A volunteer training for the Arkansas National Guard Child and Youth Program has been scheduled for this month to add to the program's bank of qualified volunteers in south Arkansas.
The Arkansas National Guard, made up of approximately 8,600 soldiers and airmen, is a part of the United States military which answers to both the governor and the president. The Child and Youth Program is one of a number of the branch's outreach efforts.
"Our program provides programming for military kids, for school-aged youth K-12," explained James Garrett, child and youth program coordinator.
To be a volunteer with the program, one must participate in a four-hour training session, and two are being offered on June 28 for south Arkansas residents.
"We do day camps, retreats -- a variety of education programming for military kids," Garrett said. "We travel to different sites and recruit volunteers in different areas, so I can contact those volunteers we've trained."
This month's training sessions are open to anyone, including those who haven't served in the U.S. Armed Forces, Garrett said.
"A lot of our (youth program) events happen on drill weekends when we do military training, so a lot of times we need volunteers who are non-military civilians," he said.
Volunteers are asked to attend youth program events to facilitate educational and recreational activities for the children who attend. Garrett said children whose parents are in the military have often had a different experience of growing up than those whose parents aren't, which the training helps volunteers to learn about.
"One of the biggest differences I notice in military kids -- sometimes they have to move around, or their parents are gone for long periods of time, whether it be in state, helping with a hurricane, or an overseas deployment, or, a lot of them have a long annual training," Garrett said. "The parents being away for that period of time is stressful, so the kids are having to do things that they're not used to doing. They're able to grow up a little faster, become a little more mature."
Garrett said this month's volunteer training sessions will need at least five people to register or they will be postponed. He said he's hoping some weekend or day camps can be planned in the region sometime in the latter part of this year once more volunteers have been trained in the area.
"We want to have a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) day camp and do some resiliency training -- a variety of educational activities," he said.
Nine people in El Dorado have been trained to volunteer with the youth program, and Garrett said the Arkansas National Guard is hoping to recruit more. There's no limit to the number who can attends the training sessions this month.
Volunteers are also able to work with children outside of the region they live in, Garrett said. The youth program coordinators will send out information on upcoming youth program events to volunteers, who can sign up to help at camps and retreats throughout the state.
"They're more than welcome," he said.
Two training sessions are scheduled for June 28 at the armory at 418 N. Calion Rd., one from noon to 4 p.m. and a second from 5 to 9 p.m. To register, visit arngcyp_eldoradovtjun2022.eventbrite.com.