Purple Up! April 15th or 20th
We would like to encourage you to help us celebrate our military youth and honor these young heroes. When we think of honoring our military, we often think of Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Did you know there is also a time identified to honor our youngest heroes, military children? Since 1986, April has been designated Month of the Military Child. Join us in April as we celebrate our military-dependent children.
Strength, sacrifice, and perseverance are words commonly thought of for our military members serving our country. These same attributes are found in our military youth. They send care packages to their military family members and others when they are away from home. They take on new tasks when members of their families are deployed. They grow up with a sense of community and service to country because of what their family members do to make sure we have our freedom. They grow up fast because a parent is away taking care of our country.
The goal is for our military youth to see the support of their communities. If you know a military youth then here are some ideas to help you celebrate them.
- Give them a shout out on social media! Wearing purple to celebrate the Month of the Military Child. If you don’t have or own a purple shirt wear a purple ribbon, tie, headband etc. Why purple?Purple is the color that symbolizes all branches of the military, as it is the combination of Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue, Marine red and Navy blue.
- Use Hash tags of #PurpleUp, #FL4H, #MOMC for your support photos.
- Just show your support and let our youth know we care about them!
- Thank them for sharing their family member with our country.
- Touch base with them when you know a family member is deployed giving them someone to confide in and seek help from or just listen to their concerns and discuss their worries.
- Tell them you’re proud of them. Sometimes they just need to hear that they’re doing a great job for their family.
- Help them get involved in organizations that help them find their talents.
- Help them research colleges or trade schools they may be interested in applying to.
- Take them out for a special adventure and spend time with the family.
All of these things helps your local youth feel supported. It also allows us to honor military children and their families for their commitment and sacrifice in our communities and not feel so alone. Even if you don’t know a military child you can wear purple and take a photo to share on our local media sites indicating they are cared about! Please Purple UP!
4-H is one of the nation’s most diverse organizations and includes people from all economic, racial, social, political, and geographic categories. There are no barriers to participation by any young person. Participants are given the opportunity to engage in activities that hold their personal interest, while being guided by adult volunteers.
Remember to Purple Up! April 15th, 20th or day of your choosing!
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