As most of you know I am a proud to be a military wife. Newer readers might not know that a few years ago my husband was deployed and during his deployment he suffered an injury that turned our world upside down for about 18 months. I am thankful that he is now completely healed, but I know there are other families who are not so fortunate.
While we had an excellent support system while my husband was gone, many families do not. According to a Defense Manpower Report over 100,000 kids have at least one parent deployed. Deployments are tough on kids and I love organizations that help make this time easier.
Operation Purple is one such program. They organize summer camps, and family camps to help children cope with the stress of deployment. This camp is totally free and supported by the National Military Family Association. This video below gives a small peek into what Operation Purple is all about.
These camps are a great way for kids to have fun, hang out with other kids who are going through the same thing, and talk through some of the struggles and worries they face while their parents are serving our country overseas.
As a parent who helped six kids through a deployment, I understand the need for programs such as these to serve our military families. Many families can not afford to pay for camps likes these for their children. While the military does provide counseling for families, there is something about summer camp that goes beyond traditional counseling methods.
The problem is that Operation Purple might not continue. Currently they do not have enough money to fund the 2011 camps. This great organization relies on donations to keep the camps operating and free to military families. I know that many families donate money at the end of the year to their favorite charity, and many businesses also make end of the year donations. I realize the economy stinks and time are tough, but this is a great program and if you were already planning on supporting an organization, would you consider supporting Operation Purple?
The folks at Operation Purple have asked me to help spread the word about this camp (and their need for funding) and would love your help in spreading the word about Operation Purple too.
I’m hosting a giveaway (courtesy of Operation Purple) as an incentive for you to tell others about this wonderful program.
To enter to win a $100 American Express Gift Card you can do any and all of the following.
- Leave a comment on this post sharing how you support our troops.
- Follow @military_family on Twitter.
- Tweet about this post.
- Add it to your Facebook Wall.
- Email it to a friend.
I’ve made it super easy for you to do all these things, if you look at the bottom of this post there are some buttons. Clicking on them will allow you to share this information in a few seconds. Please leave additional comments for each entry. Giveaway ends Tuesday, October 12, 2010.
I realize that most of the time I am encouraging you to keep more money in your pocket on this site, but this program is one that is close to my heart and I wanted to make sure as many people as possible know about this opportunity to support our military families. I have been compensated for my time to write this post, but all opinions are 100% mine and this program was one I had planned on writing about even before being contacting by the organization.
That sounds like a great organization! We’re a military family, too, and our baby is only 8 mos old, but it’s nice to know there are programs like that for the bigger kids.
We are a military family also. My children are 9 years old and 6 years old and they are facing their first deployment in the near future.
I followed @military_family on twitter
I tweeted the post from foreverneighbor
I shared it on my facebook wall!
I shared it on facebook!
We looked into this when my husband returned from his last deployment. It looks like a fantastic program! Having something fun to celebrate the return of a parent is a huge motivation on the long days until they return. Its amazing to feel the care of others for our sacrifices when they offer us the gift of something like Operation Purple. I support our troops by being married to one, sending care packages and encouragement on the hard days, and keeping our home and children cared for while he is away.
Thank’s for writing about this!! I know you’re making a difference.
~Proud USMC Wife
I support the troops through prayer! And I send my expired coupons
I send the families my expired coupons
I’m curious about the expired coupons. What do they do with those? I too am a military wife and I’ve never heard of it before???
Thanks!
Military families overseas can use coupons that are up to six months expired at the Commissary.
Operation Purple Camp is a program near and dear to my heart. My boys have been to OPC twice, once in Texas and this past summer at Fort Campbell. Their dad is leaving for his third deployment this coming February and I hate the idea of having to tell them OPC is no more. We all know how hard it is budgeting on a military salary for general everyday living, but to add the cost of summer camp for two (soon to be three) kids would be impossible! My kids connect at camp with other kids dealing with the same struggles of military life and they have come to look forward to their week away. I shared this story last week on my Facebook page, but am sharing it again today. Thank you for spreading the word!
I posted on FB too!
I am an Army wife and my daughter was able to go to camp the summer before last. Its a great program. I’m sharing this on FACEBOOK and hopefully they will get the help they need to keep the program going!
