About Us

About Military Child of the Year® Award

The annual awards will recognize seven outstanding young people ages 13 to 18. Six of them will represent a branch of the armed forces — the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and National Guard — for their scholarship, volunteerism, leadership, extracurricular involvement, and other criteria while facing the challenges of military family life. The seventh award is the Military Child of the Year® Award for Innovation presented by Booz Allen Hamilton. This award goes to a military child who has designed a bold and creative solution to address a local, regional or global challenge.

All seven Military Child of the Year® Award recipients will be flown with a parent or guardian to Washington, D.C., to be recognized at the April 2019 gala, during which senior leaders of each branch of service will present the awards. They also will receive $10,000 each, a laptop computer, and other donated gifts.  In addition, the Military Child of the Year® Award for Innovation recipient will work with a team of Booz Allen employees to develop a plan to scale the project, drawing on technology and strategic thinking.

More about the 2018 Military Child of the Year® Award Recipients:

• The seven recipients have had a change of station a combined 29 times.
• The seven recipients have lived through 225 months of deployments.
• Collectively, the seven recipients have logged 2900 volunteer hours in the 12 months before nominations.
• Of the seven, 4 are seniors in high school
• Two are enrolled in dual High school and College courses
• One Eagle Scout
• One award-winning competitive Irish dancer
• One played in a World Baseball Tournament in South Korea
• One has been in the Duke Talent Identification Program since 3^rd grade and scored 97 or above in state math exams this year
• One was selected for the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists Award of Excellence
• One whose hobbies include raising chickens and gold mining

About Operation Homefront

Founded in 2002, Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive – not simply struggle to get by – in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefront expenditures go directly to programs that support tens of thousands of military families each year. Operation Homefront provides critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing and family support services to prevent short-term needs from turning into chronic, long-term struggles. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the support from thousands of volunteers, Operation Homefront proudly serves America’s military families. To follow the award progress, go to https://www.facebook.com/OperationHomefront.