Congressman Connolly Receives National “Friend of Our Military Kids” Award
One of Five Congressmen to Receive Award for Helping ‘Our Smallest Heroes” in VA and US
Congressman Gerry Connolly of Virginia was honored this week for his efforts to provide tangible support to children of National Guard and Reserve personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and the sons and daughters of all severely-injured service members.
Connolly received the “Friend of Our Military Kids” award at an event recognizing April as the Month of the Military Child. The award was presented by Our Military Kids, an organization recognizing military children as our “smallest heroes” and dedicated to supporting children and families through grants for enrichment activities and tutoring while a parent is serving overseas.
Connolly was recognized for his work to help secure federal funding for the Our Military Kids program, which has provided more than $3 million in grants to military families in Virginia and across the nation.
“Too often we forget about the sacrifices and stresses our military spouses and children face when a loved one is deployed to a war zone,” Congressman Connolly said. “I am proud to be part of an effort to provide support to these military families during these very difficult times.”
Connolly was one of only five members of Congress to receive the awards this week at a Capitol Hill ceremony which featured Virginia First Lady Maureen McDonnell, General Craig McKinley, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, and other distinguished guests. Also honored with Connolly were Congressman Jim Moran of Virginia, Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, Solomon Ortiz of Texas, and Mary Jo Kilroy of Ohio.
Our Military Kids began in 2005 as part of a pilot program with the Virginia National Guard. Since 2006, Our Military Kids has awarded more than 600 grants to military families in Virginia. In 2009, over $3 million in awards were distributed by Our Military Kids to families across America.
See further details on Our Military Kids.