I am the administrator for two Ancestry.com websites. One is a family site, one is for my church sisters (The Hot Tamales). I will post this on both of those sites as well as facebook.
I will also see if I can get my kids to post it on their FBs and get the word out. This is such an important effort!
My husband is a veteran. Anything that supports our troops and their families is wonderful. I’ll post this on my facebook page and make a donation. Thank you for sharing this.
My family LOVES Operation Purple. We have participated for the past 4 years and it’s a wonderful camp for military children. We are very fortunate to have such a program available and at no cost. My daughter looks forward to it every summer. She has 2 dads in the army so one of them is always deployed and on top of that she has to deal with divorced parents. It’s a great way for the kids to get a break from the everyday stress of being a military brat. It would be so heartbreaking to lose Operation Purple!
I am married to a military man! I support our troops by praying for them everyday! I know they have a very serious job taking care of all us!
i am following you on twitter! my twitter name is tanyetta
I tweeted here!
http://twitter.com/tanyetta/status/26685486957
I facebooked it here:
Tanyetta Kim Wilson Mckoy http://twitter.com/tanyetta/status/26685486957
Twitter / tanyetta: Operation Purple Needs You …
twitter.com
Operation Purple Needs Your Help – http://thehappyhousewife.com/operation-purple-needs-your-help/
2 seconds ago · Comment · Like · Share · See Wall-to-Wall
I blogged it here! This goes out to my email list:
http://www.tanyetta.com/2010/10/operation-purple-needs-our-help.html
We are a military family, too. My husband returned home this past spring after serving a 17-mos deployment. Love organizations like this. They are so needed and so appreciated.
What a great program. My hubby had an injury that ultimately led to his discharge.
I support the troops by supporting my husband through his current deployment, as well as being employed by a Canadian Military Family Resource Centre, providing military families with integration and deployment support (when not on Mat leave!).
I’m so glad the US has programs like this to help bring kids experiencing deployment together. With all of the emotions and issues that can arise, it can be so powerful for them to simply know that they are not alone and what they are feeling is completely normal.
I tweeted!
http://twitter.com/#!/CanadianRhapsdy/status/26688649366
I added @military_family
Hi Toni,
Thank you for posting about such a prevalent issue in today’s society…1000s of children (and spouses) left behind to deal with the family while the military member is deployed to areas around the world; more often than not in areas such as Afghanistan where there is a HUGE safety issue still for our military family members! This is huge not only for us spouses who remain home and keep the family going each day, but even probably bigger for the kids who are left to deal with added stress, much of which they do not understand, until the military member returns home.
For us, being an AF Security Forces family means we have to face a deployment, at best, once a year; and at worst, even 6 months!! For my family, we have a great support network here in Tucson which does fortunately include organizations similar to Operation Purple. If it wasn’t for these organizations, MANY MANY military children would not be able to have an outlet where they can go and share similar emotions with many many other children, if for only a day or a week at camp like Operation Purple.
I pray each day that all of the people who read your blog Toni, and other forums, feel it in their hearts to assist Operation Purple and possibly other organizations so that O.P. can continue to help our military children!
God bless you Toni for writing about such important areas in a military family’s life!!
Ashley
My husband is in the air force, we have three daughter and one on the way. I wish i knew about this program when my husband was deployed.
I posed it on facebook
My daughter went to the Operation Purple Camp this past summer outside of Dallas, Texas. I cannot express how much the camp did for her because there is not enough words to describe it but I will tell you this she blew me away. She has always been the one to cry and want to come home when she is somewhere new but instead they said she was the one comforting everyone else. Going to the camp made her realize how much she can help kids who are in the same situation as her. You see her father deployed for the third time just three weeks before she left for camp. So she has tried her best to make sure that she is there for anyone who needs a shoulder to cry on or some cheering up. And I gained from the experience as well by letting go and allowing her to grow up a little more and also letting go and letting someone else take care of her for the week. I really do hope that Operation Purple can stick around because I know how much it can help the military families. Thanks again for everything you guys have done for my family and the other families that have been helped!
And as far as supporting the troops I mail care packages during the holidays to the single soldiers and I volunteer with my community center on post to help arrange the family activities for the soldiers and families!
