Nebraska National Guard Child & Youth Program Annual Report-Fiscal Year 2013
MISSION To create opportunities to enhance the capacity to cope with the unique challenges faced by National Guard children, youth, & families.
GOALS To
build a network of supportive resources that eliminate barriers of geographic isolation for National Guard children & families To
provide schools with training and information necessary to support military children in the educational setting
To
provide social, recreational, & educational opportunities for military children to mitigate at-risk behaviors and to enhance life skills To
support youth before, during, and after the deployment of a loved one in dealing with the stress and challenges of deployment & reintegration LEFT: A Teen Council Member holds a child while volunteering as the Easter Bunny at the annual Operation Hidden Egg in Lincoln. BOTTOM: A girl talks to Santa during the annual Holiday Party for Military Youth at the Lincoln Children’s Museum. RIGHT: A youth makes her way through obstacles in the hallway at the annual Haunted Armory in Lincoln.
CHILDREN & YOUTH SERVED AGES 0 TO 5:
AGES 6 TO 12:
AGES 13 TO 18:
234 ARNG
576 ARNG
125 ARNG
43 ANG
237 ANG
17 ANG
1 ARMY RESERVE
1 ARMY RESERVE
5 OTHER
5 ARMY RESERVE
6 OTHER
VOLUNTEERS
301 VOLUNTEERS SUPPORTED EVENTS FOR A TOTAL OF 1504 HOURS
VOLUNTEERS SPOKE TO TEEN COUNCIL, MENTORED YOUTH IN ACTIVITIES SUCH AS GOLF LESSONS, SUPPORTED HOLIDAY EVENTS BY PROVIDING GAMES AND BOOTHS
2 TEENS WERE AWARDED THE PRESIDENTIAL VOLUNTEER AWARD FOR THEIR ACTIVE SERVICE ON THE TEEN COUNCIL BELOW: Sgt. Joshua Peavy does some PT with a young boy at the Memorial Stadium Tour. This annual event is part of the Month of the Military Child, and this year nearly 100 people were in attendance, more than 5 times last year’s attendance.
ABOVE: A youth works on his golf swing during the Military Youth Golf Clinic at Wilderness Ridge in Lincoln. This event is held annually as part of the Month of the Military Child events.
“I enjoy participating in this event and interacting with the children of Army/Air Guard members—and seeing the world through their eyes.” ~Volunteer~
TEEN COUNCIL
Teen Council had 5 active members during FY 13
Teen Council members volunteered for Child & Youth events including the Haunted Armory & Operation Hidden Egg.
Teen Council members have participated in two Youth Leadership Forums (new this year), focusing on State Government & Forensics.
WHAT’S NEW IN 2013? YOUTH LEADERSHIP FORUMS Held 2-4 times per year, youth come together to explore different topics, take tours, and listen to a variety of speakers. In February, a group of youth toured the State Capitol and spoke with two current State Senators about their careers and current legislative issues. In September, youth enjoyed a presentation by a Forensic Scientist from the Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab DNA Unit about her career field and analyzed their fingerprints. The Youth Leadership Forum exposes youth to a variety of topics that encourage personal growth and development. It is also an opportunity for the youth to have more in-depth discussions with individuals from various backgrounds to become more involved in their communities. Looking ahead, topics suggested by current participants include self-defense, sports, the arts, and various career fields.
ABOVE (ALL 3 PICTURES): Youth attending the Summer Day Camp in Lincoln do a variety of activities to work on communication, team-building, and problem-solving skills. They also participated in morning formation and PT led by ARNG soldiers.
RESOURCE OVERVIEWS This initiative grew from the Yellow Ribbon program, and involves all of the components of the Warrior & Family Support Directorate. As the number of deployments decreases, resource overviews, which are often conducted during drill or family days, allows families to receive information on the resources and supports available to them through briefings and resource booths, similar to those provided during the various Yellow Ribbon events. This resource is valuable to the families, as they are exposed to resources that many were not aware of, and it allows our program to directly access families with children to showcase the opportunities for the National Guard Youth through the Child & Youth Program. During these events, we have also developed a distribution list, which has grown from 0 to nearly 100 members. There has been positive feedback from families who then receive program information directly from the Child & Youth Program Coordinators, streamlining communication and increasing the response to events.
2013 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
5 CHILD & YOUTH PROGRAMS AT YELLOW RIBBON EVENTS
17 YELLOW RIBBONS, FAMILY DAYS, & RESOURCE OVERVIEWS-BRIEFING & INFORMATION PROVIDED TO OVER 2400 ADULTS
8 HOLIDAY CHILD, YOUTH, & FAMILY EVENTS
5 MONTH OF THE MILITARY CHILD EVENTS
4 QUARTERLY TEEN COUNCIL MEETINGS
2 YOUTH LEADERSHIP FORUMS
1 YOUTH DAY CAMP
DEVELOPED FACEBOOK PAGE & YOUTH EMAIL DISTRIBUTION LIST
INCREASED PARTNERSHIPS AND SUPPORT FROM LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR LARGE EVENTS
DEVELOPED PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF “7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TEENS” FOR FY ‘14
A youth rolls fingerprints during a Youth Leadership Forum with a presenter from the Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab.
PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATION STATE SUPPORT SERVICES DIVISION WILDERNESS RIDGE GOLF CLUB CONGRESSMAN JEFF FORTENBERRY VFW VA NE/WESTERN IA HEALTH CARE SERVICES UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN FEDERALLY EMPLOYED WOMEN STARBASE-NEBRASKA USPFO AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION ELKS ARMY OF HOPE SENATOR AMANDA MCGILL AMERICAN LEGION SENATOR BILL AVERY CABELA’S GIRL SCOUTS BOY SCOUTS SALON DÉJÀ VU KIWANIS NEBRASKA STATE PATROL MATT TALBOT KITCHEN & OUTREACH STUHR MUSEUM
Youth analyze fingerprints and look for patterns during the Youth Leadership Forum in Lincoln. A forensic scientist in the DNA unit of the Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab presented on collecting and analyzing evidence.
NEBRASKA ANNUAL REPORT 2013 WE’RE ON FACEBOOK!! SEARCH “NE NATIONAL GUARD CHILD & YOUTH PROGRAM” OR GO TO: HTTPS://WWW.FACBOOK.COM/NENGCYP
FIND US ON THE WEB: HTTP://NE.NG.MIL/FAMILYRESOURCES/PAGES/YOUTHSERVICES.ASPX
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: KELLI CZARNICK, LEAD CHILD & YOUTH PROGRAM COORDINATOR 402.309.7338 OR 402.760.3616
[email protected] OR KRISTYN KOCSIS, CHILD & YOUTH PROGRAM COORDINATOR 402.309.7955 OR 402.760.3615
[email protected] OFFICE ADDRESS: 1776 NORTH 10TH STREET, LINCOLN, NE 68508 MAILING ADDRESS: 2433 NW 24TH STREET, LINCOLN, NE 68524
“My children have greatly enjoyed the activities and it is a great distraction from dad being away, as well as a good opportunity to connect with other children whose parents are deployed.” ~Parent~
