Editor’s Note: The monthly Military Community Resource Spotlight is an Q&A that provides information about organizations who serve military spouses and their families. The purpose is to connect military spouses with available resources designed to help them thrive in military life.
Name of your organization: Chameleon Kids
What’s the history of your organization?
Chameleon Kids was incorporated by Janine Boldrin, a freelance writer, and Amy Crispino, a teacher, in the summer of 2014.
The concept for the company came from an idea Amy had over 5 years ago: to create a fun product that military kids could use to learn about their new duty station. Years later, sparked by an article she was writing, Janine contacted Amy to see if she wanted to give her idea a go. While the idea evolved into a bigger concept, our company was born out of the same purpose as Amy’s original idea: to encourage kids to see the bright side of their military life.
Please describe the mission of your organization: Chameleon Kids is the first stop for fun ideas, up-to-date information and creative products for military kids. We are committed to providing military kids a new way to view their experiences. Instead of focusing on just the challenges of military life, we also focus on the fun.
We are the publishers of MILITARY KIDS’ LIFE, a quarterly print and online magazine written for military kids ages 6 and up. The magazine helps them find the adventure in their military lives. Our writers are military kids and military connected professional freelance writers. The Spring 2015 edition is now available.
Our website will offer solid tips to military families who are searching for such information as military kid scholarships, the best military family vacation ideas and ways to find the fun at a new duty station.
As we develop the magazine and the website, we are gathering information to develop the third component of our company: an application for military kids.
At Chameleon Kids, we are all about military kids seeing the bright side of their lives and providing parents with the tools to help their kids stay positive in the face of challenges.
What population(s) do you serve (spouses, veterans, children)? Chameleon Kids is here for the kids in Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve families. Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy. We want to make sure all military kids feel connected to their community, especially since over half of them live away from military installations.
We are also here to serve all military parents. And we welcome input from all parents in order to make sure we are representing the diverse nature of our military families.
How can NextGen MilSpouse readers support your organization? If you have military kids in your life, subscribe to MILITARY KIDS’ LIFE. If you have a business, talk to us about advertising in our magazine or on our website. Download our contributor’s guidelines on our website if you or your child wants to write for us. “Like” us on Facebook. Find us on Twitter. Follow us on Instagram. We want to connect with you.
Check out our website. Write for our blog. Or just drop us an email to let us know what you think of Chameleon Kids. We love feedback.
Anything else our readers need to know? Between the two of us, we have 5 kids and 3 pets. Our spouses are Army. Just like many other military families, we’ve helped our kids through deployments and moves.
We’re dealing with many of the same issues our readers face. We’ve both navigated trying to maintain careers as military families. We recognize the challenges military families face. Chameleon Kids isn’t about ignoring the challenges, but it is about giving equal time to the wonderful aspects of being a military family.
For more information about Chameleon Kids connect with them on Facebook, Instagram and follow them on Twitter.
Does your nonprofit organization serve military spouses? Are you looking to spread the word?