What a fantastic program. I have been struggling with disappointment since I found out I probably cannot qualify for military service due to my bad eyesight. I support our troops through prayer and I am always inspired to hear about programs like this.
I also Tweeted about the camp…I would have done it even without a giveaway. This sounds like such an important cause.
As an Army wife and Military-raised, I know these programs benefit the children. I hope we get enough people to donate and help to keep it going.
Our family sends over coupons and every three months we make up care packages for the troops along with cards and letters. My brother is in the marines and said that the guys loved it when he got a package from us! He would share.
So that’s how we got started in sending care packages over to them.
Many Blessings-
Rachelle
Our family recently reunited after the 1-yr deployment. I had oped to send my daughter to one of the camps, but it just didn’t work out for timing and location. Sad to see there isn’t enough funding right now for 2011. I hope they can find a way to continue the camps; they are so important for the kids.
I posted on fb about it.
I follow military_family on twitter.
Posted on twitter about it too.
I support our troops through prayer!
I posted on facebook, twitter and support the good work of those helping kids through deployment. Great work Operation Purple! (we are a Military family too!)
We create resources for Military kids, with our books, We Serve Too! A Child’s Deployment Book, We Serve Too! A Child’s Reunion Book and our ABC Military Coloring Book. We have free downloads of parent help guides, stickers to make the books fit any branch of the Armed Services, and several new books nearly ready for print. We love Military families, and thank them for all they do!
I am a Marine wife dealing with my fourth deployment approaching. I didn’t realize this program was in danger. Posting it on my facebook!
Sent it in an email!
Prayer and expired coupons! I also believe that sending care packages to extended family and friends serving overseas has been a great way to have some long conversations with my two boys about war and peace, serving your country, evil and hope, sacrifice, faith, heaven, history, compassion…. the list really could continue for another page or more… the point is, that even though their immediate family has not served in the military, they understand it’s importance in protecting our nation, but also as a way to serve and help friends, family and strangers they have never met.
Thanks for the information on this, it sounds like a great organization. I posted on my FB wall.
I send care packages to the troops!
I’ve tweeted it.
Being a military wife and growing up a military brat I support the troops through prayer, sending letters, care packages and showing my support on the home front.
I have followed @military_family on twitter
@kriswhite12
I posted it on my facebook wall.
I have helped at our local hugs project, by donating small items to be sent to the troops in care packages, I have given time to help get the care packages mailed/sent to the troops, have prayed for our men and women in the military who give up so much to help keep us safe and FREE….
Have sent the troops christmas cards and letters while they have been gone.
Thank you to all the men and women who are serving this great country in the military and to their families who also give up alot. God bless each of you.
We are military as well – fo’ sure!
Our family often does care packages through our base here to send to troops overseas. Also, since moving to Ft. Bragg a year ago, I have taken on a number of local ministries/projects to help moms/wives while hubby is gone!
I tweeted this post!
I follow @military_family!
This sounds like a great program and the first time that I have heard about it. Thanks for posting about it. I hope that it can continue. Our small hometown has a great support system for our residents that are in the military. There are fund raisers and collections for items that are sent to them. When someone comes home from a deployment, there are flags lined up the entire highway through town and everyone lines up along the road and waves and cheers for them.
I adopted a soldier via a program I found…somewhere … online. So Roy gets letters and care packages and good thoughts from me. It’s a GREAT program.
(I also have numerous items of CG apparel from my earlier life dreams..)
We donate the free toiletries (razors, body wash, toothpaste, etc.) to the injured troops at Walter Reed through a friend’s organization.
My husband and I are both veteran Sailors. I still have friends and family who are serving and sacrificing for our country. Thanks for sharing about this great organization. I’ve never heard of them before.
Following on militaryfamily.org on twitter
Just tweeted:
http://twitter.com/wendiesioux/statuses/26751893608
Just posted on facebook.
Our family always tries to help out in any way that we can. The troops and their families are always in our thoughts and prayers.
Posted to my FB.
Wow! That is sad that it could possibly be shut down. Definitely going to put the word out.
I support our troops by being a military spouse, sending care packages, praying everyday, and letting people know about programs like this or things happening with our troops.
Following on Twitter. (SweetsLady)
My dad was career Air Force and while we only went through one 18 month period where he was overseas and we weren’t, it not only wasn’t fun, but no one around us understood. My brother and I would have been thrilled to have access to such a service as this!
