Mom’s Time Away, Kids Get to Play Day
When people think of the military community, they often think of those enlisted and not about the military
families who are greatly affected their deployment. According to the Department of Defense, eight in nine
military spouses are wives.
According to research by RAND, “during deployment, 68 percent of youth that are dealing with life without
a deployed parent and helping their caregiver deal with life without the deployed parent were the most
difficult challenges. Another frequently endorsed challenge was not having people in the community
understand what deployment is like.”
“Research shows military spouses and children have anxiety levels that are higher than their civilian
peers and their stress builds as the cumulative months of deployment add up. Helping families manage
the stresses of military life early on can prevent some of the destructive outcomes that carry a far heavier
price tag.”
These wives must manage their homes and raise their children while their spouses are deployed, and
often maintain full-time employment. Often these moms need some time for themselves or time with other
moms who can relate to their situation.
Children of deployed parents also face many challenges. While the community cannot take away the fact
that their parent is absent, it can work to make their lives a little easier. Often these children need to have
time with other children who have similar experiences and can relate to their situation.
A great way to meet the needs of both the parents and children is to host a “Mom’s Time Away, Kids
Time to Play” day.
Note: Many youth-based organizations require that adult volunteers have a criminal background check prior to
serving with their agency. Volunteers must attest confirm, represent, and warrant that they have never been
convicted of or charged with a violent crime, child abuse or neglect, child pornography, child abduction, kidnapping,
rape or any sexual offense, nor have they ever been ordered by a court to receive psychiatric or psychological
treatment in connection therewith. Before choosing to organize a project working with children or for youth-based
agencies, please make sure that volunteers in your group meet the aforementioned requirements and are prepared to
have a full background check and perhaps fingerprinting before they are eligible to volunteer. Type of service: group volunteering, on-going/long term volunteering, done-in-one-day project,
family/guest volunteering
Duration of activity: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. (one-time or reoccurring event)
Difficulty level: moderate
Resources:
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Open space for kids to play
Toys, games, arts and crafts
Food and drink for lunch and snacks
First-aid kit
Cots or cribs for small children
Sign-in sheets and evaluation forms
Pens, markers, paper and nametags
Water
Snacks
This tool is targeted to military wives, but military husbands whose spouses are deployed and military
veteran families are most welcome.
Project instructions:
Step 1: Develop a Plan
Think about the purpose of your event and decide what kind of impact you want to make. Do you want
this to be a one-time event? Do you want it be recurring? How many military families do you want to be
involved? How many volunteers will you need? Do you want to event to have a theme to create additional
excitement for the kids and families involved?
Step 2: Identify a Partner
It is important you identify a partner organization that is already working with children, such as a local
YMCA, 4-H Youth Development Organization, day care center, etc. Explain that military spouses are
often under a great deal of stress and deserve support from their community. These organizations have
the resources, expertise and facilities which will help your project run smoothly. In addition, a partner
agency can help with guidance throughout the project as well as with volunteer recruitment.
Ideal locations will have indoor and outdoor space for kids to play. How much space you need depends
on how many children you are expecting. It is best to have more space than you need, just in case.
Make sure the nonprofit partner is equipped and ready to welcome children with disabilities.
Be sure to explain how long and how often you would like to use their space. Saturdays or Sundays are
ideal days.
Step 3: Build a Team
Recruit your friends and coworkers to help you. Remember that the personal “ask” is always the most
effective. You can recruit volunteers from places of worship, nonprofit agencies, employees of day care
centers or schools, parents of school-aged children, high school students and college students. When
recruiting college students, you may want to focus on education majors, who may have a special interest
in volunteering with children. At least one volunteer should be CPR certified.
Here are just a few ideas of the types of roles volunteers can play:
Game station (1-2 volunteers)
Have volunteers lead various games with children like one-legged races, drawing competitions
Reading station (1-2 volunteers)
Have volunteers read to children
Mentoring station (1-2 volunteers)
Have volunteers help children who go to school with homework, mentor them in English or math
Step 4: Plan the Event
Plan the event at least six weeks in advance. This will give you plenty of time to advertise to military
families and recruit volunteers, as well as gather appropriate supplies for a successful project day.
Have a target of how many volunteers and kids you would like to host. There should be at least one
volunteer for every five kids. Consult with your nonprofit partner to establish roles and receive support
whenever needed.
Be sure to secure any supplies you will need for the event. Games, cards, and arts and crafts are things
most people have in their homes. Ask volunteers to label and bring any puzzles, cards, board games or
activities they have to share. Some may be provided by the organization you are organizing the event
with. Another good resource for supplies would be day care centers. Call a local day care, explain your
event and ask if they would be willing to temporarily donate some of their toys and games. If supplies
seem to be running short, ask families who attend to bring one game or toy from home. For older kids,
consider providing a gaming station and/or movie area.
