By Katie Pratt

(March 25, 2015) — This summer, military families can have a great bonding experience at one of three Kentucky camps aimed at strengthening family ties in a fun-filled atmosphere.

The camps are part of two grants that the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service received from the U.S. Department of Defense and Kentucky’s System to Enhance Early Development. This year’s camp offerings are:

·         The “MAMMOTH” Military Family Adventure- June 12-14; Mammoth Cave Hotel in Mammoth Cave

·         Robinson Forest Military Family Early Childhood Adventure- June 26-28; UK’s Robinson Forest in Jackson

·         Live Your Adventure Military Family Camp- July 10-12; Life Adventure Center in Versailles

The camps are open to families with a member serving in any branch of active duty, Reserve or National Guard, as well as contractors and civilians from the Department of Defense who are in any phase of the deployment cycle. Priority is given to families who have experienced at least one deployment and haven’t attended a previous Kentucky Military Family Camp. While the camps are in Kentucky, they are open to military families from across the country. The camps are particularly well suited to families who were recently reunited following a deployment.

Children must be between 5 and 18 to attend the Mammoth Cave and the Life Adventure Center camps. The Robinson Forest camp is open to families with children age 6 and under.

Available spots are expected to quickly fill. Interested families can access the Kentucky camp application online at http://fcs-hes.ca.uky.edu/content/military-family-programs. The same application is used for each Kentucky camp.

Several military youth and military family camps are offered throughout the United States.  Individuals interested in the different options can visit the 4-H Military Partnerships Web page at http://4-hmilitarypartnerships.org/military-family/dod_usda/2015-military-camps/2015-camps/index.html.

For more information about any of the Kentucky camps or about volunteer opportunities, contact Tyrone Atkinson, coordinator for UK’s Family and Consumer Sciences Extension military programs, at 859-218-1546 or tcatki2@uky.edu.