Operation HUG - The military component of the Hug Your Kids program.
Strong familes help strengthen soldiers.
Operation HUG is a new component to annual Global Hug Your Kids Day and the Hug Your Kids program. The goal is to strengthen military families that have children. Operation HUG will help strengthen soldiers, their spouses/ partners and children. As a result, it will strengthen our country too!
Why did we call it "Operation HUG?" Hugs are much more powerful than ideas, thoughts or even words. They put strong feelings into action. It's easy, but ill-advised, for soldiers to focus exclusively on their work. It's important to stop each day and demonstrate to their family how much they mean to the solder. After all, strong familes help strengthen soldiers. In addition, no military "Goodbye" or ""Welcome Home" is complete without some deep, heart-to-heart hugs!
For the holiday, Global Hug Your Kids Day, on July 19, 2010, here are 3 easy ways you can get involved:
1. Join
us for: Hug Your Kids Balloon Release - A celebration
of family, military and memorial hugs.
Monday, July 19, at 6 PM at the Peninsula Pavilion at Sparks Marina, 300
Howard Drive in Sparks.
Bill and Connie of Alice 96.5 will be our hosts, and we'll have a short,
fun, FREE family event including the Hug Your Kids Dance and our classic
Biggest Little Hug photo of families hugging (NOT a big group hug.)
Pink and blue earth-friendly balloons are $1@. Camouflage earth-friendly balloons are FREE for military families, sponsored by the NMSA. There will be pens available to decorate and write names of loved ones on the balloons. It will be a beautiful and dramatic sight to see all the balloons reflecting on the lake as they float over it.
Afterward, families can go to nearby Legends at Sparks Marina for dinner or some back-to-school shopping.
Sponsored by Work-Life Priorities, City of Sparks and Legends at Sparks Marina.
Interested in hosting or organizing a balloon release or other event? Contact us!
2. Have a Military Hug Balloon Release. You can invite military families to gather, write the name of the soldier they wish they could hug on a camouflage-patterned balloon, hear a short speaker and then en masse, release the balloons. Wow!
3. Upcoming free Hug Your Kids e-book. We are working on a free e-book called Hug Your Kids Today, that has drawings of families hugging and plays our song, "Hug Your Kids Today." Several of the drawings feature military families. We will announce when it is ready to view.
We don't need a sponsor but it sure would help! Contact us today! Thanks!
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YEAR-AROUND IDEAS We've found a great little book for children called A Paper Hug (Paperback) by Stephanie Skolmoski (Author), with Anneliese Bennion (Illustrator.) The author is a military mom who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. The book is proudly Made in the USA. This book is about a boy whose dad is about to be deployed and the boy makes a "paper hug" for his dad to carry in his pocket during his tour. It's been well received by all types of military families across the U.S. We are looking for: 2. Volunteers with a heart for military families, to help with this project. 3. Speaking opportunities for the Hug Your Kids founder, Michelle Nichols, to discuss the work-life challenges of soldiers and their families, especially pre-deployment, how those challenges impact the performance of the soldiers, and strategies to strengthen soldiers with children and their families before, during and after deployment. If you're interested, please contact us asap! (775) 303-8201 or hugs@hugyourkidstoday.com |