If you're the parent of children affected by military deployments, check this out: Operation Purple is offering a week of free summer camp for military kids whose parents are or have been deployed, or whose parents will be deployed soon. The camps are offered through the National Military Family Association and run throughout the summer.

In addition to the typical summer camp activities, campers will learn coping skills to better deal with a parent's deployment. Camps are located throughout the U.S., at 62 locations in 37 states and territories. Applications are currently being accepted, and priority will be given to children facing a parent's deployment between May 2007 and November 2008. Registration opened this week and will continue through May 5.

In one of my former posts, a military parent commented that "it is the entire military family that serves," and that includes the kids. According to data on the NMFA website, more than 150,000 kids have at least one parent who is deployed in the war on terrorism, and that figure doesn't include those experiencing routine, but often lengthy, deployments and separations from loved ones. This looks like an excellent opportunity for those kids to get a much needed break while meeting friends who face the same challenges having a parent serving away from home.