By Vicki Prichard
NKyTribune reporter
Children of Northern Kentucky military families will have the chance to attend a free, week-long camp when Camp Corral comes to YMCA Camp Ernst in Burlington, August 7 through 13.
Children of military families at Camp Corral
Camp Corral, a national nonprofit headquartered in Raleigh, NC, was founded by James Maynard, founder of Golden Corral restaurants, and his daughter Easter. Golden Corral has a long history of honoring military and veteran service organizations, and Maynard and his daughter were looking for a way to do something meaningful for military families.
In 2011, Camp Corral opened as a pilot, one camp program, designed to give military children between the ages of eight and 15-years-old an opportunity to build friendships, have fun and learn the skills that build emotional resilience.
Since its pilot program, Camp Corral has served more than 10,000 children and has expanded to 21 camps in 19 states, partnering with some of the top YMCA and 4-H camps across the country to host the weekly sessions.
Military children have the chance to just be a kid at Camp Corral.
Disabled American Veterans (DAV), a nonprofit charity whose national headquarters is located in Cold Spring, partners with Camp Corral to help provide the camp experience to children of military families by sponsoring a number of camp participants through DAV’s “Just B Kids” scholarship program.
“The sacrifices men and women make in uniform are inevitably shared by their families or survivors,” says Barry Jesinoski, DAV’s executive director. “DAV has been partnered with Golden Corral for many years now. The opportunity to work with them and our partners at Camp Corral gives us the chance to recognize the hardships kids face. We are giving them a week to just be kids, and connect with other children who share the same, unique experiences.”
DAV provides support for veterans of all generations, and their families, through benefit claims assistance, employment fairs and transportation for veterans to and from medical appointments.
Camp Corral campers will enjoy free, week-long camp at Camp Ernst August 7 though 13.
Last year, DAV sponsored more than 300 of the camp participants through its “Just B Kids,” scholarship program.
While all military families are eligible for Camp Corral, priority is given to children of wounded, disabled or fallen service members. More than 3,200 children of fallen and injured veterans throughout the country, will attend the free camps this summer.
With unprecedented levels of deployments since September 11, 2001, and the increased reliance on Reserve and Guard members, the number of children with a parent who is a service member, or a veteran, has grown. And approximately 44 percent of the 2.1 million men and women who have deployed are parents.
For many children of military families, having one or both parents deployed and away from home for more than a year is the norm. Camp Corral’s data show that for 87 percent of its young campers, a military parent returns from his or her deployment injured or disabled, or, in some instances, never returns.
More than 80 percent of the children come from veteran families where resources are limited. Twenty-four percent of campers come from dual military families, and 52 percent state that they feel no one understands what it’s like to be a military child. A Military and Family Life Counselor (MFLC) is available at each camp site.
“Camp Corral is a place where kids can go to be themselves, learn some new skills, make friends and have a great time,” says Jesinoski. “At DAV, we’re very happy to help more kids have this great camp experience.”
Military families can find out more information about how to register for Camp Corral by visiting http://www.campcorral.org, and DAV’s “Just Be Kids” scholarship program at http://www.justbkids.org/.
