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 2018 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 Booz Allen Hamilton team to develop a plan to scale the award recipient’s project — drawing on technology and strategic thinking as a part of the corporation’s competitive Summer Games
The average Military Child of the Year® Award Nominee *:
- Has moved four times or more.
- Experienced at least one parent deploy for 29 months or more.
- Volunteered with service groups an average of 370 hours during the year.
- Maintained above average grades, often with honors.
- Excelled in sports, theatre and/or music.
- Held leadership positions in school and community groups.
*2017 nominee average
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.