Shared on Facebook.
Tweeted – http://twitter.com/SweetsLady/statuses/26752950392
While I have not been a military wife, I am the wife of a veteran of the first Gulf War. I now have several friends who are proud wives of their military husbands and I see daily the sacrifice the whole family makes.
I am so grateful for these men and women!!!
I love helping out any way I can!
What a great cause! We were going to send our son this year but the schedule just didn’t work out. A friend was able to send his son though and it was great for him. I’m married to my Miltary man, does that count for support? Lol! I tweeted, etc…the whole list, but because I want the word passed around, not to win. Thanks for sharing!
One way I support current and former wounded military is by supporting Gina Elise’s Pin Ups for Vets program where she visits VA hospitals with calendars and posters of herself dressed up as a WWII style pin-up girl. She really brightens their day with her visit, plus it means a lot to them that people all over the country are thinking of them and care enough about them that they have provided the calendars.
http://www.pinupsforvets.com/
Posted on my facebook walls.
Sent an email to friends/family.
Sent an email to a bunch of family/friends.
I love that you are doing this on Military support. It is very important to me that we support our Military and troops because they are our first defense and they stand for freedom in the USA!
I support the Military by taking good care of my husband (He is in the USAF/Active Duty)! By having my husband fed and happy I am helping to make him a hard working soldier when he deploys overseas or even when he is doing mission essential work here at Patrick AFB. I support my soldier so that he can support everyone in the USA. We also cut lawns, do oil changes, take care of bills and check the mail, and offer help to the wives and children of soldiers who deploy so that they can leave for 6 months and know that their homes and family are taken care of. Some of the men and women do not have any family locally and we like to help them out!
We’ve been doing coupons for the troops as well as donations to military overseas.
I support the troops with my expired coupons! Thanks for all you do.
Shared on Facebook. Thanks for the giveaway.
My husband used to serve in the Navy, so military families are near and dear to us. We pray for our troops, and support veterans associations when we can.
I followed @military_family on Twitter.
I tweeted about this post.
I shared on my Facebook wall.
I’m a combat veteran myself and currently I volunteer at the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society to help troops, and often donate to different support the troop causes when finances allow me too.
Wow! This does sound like a really neat program! I understand how difficult deployments can be. Our only joy during those is putting together care packages.
Take care!
Dee
I Follow @military_family now too.
Tweeted about it and scheduled more tweets to go out before your giveaway wraps up. Thanks for doing this!
posted on my facebook wall
I support our troops by sending them packages in the mail. I also thank any military people for what they are doing for our country. I am in the PGR and go to some of the funerals of our fallen soldiers and veterans when schedule allows.
Having had family in the military I definitely support our troops as much as possible. I donate when I can, but even when money is tight, I send coupons to a contact I have overseas. Since the commissaries take expired Qs, I send over all my high values and frees for them to use. It only costs me postage and helps save them quite a bit of money.
I’m following @military_family
tweeted http://twitter.com/?status=Operation%20Purple%20Needs%20Your%20Help%20-%20http://thehappyhousewife.com/operation-purple-needs-your-help/#!/rmgm/status/27052462179
Sent an email to a some family (current and former military).
I shared it on my blog facebook page.
I’m not as faithful as I should be about supporting our troops, but I am SO grateful for the sacrifice that they and their families make for me on a daily basis. My prayers are with them always, and I will be looking for more ways like this opportunity to be more proactive in my support of them and their families. Thank you for highlighting this organization!
My son went to Operation Purple this year and he had a blast! Not only did he make friends, he came out of his shell, knowing he was not alone! It was a wonder program! If there is anything else I can do to help save it, shoot me an email. I will go down fighting!
We are a military family. We always try and invite other military families over for a meal that they would have had to have by themselves. Last year we had another miliary wife and her kids over for Thanksgiving. Both of our husbands were deployed.
In the past we have bought bibles to be sent overseas to a solider and we have adopted soldiers that didn’t receive packages in the mail
Tweet about it http://twitter.com/#!/frazledmwcn/status/27135959396
Shared it on facebook
My husband is in the Air Force, I love our life and it is wonderful to know that programs are out their like this to take care of our children! I will spread the word on my facebook page US Military Wife.
