ANNUAL REPORT 2016

The National Guard (NG) Child and Youth Program (CYP) promotes and sustains the

quality of life and resilience of NG children and youth by providing secure, timely, flexible,

high-quality support services and enrichment programs. NG CYP provides supervision

during out of school hours for NG children and youth and support prevention initiatives that

mitigate youth violence, gang activities, substance abuse and other at-risk behaviors.

Education: Help provide life-skills education to the children and youth of the NG, their

caregivers and community supporters.

Access: Help provide equal access to federal and state benefits that suppor t children and

families, counseling, education, child care and other resources needed to foster a healthy, stable

and secure environment.

Opportunity: Create oppor tunities for par ticipation in programs, events, and activities

available across the spectrum of government, community and the private sector.

Communication: Build a sense of belonging to the NG community by creating secure

opportunities to network with other youth, parents and youth program facilitators in the

community, state, and across the nation.

Resilience: Infuse resilience standards into all NG children and youth programs.

Outreach: Build and sustain contact with parents and children of the NG in order to

create. awareness of available support services and programs.

2 Pre, 1 Sustainment, and 1 Post YRRP Events

Breakfast with Santa

Microsoft SPARK Training

American Red Cross Babysitting/CPR training

4th Annual USA Science & Engineering Festival

Summer Safety Kick Off and Toddler “R” Us

5th Annual Youth Symposium

Teen Resiliency Workshop

3 Summer Youth Day Camps

Family Day at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling

250 Backpacks with school supplies

NEW INITIATIVES During this exciting program year, the Youth participated in

several new initiatives. With support from community part-

ners and military sponsors, we were able to provide oppor-

tunities for our young dependents, otherwise not available

through every day means.

Microsoft SPARK Training was a site visit that promoted

interactive training using their software to design and devel-

op their own games. The American Red Cross local chapter provided babysitting training in the tech-

niques and business of babysitting, as well as CPR/First Aid for infants and toddlers. These two-day

courses awarded the youth with 2-year certification in

Babysitting and CPR/First Aid. UDC’s 4-H Program

provided a STEM workshop before a fieldtrip to the 4th

annual Science and Engineering Festival in Washing-

ton, DC. Youth participated in many experiments, and

met Grand Hank, a master scientist nationally known

for his hip-hop influence of science, technology, engi-

neering, and math—STEM. Throughout the year, the

program participated in several family events, providing

activities and trainings for Pre– and Post Yellow Rib-

bon events, Breakfast with Santa, Summer Kickoff and Toddlers “R” Us. To close out the year, we

attended the Annual Joint Family Day for the DCNG, and hosted our annual Back2School Back-

packs, providing over 250 backpacks to school-age dependents this year.

TEEN COUNCIL The Teen Council is made up of 8 youth dependents of the DCNG, both Army and Air. The council

met 4 times this year to discuss new projects and ways to improve program components. They assist

in planning, organizing and developing youth events.

This year, they led, planned and prepared the Summer

activities. During the annual Youth Symposium, they

developed the event agenda, icebreakers, and helped

other youth participants in workshop exercises. They

also led the charge in planning for this year’s day

camps which included a Kiddie Camp for ages 6-9,

Youth Camp for ages 9-12, and Teen Camp for ages

13-17 years of age. All the camps focused on fun and

working together (teambuilding).

SUMMER YOUTH CAMPS

This year would not be complete without the youth summer camp experi-

ence. Our youth decided to focus on three different camps for each age group.

Each group had specific age

appropriate activities that fo-

cused on fun and teambuilding.

These high impact camps

proved to be an awesome and

exhilarating experience for the

youth where activities included

events from low ropes, giant

swing and the Terrapin tower

that help build confidence with

every new challenge. The

youth had to work on the 3 C’s

(Communication, cooperation

and creativity) to help them excel through the activities. They were forced to

rely on one another and had to persevere, be resilient and utilize relentless ener-

gy to achieve their goals. The youth were excited each and every time. In the

midst many new friendships were forged. .

“I was afraid of heights,

but these ropes are so

much fun.” ~Promise

Whitmore (daughter of

SSgt Paulene Foster,

Kiddie and Youth explore new heights as they take on

the Terrapin Explorer Ropes Course.

