Armed Services YMCA of the USA

Forced frequent moves due to military orders is one of the unique stressors of military family life. Operation Little Learners provides military parents tools to enhance the developmental areas of their child and offers opportunity for early learning and bonding. The program also connects military families to a support network filled with other parents and children experiencing similar challenges. With a curriculum focused on phonics, writing, science, and math skills, each student graduates fully prepared for kindergarten having established a foundation for future social and academic success.

Children’s Waiting Room is a child care program located inside military and civilian hospitals that allows parents to attend scheduled appointments without the stress of having to find child care outside the hospital. When families have the ability to drop off their children inside the hospital at no or low cost, they are more likely to attend scheduled appointments, and in locations with Children’s Waiting Room hospital administrators report a 30% drop in no show rates. Siblings kept out of clinic areas have reduced exposure to other sick patients. Providing a child watch program at hospitals allows service members and spouses to make healthier health care decisions.

Camps and camping opportunities offered throughout the year at our branches and affiliate locations continue to be one of ASYMCA’s most popular programs. Camps encourage healthy living as part of our core mission of strengthening our military family, and provide much needed recreational and bonding opportunities for military children and families who have experienced multiple deployments. Camping provides a fun, educational and safe outdoor experience for military children and families to bond, make new friends and build their support networks by connecting with others who have similar backgrounds and experiences as members of the military community.

Child care and preschool have consistently proven to be an overwhelming cost for junior enlisted service members and their families. ASYMCA offers accessible, quality child care and preschool programs at affordable rates in order to prepare children for future success by teaching social skills, creativity, literacy, and fine & gross motor skills. Child care increases the military family’s financial security and well-being by enabling military spouses to seek work outside the home or continue their education, which may lead to future employment or improved employment opportunities. As a result, service members can stay focused on their mission while their spouses and partners provide vital financial resources for their family.

Operation Holiday Joy was initially established in collaboration with Woman’s Day Magazine and their readers to raise awareness and funds for military service members and their families during the holidays. Since 2004, Operation Holiday Joy supporters have donated more than $1.3 million for military service members and their families, enabling the purchase and distribution of more than 320,000 toys and the delivery of more than 25,000 baskets of food to junior enlisted families in need during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Operation Kid Comfort provides handmade quilts and pillows at no cost to the children of deployed active duty military service members. ASYMCA Volunteers craft custom-made quilts and pillows with photos of the service member to help children cope with emotional stress during a parent’s deployment. With your support we can provide comforting quilts to more children, making mom or dad feel closer to home.

Operation Ride Home provides financial assistance to active duty junior-enlisted military service members and their families to travel from their place of military service back home for the holidays. Since Operation Ride Home began, over 10,000 individual junior enlisted service members and their family members have travelled from their bases to homes around the country for the holidays. Men and women from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard have been assisted with travel to 50 of the 50 states.

Many Americans may not realize that the military community faces food insecurity. Prior to the pandemic, 14% of military families reported not having enough food to feed their families, compared to 11% of all Americans. Like many things, the pandemic exacerbated a number of challenges for families, and the military community was no exception. The latest reports show that today 29% of junior enlisted military families say they are food insecure. About half of E1-E6 military families are married and have young children. To help junior enlisted families worry less about food and focus on mission readiness, the ASYMCA has significantly expanded emergency food assistance for military families. Since 2020, ASYMCA has provided 1.9 million pounds of food to over 38,000 families through client-choice food markets, drive-through events, mobile markets, and more.