Military youth participate in Wolfpack baseball game

Media contact: Scott Enroughty, 919.515.8500 or scott_enroughty@ncsu.edu

As N.C. State University’s baseball team took to the field against Wake Forest on Sunday, April 3, military youth and their families representing all branches of North Carolina’s military were on hand to participate in the second annual Military Appreciation Day Baseball Game.

Military youth attended the game for free and ran out on the field with Wolfpack team members for the singing of the national anthem. In addition, game day fans had a chance to see a helicopter and equipment display provided by the National Guard, try their hand at a climbing wall and see Airmen parachute into Doak Field.

N.C. 4-H Youth Development’s Operation: Military Kids (OMK) program organized the military youth who participated in the “Run With the Pack” during the opening ceremonies. Twenty-two military youth ages 5-17 were selected to run out with the Wolfpack baseball players as the starting line-up was announced.

This was second year that NC OMK and NCSU Athletics collaborated to offer military youth a chance to “Run With the Pack.” Military youth are children of reserve, guard or active duty members of the U.S. military service. The baseball event is sponsored by N.C. State’s Army ROTC program.

Gov. Beverly Perdue has proclaimed April the “Month of the Military Child” in North Carolina, to honor the children of National Guard Soldiers and Airmen and those of all members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

North Carolina is home to more than 123,000 active duty, reserve and guard troops, whose families include more than 109,000 military youth ages’ birth to 18.

4-H in North Carolina serves the state’s military youth through a number of initiatives, including summer camping programs, 4-H programs and activities, a Mobile Technology Lab where youth can create messages for their deployed parents, Speak Out for Military Kids that trains youth to understand and advocate for military youth issues and to information to citizens on building community capacity networks in support of military families. For more information on 4-H military youth programs, visit www.nc4h.org/military/index.html.