Thanks for all you do!
Tweeted
I am so proud to have been able to attend one of the family camps through Operation Purple in Alabama (ASSCA). Since my husband was deployed and returned injured our world has turned upside down. Our daughter and I are still having a hard time with the change of my husband/father. When we where selected for the camp we where thrilled! This is just what our family needed!! It helped us work on rebuilding as a family and we met great friends who we still keep in touch with. Operation Purple you rock!! Thanks so much for what you do for us and every other military family out there who is trying to deal with our spouses as they return changed.
I have also shared with my friends on Facebook and Operation Purple is on my page. Thanks for giving us a chance to win something:)
I’m surprised that there are not enough donations flowing in.
Research has shown that deployments are just as stressful for kids, especially for young girls and national guard/reservist kids. Will post this on my facebook as well.
We have been part of the National Military Family Organization and our daughter was chosen to attend a Leadership Camp this summer in Idaho thanks to the support of Operation Purple. All of the children chosen had the chance to learn skills as well as share their experiences on what is what like to have a parent deployed and how they dealt with the situation. Children do serve too and have to deal with separation and it is camps like Operation Purple that can keep the mental health of children strong and lively before, during and after deployments.
I shared this on facebook, I am also a military wife and this looks like an amazing program for children. While we have not faced a deployment yet my husband has been away training for the past 5 months and I know how hard that has been on my children. I can’t help but be supportive of any program that makes the seperation easier or at least helps children make sense of it.
Thanks for sharing this.
I shared it in a few different places. I was wondering if you knew if Operation Purple had any promotional info. I would love to be able to share this at our church and with some other local church bodies I am connected in. I’m a youth pastor and we have one former teen who is doing his second tour, this time in Afghanistan and time before in Iraq. We have one teen who is leaving for the Marines and one who just signed into the Army. It’s hard enough trying to keep their families in good spirits and these boys don’t have any kids yet.
Jacqui-
Email me and I can give you my contact’s information and you can deal with them directly. I’m not sure how they distribute their promotional materials, but I know they need all the help they can get this year!
I emailed the info to my friends,sounds like a great program.
We LOVE Operation Purple. My two boys have been to Operation Purple Camp the last two summers and have had a wonderful time. In the last 2 years my husband has been gone 18 months of it and this week long camp helps make the time pass and provides them a time to get with other children who experience the same struggles that military life brings . Unfortunatly their dad will be leaving again next year and will miss a third summer in a row with us and I would hate to tell my kids that Operation purple was no longer available to them. We are very grateful for those who have supported Operation Purple so our children were able to go to camp.
Thanks for sharing Toni like many I did not realize this wonderful program could be ending due to lack of funding.
Our prayers go out to all those men and women who are serving this great country.
I wanted to thank Operation Purple and all the soldiers who have and are currently deployed. My eldest child was able to attend an Op Purple camp in Summer ’09 after her dad’s 2nd Iraq deployment. What an amazing program! I absolutely LOVE this program and believe it helps our struggling youth with multiple deployments. It is especially hard on the kids, many can not fully comprehend why their parent(s) have to be so far away for so very long. This is our 3rd Iraq deployment in 4yrs, I’m hoping my son will be able to attend an Op Purple camp this summer for the first time as he’s finally old enough. I would hate for some of our military children not have this wonderful experience as summer camps are so expensive. Thank you everyone who has and will suppport this organization!
This program CANNOT go away! My boys were able to attend camp this past summer, and had such a tremendous experience. It helped us deal with a deployment that was made more difficult by the stress of an overseas move. This camp helped us transition to our new state, and re-introduced my boys to American culture, while helping them deal with the challenges of missing their Dad. I’ve posted this link to my Facebook page also, and will do as much as I can to encourage people to keep this worthy program alive! Thank you for your work in spreading the word!
I support our troops by praying for them every day – even my daughters send special prayers! We have friends who have fathers/husbands deployed and we watch out for them closely with meals, nights out, and phone calls. So important!
I will post on my FB wall! Great organization!
My brother has been deployed twice leaving his four young daughters and wife alone. I know first hand the importance of these programs and how they allow familys to forget about their problems for a day and have fun. Thank you for the supporting our troops.