If you plan to provide a breakfast and/or lunch for the kids and moms, there are several ways to obtain
food:
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Explain your event and ask for food donations from nearby coffee shops, grocery stores or breakfast
shops
Create a budget that allows you to spend money on buying breakfast food such as coffee and donuts
Make it a potluck – have every family attending bring one item that can feed two or three people
Have volunteers meet a day before the event to have a baking party – each volunteer can bring a
large bag of flour, sugar, eggs, etc., to cook easy recipes such as banana bread and muffins
It is important you prepare in advance necessary forms for the event: liability waiver forms, sign-in sheets,
etc. Make sure the liability waiver covers all parties responsible and consult with your nonprofit agency to
inquire about other important issues such as insurance, liability, etc.
The cut-off date for both volunteers and families to register should be a week before the event.
Step 5: Market the Event
Once your event is planned, advertise to military spouses in a variety of settings. In the event description,
inform parents what meals, if any, are provided, the time and date of the event, and what kids and
parents should expect. Great places to start advertising are local places of worship, day care centers,
schools, offices, gyms, the local newspaper and radio.
Be creative and try to reach as many outlets as possible. Tap into organizations that support and serve
the military such as Army Family Readiness Groups, Operation Homefront, and other organizations found
under the Additional Resources of this toolkit. Ask the organizations to post the event to their bulletin
boards, send emails and spread the word to their network.
Include an email and phone number for families to register for the event. In addition to the number kids
attending, request information pertaining to any food allergies or special needs that kids have.
Step 6: Have a Contingency Plan
Monitor the registration as you get closer to the event. Two weeks before the event, if you realize there
are not enough volunteers per child, do not accept more RSVPs. If you do not have many military
families, do not accept more volunteers. Inform those who were denied about the next scheduled event
and give them priority registration.
It is important to think through theoretical scenarios to make sure you are prepared for anything that
happens. Have a plan of action in the event that things don’t go right. Ask questions such as:
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What is the minimum number of volunteers you can have?
What will we do if some volunteers don’t show up?
What will we do if some families don’t show up?
What will we do if a child gets hurt?
What will we do if we run out of food?
Step 7: Review Last Minute Details and Communicate with Volunteers
Reconnect with volunteers the week before the event. Remind them of their responsibilities, dates and
times of the event. Have volunteers help set up at least 45 minutes before the start time.
Assign specific roles to volunteers, such as event planners, volunteers who manage snacks/food, game
and activity leaders, set-up committee and clean-up committee. When volunteers don’t have specific
tasks to complete, they should be playing and interacting with the kids.
Make sure there is an accessible bathroom and water fountain.
Step 8: Implement the Project
As volunteers come in early, they should be directed to a check-in table. Assign a volunteer to be
responsible for the check-in table and provide all necessary instructions.
All parents have to sign in and sign liability waivers. As families come in, they should sign in their children,
make nametags for their kids, fill out a special needs section (i.e., disability, special condition or food
allergy), and fill out emergency contact information. Ensure you get ALL the information you need about
the parents and the children. Be sure to have two separate sign-in sheets for volunteers and children.
What should kids do? Have fun. After breakfast, start the day off by introducing the kids and doing some
kind of interactive game or activity. Include time inside and outside for kids to talk, play games, play with
toys and do arts and crafts. If you cannot include two meals, make sure to tell the moms to send a
bagged lunch for the kids.
What should moms do? Anything they want. When moms drop off their kids, have a table set up with
breakfast food and drinks. This is a great opportunity for moms to chat with other moms who are facing
similar situations. After breakfast, moms can spend the day as they choose. While volunteers entertain
the kids, moms can run errands, look for jobs, get a pedicure, take a nap, meet with friends, go to a movie
or anything they want.
Step 9: Wrap-up
About 15 minutes before the event is supposed to end, have volunteers start basic cleaning. As parents
arrive back at the site, make sure they sign-out their children. Keep in mind that the event does not end
until every child is picked up and signed-out. After the event has ended, have volunteers fill out evaluation
forms.
Step 10: Recognize Your Volunteers
Everyone likes to be recognized for his or her hard work and achievements, especially volunteers. Show
how much you appreciate them and they are more likely to participate in following events. The following
are some suggestions on how you can recognize your volunteers.
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Verbally recognize your volunteers’ efforts, but also send a personalized note thanking them.
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Plan to recognize your volunteers at your next special event.
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Recognize volunteer efforts through the media. Contact your Volunteer Leader and submit a press
release and photo or write a letter to the local newspaper.
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Have a celebration recognizing their accomplishments.
Step 11: Reflect and Learn
After the event, it is important to reflect on the experience and think about the impact of the project on the
community, as well as what you learned about yourself and others. Here are some suggested activities:
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Tell your colleagues about something you learned and how you will continue to help others.
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Lead a group discussion with your volunteers with questions such as: Why did you volunteer today?
What did you learn about the military, military families, and the effect of a deployment on kids and
spouses? What is one thing that you will remember most about this service activity? How can you
continue to make a difference in your community?
Additional Resources
Military Family Resources
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www.nmfa.org
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http://www.bluestarfam.org/
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http://www.operationhomefront.net/
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www.militaryonesource.com
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www.militaryfamily.org
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http://marriedtothearmy.com
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www.armyfrg.org/skins/frg/home.aspx?AllowSSL=true
Recruiting Volunteers and Other Resources
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HandsOn Network www.handsonnetwork.org
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Community Blueprint www.the-communityblueprint.org