Olympic Park Institute Hosts National Military Family Association’s Operation Purple® Retreat

Environmental Education Campus Hosts Retreat for Military Combat Veterans and Their Families for Weekend of Family Fun, Stewardship, and Learning

Olympic National Park, WA (October 13, 2009) — Last weekend, Olympic Park Institute, a campus of NatureBridge, hosted an Operation Purple Family Retreat, a program of the National Military Family Association. With stewardship as the retreat’s theme, family members participated in activities focused on their relationships to their families, their environment, and themselves.

The four day Operation Purple Family Retreats are free to military families thanks to support from the Sierra Club and The Sierra Club Foundation. They are designed to bring families together in National Park settings such as Olympic Park Institute. Programs emphasize environmental education and provide families with fun family-focused activities that allow them to strengthen and renew relationships while exploring their natural surroundings. 

“National Parks are vital to what it means to be American. We are so proud to be working to help families that have served their country use the National Parks as a way to reconnect,” said Tom Sanford, executive director of Olympic Park Institute. “We did a lot of family and community team building over the weekend, but the best part was just seeing these families together having such a good time.”  

Over the course of the weekend, Operation Purple Family Retreat participants were paired with Olympic Park Institute field science educators who guided groups through activities such as nature hikes, canoeing, campfires, beach exploration, arts and crafts, and challenge activities.

“Helping families overcome the challenges of reuniting after deployment has made this an incredibly rewarding experience,” said Olympic Park Institute Educator Nora Beem.

The retreat also included resiliency-building programs designed for military families and children facing the challenges of multiple deployments by a team from UCLA and Harvard Medical School. This portion of the weekend’s activities provided structured activities, which highlighted areas of strength and resilience in the family to promote family growth.

“The National Military Family Association is proud to provide these retreats in such a beautiful setting. Pairing our Nation’s military heroes with our Nation’s treasure, the National Parks, is an incredible way to honor both," stated the Association’s Executive Director, Joyce Raezer.

About Olympic Park Institute

Olympic Park Institute is a campus of NatureBridge, the largest nonprofit residential education partner of the National Park Service. Its mission is to inspire personal connections to the natural world and responsible actions to sustain it. In partnership with Olympic National Park, the Institute provides residential environmental education programs to more than 6,000 diverse youth annually. More than 25 percent of participants and half of participating schools receive scholarship assistance. www.olympicparkinstitute.org

About National Military Family Association

Military families serve our country with pride, honor, and quiet dedication. The National Military Family Association is the leading nonprofit organization committed to strengthen and protect the families of the men and women currently serving, retired, wounded or fallen. We provide families of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Commissioned Corps of the USPHS and NOAA with information, work to get them the benefits they deserve, and offer programs that improve their lives. Our 40 years of service and accomplishments have made us a trusted resource for military families and the Nation's leaders. To learn more, visit www.MilitaryFamily.org

About the Sierra Club

Sierra Club is America's oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization. Inspired by nature, we are 1.3 million of your friends and neighbors, working together to protect our communities and the planet. The Sierra Club's Military Families Outdoors program provides military veterans, service members and their families with the mental and physical benefits of outdoor experiences.  We are proud to connect military families making the greatest sacrifices for our country with the healing powers of our natural heritage. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org/military.

Media contact:
Susan Turner
Communications Director, NatureBridge
sturner@naturebridge.org

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