Purple Up! for military families

On April 15, 2017, join Michigan 4-H Military Partnerships in wearing purple to show your support for our military families.

Show your support of children whose parents are serving in the military.
Show your support of children whose parents are serving in the military.

April is the Month of the Military Child, an annual awareness campaign that recognizes the sacrifices made by military families and their children. In partnership with many other states across the United States, Michigan 4-H Military Partnerships is participating in the seventh annual “Purple Up!” for Military Kids event. To show your support of children whose parents are serving in the military, Michigan State University Extension and Michigan 4-H are asking residents throughout Michigan to Purple Up! on April 15, 2017, by wearing purple in support of our military families.

The color purple is chosen as the signature color because it symbolizes all branches of the military: It is the combination of Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue, Marine red and Navy blue. Michigan 4-H Military Partnerships hopes everyone will take this opportunity to appreciate and celebrate all of our state’s young heroes who sacrifice as their parents serve.

Looking for ways to spread the word about Purple Up? Be creative! The goal is for military families to actually see the support of their local community. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Ask news and media outlets to feature a story about Purple Up! for Military Kids.
  • Involve schools, sports teams, youth organizations, clubs, daycare programs and afterschool programs by having them wear purple to show their support for military youth and families.
  • Ask local business to Purple up! by displaying purple decorations or allowing their employees to wear purple. Take advantage of the ready-made “Purple Up” flier and “Purple Up” poster.
  • Find other ways to support military families in your community by contacting your local veterans groups or support organizations such as Operation Homefront to see how you can help.

No matter how you celebrate Month of the Military Child, be sure to encourage everyone in your community to wear purple. Help share the support with military families across the state by taking photos of people participating in Purple Up! for Military Kids in your community and sending them to Michigan 4-H Military Partnerships at kmoyses@anr.msu.edu (please use “Purple Up photos” in the subject line). We’ll share them on our Michigan 4-H Military Family Facebook page so military youth and families everywhere will see them.

Let’s show our military families how much we appreciate their service! For more information about programs and resources available to military families through Michigan 4-H, please visit Michigan 4-H Military Family Programs.

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