BALTIMORE — Since September 11th, more than 2 million American men and women have deployed, and 44 percent of those troops are parents.
Children of military families face many challenges, and now there's a unique camp designed just for military kids to be kids.
Jennifer Malone knows it's not easy on her two daughters, Kaitlin and Allison, to have a dad in the military.
"For them, it's always the unknown, because they don't know is he coming? Is he going? How long is he going to be gone?" Malone said.
Then, Kaitlin and her younger sister Allison found Camp Corral, which is free for military kids. Founded in 2011, the camp has grown to 19 sites in 17 states and served more than 21,000 kids. Camp directors go through mental health training to help campers open up and help build their confidence.
For Malone, she has seen the confidence level in both of her daughters continue to grow.
"I think it's given them coping skills and the independence that they would not have gotten, that I can't give them," Malone said.
Most importantly, the camp allows kids to be kids! They feature many activities, including hiking, fishing and canoeing.
Camp Corral relies soley on donations to fund its program and operations. The Golden Corral chain is the founding sponsor and continues to do in-store fundraisers every year.
