Texas Border Business
(Edinburg, Texas) (November 14, 2017) Boys & Girls Clubs of Edinburg RGV is proud to be a designated Mission: Youth Outreach Site.
A unique partnership between the Joint Military Services and Boys & Girls Clubs of America Mission: Youth Outreach provides children ages 5-18 from Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Guard families of reserve and active duty personnel with FREE membership. In addition, free transportation is available from designated Edinburg CISD schools.
Times of national crisis can dramatically disrupt a military family’s life. Reserve, National Guard, and Active duty youth need to be able to connect with other youth in similar situations. The partnership delivers physical, emotional, social, and cultural programs for military youth living in civilian communities. Mission: Youth Outreach supports military kids coping with the stress of having a parent or parents deployed by creating a network of youth who can empathize and help them cope with their new world of being suddenly “military.”
“When military members serve our country, their families serve too. We believe it’s our civic and patriotic duty to come together and raise awareness about the issues facing military youth,” said Sabrina Walker Hernandez, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Edinburg RGV. “I as the wife of a soldier and mother of military-connect children understand the importance of supporting military families.”
On average, military youth move six to nine times before high school graduation, adjusting to new teachers, schoolmates, culture and even academic standards, increasing their risk to not graduate on time. Often, separation from parents and friends causes increased anxiety and stress in kids and teens. A recent study found that military youth in elementary school were two and a half times more likely than their peers to score at high risk for emotional and behavioral problems. Even so, a majority of military-connected youth live in civilian communities, away from important resources found on-installation that are designed specifically to address these needs.
