DATE: 6/13/07

CONTACT: Barbara Brown, (803) 773-5561, (803) 968-0388; babrwn@clemson.edu

WRITER: Diane Palmer, (864) 657-4741; spalmer@clemson.edu

Military kids get Father’s Day Free at Riverbanks Zoo

COLUMBIA – South Carolina Operation Military Kids (SCOMK) and the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia have teamed up again this year to offer free admission to children of deployed military personnel on Sunday, June 17. The Zoo hopes to provide a day of fun for kids who can’t celebrate Father’s Day with Dad.

Military families with a parent deployed overseas must bring a copy of the parent’s deployment orders to receive free admission. The Zoo will also admit kids with moms deployed overseas for free on June 17.

SCOMK is part of a national initiative that provides youth development programs and support while parents are deployed. Clemson Extension and 4-H deliver these programs in South Carolina . Clemson Extension Agent Barbara Brown is program director.

The program supports families and children of military personnel, emphasizing outreach to families of deployed National Guardsmen and Reservists.   It helps mobilize communities to support families of deployed members of the U.S. Armed Forces. 

Staff from Operation Military Kids will have a booth set up inside the Zoo entrance with information about the organization and support programs.

Approximately 2,000 South Carolina National Guardsmen were recently deployed to Afghanistan – marking the single largest deployment of South Carolina National Guard soldiers since World War II.  Coupled with ongoing deployments of other units from the Guard and the Reserves, many children will not be with their fathers on Father’s Day this year. 

Riverbanks will also offer free admission to all fathers. The Zoo will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Riverbanks Zoo and Garden is located at I-126 and Greystone Boulevard near downtown Columbia . The Botanical Garden entrance is located in West Columbia off Hwy. 378 at Botanical Parkway . For more information, call Riverbanks at (803) 779-8717, or visit www.riverbanks.org.

For more information about SCOMK, contact Barbara Brown at (803) 773-5561, (803) 968-0388 or babrwn@clemson.edu.

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