities and a certificate of appreciation. Virtual Meet attendance is required to receive the kit and certificate.
  • Purple Up Ball: April 23rd will be our first ball ever! Dress up and come with your Service Member/Guardian. This will be a two hour event held at Camp Lincoln in Springfield, IL from 6-8pm. Service Member/Guardian must accompany the child.                                                             

Point of Contact, Child and Youth Program Coordinator, Amy Ent at 217-761-3842 or via email at ng.il.ilarng.list.youth-programs@army.mil.