Military Families Program

Are you a military family on the island of Oahu?  YMCA Camp Erdman offers many programs to service our service men and women.  From one-week resident camps for kids 6-17 to weekend family camps and retreats, YMCA Camp Erdman is proud to partner with various organizations to help serve the military community.

National Military Family Association (Operation Purple)

War affects everyone—not just the service member, but the spouse and children as well. During the summer, children of deployed military parents are invited to YMCA Camp Erdman for the Operation Purple Summer Camp Program. This free, week-long, overnight camp is open to all children of any uniformed service member, active duty or reserve component to help them experience carefree fun while also learning coping skills to deal with war-related stress and fostering relationships with others who know what they are going through.

Operation Purple Family Retreats are free, four day retreats created to help families reconnect after deployment. This unique experience is designed to bring families together for four days in a national park setting. With an emphasis on environmental education, military families will participate in fun, family-focused activities that will allow them to strengthen and renew relationships while exploring their natural surroundings.

History of Operation Purple

As an organization dedicated to serving military families, the National Military Family Association (NMFA) recognized the need for more resources to support military children. In 2004, the Operation Purple® Summer Camp Program was created as a way to help military children struggling with having a parent deployed.  The national program — named for the color the military uses to signify inclusion of all branches of service — started with 10 camps and 1,000 children in 2004. During the 2004 pilot season of Operation Purple, NMFA implemented 12 different Operation Purple camps across the country. Due to the success of this camp program, NMFA expanded the program and has hosted more than 10,000 military children who have or will experience deployment.

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Operation: Military Kids

YMCA Camp Erdman has partnered with Operation: Military Kids (OMK) to provide family camps for military families.  These family camps are designed to give military families various resources and outlets and provide some much needed recreation time.  For more information on OMK and their programs, click here.

• Operation: Military Kids Family Camp  April 9-11, 2010
  

The Hawaii Operation: Military Kids Family Camp is intended to provide much needed time for Reserve, Guard and Active Duty families to connect after a deployment or before an impending deployment. Most of the costs assocated with attending camp, such as food, lodging and activities are paid for by Operation: Military kids, so we are able to offer the camp at affordable rates for families.

Armed Services YMCA

The Armed Services YMCA (ASY) and YMCA Camp Erdman have been partners in various capacities over the past year.  Camp Erdman has hosted two ASY family camps and the ASY sent over 60 kids to our Summer Resident Camp program on full scholarships in 2009 thanks to the generous support of the Sierra Club.  For more information on the Armed Services YMCA, click here.