Recipient Organization
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
WEST LAFAYETTE,IN 47907
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Funds will be utilized to promote the creation and the availability of adventure camps for military teens at regional locations around the U.S., its territories, and internationally.Purdue University will create a competitive RFA process for the Cooperative Extension System to design, schedule and implement high adventure camp opportunities that will be made available to military teens ages 13-18. Camp programs will be built upon intense, engaging opportunities such as ropes courses, backpacking, rafting, boating, survival camps, etc. and will be open to military youth across all service branches and military components. State 4-H and Extension Programs can apply for a competitive grant to host adventure camps featuring the institution's specific camping expertise and location. The camps will be conducted at regional locations around the United States. Camping experiences will be offered at modest expense to the military youth and family.Camp opportunities will be planned and executed under the direction of an individual at each university committed to including at least two additional non-extension partners identified per type of camp. Camp opportunities funded under this RFA will support new opportunities and those already planned events/activities in the successful respondent's 2024 camp program. They will expand outreach and access to military youth. Each successful respondent will submit data, including, but not limited to, budget reconciliation, reflection of partner involvement, evidence of expanded ability for outreach to underserved communities, required evaluation, and participant demographics.??
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Purdue University has three goals through this project:Goal 1)Lead the consortium of states to administer and manage teen adventure camps that build life skills and protective factors for military-connected youth.Goal 2)Develop a mechanism to provide programs for military-connected youth with the consortium of LGUs. Programs include residential high-adventure camping experiences (based on needs and grounded in research) for military-connected youth in the United States.Goal 3)Design & distribute a reporting system to capture the impacts of these opportunities.
Project Methods
During the award period October 1, 2023- September 30, 2024, Purdue University, via Casey Mull, Ph.D., will administer a competitive RFA process to design, schedule and implement Military Teen Adventure Camp opportunities for military connected youth ages 13- 18. Adventure Camps will be residential, built upon high adventure opportunities such as ropes courses, backpacking, rafting, boating, survival camps, etc. and open to youth across all service branches including reserve component (including National Guard) families, as well as youth with physical or cognitive disabilities. State 4-H and Extension Programs will have the opportunity to apply for a competitive grant to support adventure camps featuring the institution's specific camping expertise and location. Purdue will design, market and fully implement a competitive RFA process.We will seek a streamlined agreement with NIFA to shorten fiscal and programmatic review processes.All state 4-H and Extension programs at 1862, 1890, and 1994 institutions will be invited to apply through professional listservs maintained by the 4-H Program Leaders Working Group and the 4-H Military Partnership, and USDA-NIFA. Additionally, the invitation will be highlighted at the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth DevelopmentProfessionals conference to ensure widest reach. The subsequent adventure camps will be conducted at regional locations around the U.S. providing camping experiences offered at modest expense to military youth and families. Purdue will collaborate with NIFA/USDA and MC & FP to convene an external review panel to determine the successful RFA respondents. For purposes of this RFA, camp is broadly defined as multiple day residential experiences of varying lengths such as weekend events, special focus camps (wilderness survival, conservation, leadership, etc.), or school break retreats.Stakeholder feedback and involvement will be sought throughout the project. The Purdue University team will meet as requested with USDA-NIFA and OSD-MC&FP staff members in order finalize the RFA to meet stakeholder goals. Successful camping programs will require external partners for marketing, solicitation of campers, and program implementation.Proposed reviewers for the competitive RFA are listed below. Each has already committed to serving should this proposal be accepted. Proposed reviewers were identified by their experience with Cooperative Extension, military youth programs, and/or camping. Representatives from both 1862 and 1890 LGUs will be included on the final review panel. During the orientation to the peer-review process, reviewers will receive a brief training to the process to maintain objectivity and prevent any conflicts of interest. Purdue University staff will work with USDA-NIFA officials to ensure all conflict-of-interest best practices are met. At the conclusion of the peer-review process, the Principal Investigator and other Purdue staff will compile the feedback of the panel and notify all applicants of the results, removing any individual information.With camps of this nature, weather concerns can interfere with planned activities and sometimes requires rescheduling of camps. Our prior experience with awards contributed to the requirement that each institution register and maintain a waiting list of attendees once registration reaches capacity, to assure camps are at or near capacity. Military families face unique challenges with changes in orders, disrupting family plans and resulting in insufficient notification regarding camp registration commitments. A required deposit helps negate last- minute cancellations.The evaluation component of each camp will utilize the American Camp Association Youth Outcomes Battery (YOB) which is designed to measure eight developmental outcomes inyouth programs. PIs who have a pre-established evaluation protocol for camps conducted in their state may request the opportunity to amend their approved IRB protocol to add the YOB.