Operation Give a Hug Provides Comfort to Military Children during Deployments

Macomb, MI (PRWEB) April 20, 2006 –- April is officially the "Month of the Military Child," a legacy of former Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger who made this designation to acknowledge the contributions and sacrifices made by military children. Operation Give a Hug works to provide comfort to these children who are missing parents during military deployments.

At any given time, more than 200,000 children have a parent deployed overseas with the United States military. Having a parent gone for a year has a tremendous impact on a child's life. Many young children do not have the verbal or coping skills to deal with such a situation. This separation can also impact the deployed parent, who may be concerned that the child left behind will not remember him or her.

Operation Give a Hug was founded by Susan Agustin, a military spouse and mother to a preschooler, to help comfort young children by keeping them connected to their deployed parents. Through donations, the organization is able to send military children special dolls to hug while their parent is away. Each soft stuffed doll has a photo sleeve face so that the child can insert a photo of the one s/he misses. This creates a unique way for the child to keep the deployed parent close.

Since its inception in September 2004, Operation Give a Hug has distributed dolls across the country and overseas to military children who need comfort. Dolls are provided to children through family readiness groups, family liaison officers, school counselors, casualty assistance officers, Fisher House, and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS).

Operation Give a Hug is an all-volunteer, non-profit program sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Tacoma Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. Additional information can be found at www.operationgiveahug.org or by calling 253-820-6859.

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Press Contact: Christine Mathis
Company Name: Operation Give a Hug
Email: christinemathis@comcast.net
Phone: 253-964-1590
Website: www.operationgiveahug.org