National Collegiate 4-H
       
   
National 4-H Week

National Collegiate 4-H Day of Service

The National Collegiate 4-H Day of Service was created to promote involvement in the National Service Project of Emphasis. This year the National Service Project of Emphasis is Operation Military Kids. We encourage all clubs to participate in an activity that coordinates with Operation Military Kids. The National Service Project Day is set for, but not limited to, the Saturday of National 4-H Week (October 7th). So get your club together to help put a smile on a Military Kid’s face!

Ways to get involved:

Presentation

One option is to give a presentation to different groups and inform them of OMK.

  1. Make contact with state’s military liaison by visiting www.operationmilitarykids.org
  2. Visit with him or her about interest in helping with Operation: Military Kids through speaking out to campus and/or community groups. They may have a good idea on how to advance from there. Also see about getting more information about OMK (flyers, handouts, etc.).
  3. If you establish a good working relationship, work to tailor OMK PowerPoint to be personalized for your state. Attached is a PowerPoint that can be used generically for any 4-H Club, and you can also look at Iowa’s example for personalization ideas.
  4. If the military liaison doesn’t have options or ideas about who to present to, we suggest finding related groups and setting up a time and place to present.. Boys and Girls Clubs and American Legions are nationwide partners with Operation: Military Kids.

Contact national OMK if you are in need of more flyers, handouts, etc. They can be contacted at…..

Military Kids Evening

The other option is to put on an event for military kids and their families or anyone who is interested, while still informing people about OMK.

  1. Make contact with state’s military liaison by visiting www.operationmilitarykids.org
  2. Visit with him or her about interest in helping with Operation: Military Kids through sponsoring an evening for military kids. They may have a good idea on how to advance from there. If this is true, work with him or her to set up a fun-filled and educational night. Also see about getting more information about OMK (flyers, handouts, etc.).
  3. We encourage you to partner with other community groups to make the night a success. Boys and Girls Clubs and American Legions are nationwide partners with Operation: Military Kids. Other community groups could make good partners in planning and hosting such an event.
  4. Great places to start promoting your event and finding a list of military families in your area would be with your military liaison, family readiness groups, Extension offices, schools, national guard and army reserve websites (family program coordinator), American legion, Auxiliary, and other local community groups. Personal invitations and messages to groups and people are most effective (i.e. FRG newsletter invite is more effective than newspaper ad)
  5. What activities to provide:
    • Supper (try to get sponsorships for any costs)
    • Activity for kids and parents
    • Parent’s night out. (have activities for kids, allowing parents to do be alone)
    • Crafts, Games, etc. (to keep it fun)
    • Creating memories
    • Don’t forget to look at resources on the OMK website for ideas on activities relating to military kids.
  6. A suggested time frame would be 3-4 hours, weeknight evenings usually work best.

Read more about National 4-H Week