USO Supports Military Children When They Need it Most

Arlington, VA (PRWEB) April 01, 2013

April is nationally recognized as Month of the Military Child and the USO will honor our nations youngest heroes with events and activities at USO locations worldwide. The USO has a 72-year history of supporting military children as they cope with unique challenges like the stresses of being away from a parent during deployment and what its like when a parent returns home different- adjusting to life with visible and invisible wounds. In the 10 years since the United States invasion of Iraq, the USO has continually adapted to meet the needs of our nations military families.

There are more than 1.2 million children with a parent in the United States military, of those 220,000 have a parent deployed and many have endured the stresses of multiple deployments. Whether they are worrying about a loved one in harms way or facing the challenges that can arise when families are reunited after a lengthy deployment, the USO is standing with them.

The USO adapts to meet the needs of those who need us most. To support our nations youngest heroes, we have made a commitment to providing programs and services to help them lead strong family lives today, tomorrow and in the future, said Susan Thomas, Vice President, USO Warrior and Family Care. The USO provides opportunities for families to stay connected during deployment, comforting them when they are facing unimaginable life challenges, and support their transition when mom or dad returns home.

This month the USO will support our nations littlest heroes with USO programs and events worldwide including:

With You All the Way: Trevor Romain will be engaging in activities around the Nations Capitol including tour stops at Fort Meade and Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, as well as Fort Belvoir in Virginia, where he will officially kick off the Month of the Military Child in a presentation alongside the installation command. Romain will also engage with Congressional leaders on Capitol Hill during an assembly event for the Taking Care of You kits (benefitting children of wounded soldiers) and join a panel of three other family and child health professionals at the second annual With You All the Way Symposium at Fort Belvoir. With You All the Way will then travel to Twentynine Palms, CA to deliver presentations to children of those stationed at the Marine Combat Training Center.

The Little CHAMPS: The book The Little CHAMPS: Child Heroes Attached to Military Personnel follows the children of five service members, each representing a branch of the military, as they cope with deployments, saying goodbye, and when a parent returns home wounded. In addition to providing copies of the book to USO Centers Worldwide, this April the USO will bring the books author, Debbie Fink, to the Pacific Region to present her book and educational curriculum to nearly 6,000 military children.

Sesame Street/USO Experience: The Sesame Street/USO Experience for Military Families made its debut in July 2008, to help families deal with the challenges of deployment and homecomings. Since its inception, the tour has taken its message to more than 368,000 troops and military families and performed 631 shows on 145 military installations in 33 states and 11 countries. Additionally, the tour logged more than 122,000 miles and distributed more than 2 million giveaways. This spring, the tour will once again be hitting the road to visit 42 installations in 8 countries in the Europe and Pacific regions.

USO Centers: USO centers provide a warm and comforting place where troops can connect with home via Internet or telephone. USO centers also provide a place for military families to come together and connect with one another to support each other in difficult times. USO Center events focused on military children for Month of the Military Child include: