Operation Military Kids is an U.S. Army organization connecting with America’s communities to support children and youth impacted by deployment. Regardless of whether families are experiencing deployment for the first time, the second time, or any amount of deployments, OMK’s goal is to connect military children and youth with local volunteers in order to build good character in our communities, and families.
During my volunteer experience I had a wonderful time. Even though I had volunteered before, it was different this time because it was on a much larger scale. Before I would just teach a small group of kids. This time I taught a large group. When I first got to volunteer for Operation Military Kids I was a little nervous. Although at other workshops the group that other teen mentors ,and I would mentor would not be that big. At the big workshop in Phoenix I felt the same nervousness as I did my first time volunteering. I felt nervous because I would be conducting the workshop this time and in a much bigger group, however I knew that I would do a good job because I was trained well by my program Coordinator Teresa Noon.
Now it was now my turn to teach. I taught the kids how to use the camera and the computer. I was a little discouraged because some of the kids were getting a little distracted by the cameras they were given. Although, I then reminded myself that they were just kids ages 9-12, with short attention spans, so I shouldn’t get mad at them. The kids then had the rest of the time and the next day to finish making and editing their video. They would then show their finished project to their parents and that would conclude the workshop. Most of the kids had fun working with each other making videos about themselves. I especially had fun with a couple of groups because they asked me to either be in or help the make the video with them.
All in all I had a great time working with the kids and teen mentors. I feel that I have impacted, and reached out to the community. This is an excellent program to get involved with. OMK helps kids with the hardships of deployment and just gives them a shoulder to lean on when the children need someone to comfort them. This is, in my opinion, one of the best organizations to help out with. You would get a great feeling of happiness seeing the impact you made on the community and in the military kids.
Student Essay: Published with Permission
Lynn Radlauer Lubell, Publisher of InLikeMe.com and Founder of Admission By Design, an Educational Consultancy based in Boca Raton, Florida.
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