April is the Month of the Military Child, a time to recognize that “Military Kids Serve Too”. They are strong and resilient – but military kids make sacrifices and live under circumstances many of us cannot comprehend. There are nearly 45,000 amazing military-connected kids in Colorado! April 12, 2024 is “Purple Up! for Military Kids Day” in Colorado – a day set aside for the entire state to show our support and appreciation for military kids by wearing purple and doing special things to recognize the youth. The Purple Up! Day concept was started by New Hampshire 4-H a number of years ago – and is now celebrated around the world, not just by 4-H but also by DoD, military service branches, school districts, communities and civic organizations. Please encourage your 4-H families and communities to join us in celebrating Colorado military kids in April.
Resources for county use (you may personalize most of the below documents to say “Month of the Military Child” for April or “Colorado Purple Up! for Military Kids Day” for April 12:
- 6 Social Media posts
- Article to personalize or use how you wish
- A list of Purple Up! ideas in case youth and clubs would like to do more thank wearing purple that day (it’s a great civic engagement project)
- Colorado is Military Kid Strong
- A Purple Up! Save the date slide
- Purple Up! Sample Proclamation that can personalized and requested to sign by County Commissioners, School Boards, Mayors, City Council’s, etc.
- An invitation to the Month of The Military Child and Purple Up! Recognition event at the state capital on April 3. Everyone is welcome to join us. Please just RSVP to Vanessa so we know about how many to arrange for.
If you have questions or need any more information or ideas celebrating Month of the Military Child and/or Purple Up! Day, please contact Vanessa.Tranel@colostate.edu.
Thank you for your support and appreciation in helping us appreciate our military kids!
4‑H reaches nearly six million young people through Cooperative Extension – a community of more than 100 public universities and 3,000 local offices. Programs are delivered by more than 3,500 4‑H professionals and more than 500,000 volunteers.
4‑H’s hands-on approach is proven to grow life skills like confidence, independence, resilience and compassion through stages and developed through experiences, not instruction.
The result? Kids who are empowered with the skills to lead for a lifetime.
4‑H empowers young people to be true leaders. True leaders are young people who have confidence; know how to work well with others; can endure through challenges; and will stick with a job until it gets done. In 4‑H, we believe true leaders aren’t born – they’re grown.
