Guest blog post by National Children & Youth Committee Chair Melanie Taylor

We are celebrating Purple Up! for Military Kids on Wednesday, April 15! You are asked to wear purple to show your support and thank a military child for their strength and sacrifices. Sacrifices, you may ask? Yes, these children sacrifice celebrating their birthdays, sports events, recitals, graduations, and holidays when their parent/parents are deployed. They suffer in silence — this is their strength. 

American Legion Auxiliary members are asked to wear purple every April 15. Purple represents all branches of the military: Air Force blue, Army green, Navy blue, Marine red, and Coast Guard blue all combine as a single color: purple. As we wear purple on April 15 and throughout the month of April, please remember that every child deserves recognition, and every child should be told they are important and that they matter.

There are various ways to celebrate Purple Up! Day: 

• Work with local businesses and other organizations in your communities by asking them to wear purple on Purple Up! Day. Their employees can even wear purple.  
• Ask local, regional, state, and federal officials to wear purple on Purple Up! Day. 
• Ask the schools and teachers to recognize Purple Up! Day by honoring a special military “Student of the Day”. 
• Another great project to do as an American Legion Family is to invite those military families to your post for a Purple Up! Day dinner. Be sure everyone is wearing purple, make your decorations fun and purple, play games involving the word purple, and don’t forget those purple prizes. Make it fun and lively.
• You can also ask your city council to read a proclamation recognizing April 15 as National Purple Up! Day. Auxiliary members can sit in on the reading of this proclamation and be there to answer questions and explain the significance of Purple Up! Day. 

If you do not have a military installation near you, not to worry. Contact the recruiter’s office in your community and invite them and their families to your events. 

Don’t forget to take plenty of photos and publicize all your activities recognizing April as Children & Youth Month, as well as Month of the Military Child and Purple Up! Day. Use the hashtags #momc and #purpleup when you post on social media.

Post your photos in the ALA Children & Youth Facebook group or email us at PR@ALAforVeterans.org.