Who doesn’t remember summer camp season? In retrospect, those days were filled with boxed lunches, field trips, and mediocre games of kickball. BUT, at the time, it was the best reason for me to wake up each and every day!

The National Military Family Association wants to bring that same excitement to children with one or both parents deployed overseas. Operation Purple offers children (ages 7-17) a free week of summer camp and an opportunity to hang out with others in a similar situation! This is the only camp program in existence that brings together kids from all military branches and provides them with the tools to deal with the stress resulting from a parent’s deployment.

The camps can be found in most states and while the deadline has passed for enrollment in the traditional camps, a few have an extended registration period! Chicago-area families, there is still space available at the West Lafeyette, IN camp location. Those dates are May 31st – June 6th! You can find more details on the website at www.operationpurple.org!

-kb