YOUTH SYMPOSIUM

On 29-30 July, the Youth Symposium was held at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River for

DCNG youth, ages 12 and older. The theme “Resiliency: Self-Love” highlighted an array of topics,

from peer pressure and substance, integrity and self love, to behavior

health ad stress management. The keynote guest, Thomas Brothers

Speak. This is the life story of twins brothers who share their walk of

life through captivating, energiz-

ing and enlightening forum. With

groups and individuals, the

Thomas brothers offered tips and

lessons on the importance of re-

siliency and integrity. The youth

furthered continued their training

with a two-hour session on resiliency. Another highlight was

the Four Lenses color training in which youth had the chance to

analyze and assess their unique strengths and motivations based

on individual personalities that help with solid understanding of

the innate talent and potential of individuals.

The Guard Teen Council expressed

their gratitude towards the keynote

speakers, Thomas Bros Speak.

“This is my first time coming to the Youth

Symposium. It was educational and fun.”

~Elias Lartey (son of 1LT Edward Lartey,

Chaplain Corps, DCARNG)

Resiliency TrAINING

During the 2-hour Resilience training, 16 youth learned that resilience is about the ability to

grow, thrive, and bounce back. In addition, they studied the 6 core competencies: self-awareness,

self-regulation, optimism, mental agility, strengths of character, and connection. Afterwards, the

youth participated in a Hunt the Good Stuff exercise, during which they were divided into 6 groups

and presented a scenario to demonstrate that selected competency. Participants were also given a

take-home workbook to continue studying and practicing the basics of resilience.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NATIONAL GUARD

YOUTH PROGRAM PARTNERS

The District of Columbia National Guard Child and Youth Program is proud to

have the support of many partners. Our partners have supported the youth of the

District of Columbia National Guard in supporting our mission and our goals.

Operation Homefront provides emergency assistance for

service members and their families. They donated 250

backpacks filled with school supplies for the students. The

program also provided toys and clothing during the holi-

day season for DCNG youth.

Our Military Kids provides substantial support in the

form of grants to the children of National Guard and Mili-

tary Reserve personnel who are currently deployed over-

seas, as well as the children of Wounded Warriors in all

branches. The grants from Our Military Kids pay for par-

ticipation in sports, fine arts, camps, and tutoring pro-

grams that nurture and sustain children while a parent is

away in service to our country or recovering from injury.

They gave five scholarships to our youth and provided

materials for our camp projects.

University of the District of Columbia Center for 4-H &

Youth Development has provided a partnership with

DCNG Child and Youth Program in implementing 4-H ac-

tivities to include camping, STEM education, Healthy

Living initiatives, and technology education. This fiscal

year 4-H & Youth Development provided programing dur-

ing our Annual Youth Symposium in Patuxent River, MD.

University of the District of Columbia Center for 4-H &

Youth development provided support for the youth of

military families before, during and after deployment for a portion of the year. Uni-

versity of the District of Colombia impacted our youth by affording much needed

creative outlets and furnishing organized arts and crafts along with technological

enhancements.

VOLUNTEERS AND HOURS # of Hours # of Vol-

unteers

Number of Guard Teen Panel Volunteers 458 8

Number of Statutory Volunteers 598 13

Totals 1,056 21

ADULT

PARTICIPANTS

YOUTH

YOUTH

NG Army 169 151 461

NG Air 1 40 44

Totals 170 191 505

Sylvia Lynch

Lead Child & Youth Program Coordinator

Washington, DC

202-685-8856 (Office)

202-423-7229 (Cell)

sylvesteral.l.lynch.ctr@mail.mil

District of Columbia National Guard volunteers are a group of high energy, self-motivated

leaders that provide constant unwavering support to our Child and Youth program throughout

the year. Our volunteers lead and provide assistance during all of our activities. One of the

main projects that our volunteers lend their support to is during our Annual Holiday festivities

in which they work diligently to sort, pack and distribute our giveaways and toys. Our volun-

teers work tirelessly as chaperones, aides, security and general family support for our youth

during external and internal events. The volunteer program continues to recruit qualified and

exhilarating volunteers that persistently help grow and expand our program to reach new

heights.

DCNG Child and Youth Volunteers