Strumming her way to success: Maura’s story
The Bob Woodruff Foundation provided funding to Our Military Kids to further its mission and programs. This NFL-BWF Healthy Lifestyles and Creating Community grant provided scholarships to help 102 military-connected children and teens access extracurricular activities to increase their social connection, self-confidence, and well-being.
Music is a constant
In the home that Maura shares with her parents and three brothers, singing has always been a constant. A few years ago, she picked up her dad’s old guitar and thought it would be fun to learn how to play.
“I love any kind of music, but I’m really a folksy kind of person,” she says. “I love classic hymns as well, because you can really put a good bluegrass spin on those!”
Learning the chords came easily, and she even began writing songs. But at a certain point, she realized that natural talent is not a replacement for professional training.
Maura needed lessons to give her musical skills the boost they deserved. But adding lessons on top of normal household expenses for a family of six could have put a dent in the family budget.
A grant paves the way
Luckily, her mother knew about Our Military Kids, a non-profit that provides grants for extracurricular activities to the children of deployed or injured service members. Since its founding in 2004, Our Military Kids has provided 88,000 grants to children in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Maura’s mother applied for and received a grant from Our Military Kids for Maura’s lessons. The family was overjoyed.
“I’m very thankful for this program. We have four children, and it allowed us to do something a little outside of our norm,” says Maura’s mom Julie. “Reservist families don’t always feel the same level of support as other military [families]. This program shows that there are people who really care about kids with a deployed parent.”
Our Courageous Kids
Maura is also the recipient of another Our Military Kids award: She was recently named a winner in the 4th annual “Courageous Kids Contest.” The awards honor the courage and resilience young people display in their communities and families while having a parent who is deployed or undergoing treatment for a combat-related illness or injury.
Maura’s father, a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, is an intelligence officer who has served his country for 27 years. He was injured in December 2022 while serving in Kosovo.
Our Military Kids honored Maura with a Courageous Kids Award for the role she played in helping her family in the wake of her father’s injury. Maura ensured her brothers got where they needed to go while her mom focused on caring for Maura’s father.
“She is an exceptional young woman. To have her recognized reinforces how helpful she was, and is, to our family,” says Julie. “She just surprises you with something beautiful all the time.”
