Family Retreats

Operation Purple® Family Retreats are designed to help families to reconnect after experiencing the stresses surrounding a deployment. They are a great opportunity to spend time outdoors, try new things, make friends, and enjoy quality time together as a family. These four day retreats take place in beautiful National Parks and are led by experienced outdoor educators. The raves by families who have already attended tell you all you need to know about this exceptional program:

“Being Outdoors in such an incredible environment can lessen the stress we face in our everyday lives.”

“I love every aspect of the retreat…everything was well planned out and organized! Also the childcare was wonderful.”

“The whole weekend made me reflect on good and not so good things about our family. It made me think of areas to improve on and realize areas that we’re great at."

“It was awesome! I don’t see how it could have been better!!”

Operation Purple Family Retreats also include structured activities developed by the FOCUS Program (Families OverComing Under Stress). These activities highlight areas of strength and resilience in the family and promote family growth. Families are supported in working together to enhance their relationships through communication activities aimed at building connections and family closeness.

Operation Purple Family Retreats are open to service members and their families who have experienced deployment within the last 15 months. To be eligible, service members must have returned from deployment no less than 3 months and no more than 15 months prior to the start date of each retreat. Travel expenses are not included. However, families who attend will receive a $200 stipend per family before departing from the retreat site to offset the cost of travel. The retreats are free thanks to support from the Sierra Club and the Sierra Club Foundation.