FARGO, N.D. — The North Dakota National Guard’s Child & Youth Program is partnering with the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University to bring a new curriculum to military children in the state. Titled “Passport Toward Success,” the program will first be used during the initial Yellow Ribbon Reintegration event for Soldiers and families from the 188th Engineer Company (Vertical), who returned home last month from a yearlong mission to Kuwait.
Twenty-five staff and volunteers will be trained to facilitate the program from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Fargo Armed Forces Reserve Center. The curriculum will be implemented soon after, with the first event taking place Oct. 6.
Passport Toward Success is designed to help military families manage the transitions and adjustments that occur as a result of a deployed service member returning home and re-entering the family unit. A collection of activities in the curriculum have been designed to help military children between the ages of 5 and 17 reconnect with their parents after a deployment and build their resiliency. The activities also provide children with opportunities to use problem-solving skills, share feelings and cooperate with others.
WHAT: Passport Toward Success Training
WHEN: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012
WHERE: Fargo Armed Forces Reserve Center, 3920 31st St. N.W., Fargo, N.D.
MEDIA: Call Beth Sandeen, lead Child & Youth Program coordinator for the North Dakota National Guard, at 701-451-6109 for more information and event coverage.
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Since the 2001 terrorist attacks on America, the North Dakota National Guard has mobilized nearly 3,900 Soldiers and more than 1,800 Airmen in support of the Global War on Terrorism. About 70 percent of all members serving today have joined since that time. Currently, more than 100 North Dakota Guardsmen are serving overseas while more than 4,000 remain in the state for emergency response and national defense. For every 10,000 citizens in North Dakota, 65 serve in the North Dakota National Guard, a rate that’s more than four times the national average.