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Military Families Outdoors
About Our Program
Sierra Club's MFO program provides positive outdoor experiences for Armed Forces personnel and their families by:
- Increasing opportunities for military personnel and/or their families to have quality outdoor experiences
- Providing quality outdoor environmental education during these experiences
- Networking with a diverse set of coalition partners to showcase that outdoor experiences are critical in helping heal and empower military veterans and their families
- Engaging public officials about the challenges military personnel and their families face as well as the healthful benefits of the natural world.
The MFO program provides a variety of opportunities for military service members and their families to find respite and renewal through outdoor experiences. An entire family can reconnect at a retreat; a returning veteran can participate in an experiential adventure challenge course to aid with the transition back to everyday life; and military children of deployed parents can find empowerment by going to camp.
A 2005 study by the American Institute of Research shows that children gain self-esteem and personal responsibility from outdoor experiences. The Military Family Outdoor program will provide these experiences for military children at a crucial time in their lives.
The goals of the Sierra Club's Military Families Outdoors Program are to
- help American military Veterans, Active Duty Service Members, their families, and their children cope with the trauma of deployment by experiencing the healing power of the great outdoors, and
- raise awareness of the challenges military personnel and their families face as well as the healthful benefits of outdoor experiences.
The Sierra Club is proud to connect military families making the greatest sacrifices for our country with the healing powers of the land they work so hard to defend.
In addition to the programs offered through MFO, military families can enjoy a 10% discount on all Sierra Club’s National Outings. Discover the trips being offered at: www.sierraclub.org/outings/