When the U.S. military needed a way to help the children of soldiers deployed in Iraq, it turned to 4-H to accomplish Operation: Military Kids. Because Washington has one of the highest deployment rates in the country, it was chosen in April 2004 for one of five pilot OMK programs; today more than 30 states are involved.
WSU Extension was one of those recognized last month with an Honor Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its role in developing the nationwide 4-H program. The award is the most prestigious presented by the USDA.
Using grant funds provided through the USDA/Army Youth Development Project, the OMK mission is to create support networks for children in schools and communities before, during and after deployment of a parent or loved one.
“We were a natural choice for the military because we have an incredibly strong base of well trained youth development professionals and volunteers … and because of the broad diversity of the programming we offer,” said Pat BoyEs, state 4-H program director in Washington. “We don’t do just sports. We don’t do just arts or homework enhancement. We do it all.”
After attending preliminary meetings in Kansas, the Washington team — led by WSU Extension 4-H Program Manager Kevin C. Wright — decided to develop its own training. Team members wrote a manual and conducted training sessions in the state.
“When that made it back to Washington, D.C., they said ‘That’s what we need nationally,’ and asked us to produce it,” said Wright. “It is what people on the front lines need to make the program work and to train others, a ‘train the trainer’ model.”
