FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Oct. 6, 2023) -- Fort Drum Family Advocacy Program educators teamed up with Cornell Cooperative Extension representatives Oct. 5 to transform the Child and Youth Services Sports and Fitness Center gymnasium into an intergalactic adventure for families.
With their space passports in hand, attendees engaged in arts and crafts projects, games, and an astronaut boot camp obstacle course. Family members also learned about space exploration inside a mobile planetarium.
“The planetarium is something we use mostly for our youth education programs, after-school programs, and 4-H clubs,” said Mitch McCormick, Cornell Cooperative Extension community development issue leader. “It has been a good way to get kids interested in space science and astronomy. You hope they will go outside, look up at the sky and know they can identify some constellations. They get excited about that.”
McCormick said that children enrolled with Fort Drum CYS had a chance to visit the planetarium this summer during a 4-H camp, but this is the first time he brought it to the CYS center.
“This is a great way we can partner with Fort Drum FAP to share resources and provide some fun family activities that bring people together,” he said.
Tom Wojcikowski, Fort Drum FAP educator, said Journey to the Stars was a family engagement event created to support the Domestic Violence Awareness Month campaign.
“Everybody associates domestic violence with couples, and the focus is on the adults,” he said. “But domestic violence trickles down to all members of a family. We encourage family engagement with a lot of our programs to strengthen those family bonds and hopefully prevent family violence.”
The Fort Drum Family Advocacy Program provides community members with domestic and child abuse prevention education, and reporting, investigation, and intervention services.
Upcoming Domestic Violence Awareness Month events include the Newlywed Game, 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Multipurpose Auditorium; Cook with Your Mate, 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Enrichment Center; the 5K Run to End Domestic Violence, 7 a.m., Oct. 19 at Magrath Sports Complex; and a Family Pop in and Paint (Monster Mash Up), 3 to 6 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Enrichment Center.
Nicole Wetzel, Fort Drum FAP educator, led a group through a Mindful Mandala art project earlier this month to kick off Domestic Violence Awareness Month. She said that project, like Journey to the Stars, is designed to raise awareness in a way that makes it relatable for families.
“We do this by focusing on what we can do to build strong families and healthy relationships, and talk about what that means,” she said. “It’s just about finding as many enrichment activities as we can provide to reach the greatest amount of people. We have a great creative team here, and we feel very strongly about what we can do to support the community.”
To learn more about FAP, visit https://home.army.mil/drum/about/Garrison/directorate-human-resources/soldier-and-family-readiness-division-sfrd/SFRC/family-advocacy-program-fap, and follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FTdrumFAP.
The FAP office is located inside the Soldier and Family Readiness Center, Bldg. 10250 on 4th Armored Division Drive. To reach a FAP representative, call (315) 772-5914.
The Fort Drum Crisis Hotline can connect community members with a trained professional victim advocate, 24/7, at (315) 955-4321.
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