Community

ABOUT OUR Community PILLAR

We strengthen NSW by assisting commands, easing the burdens of military life, tightening family bonds, and providing meaningful opportunities for connection. Our programs help households stay resilient through milestone celebrations, seasonal gatherings, and respite childcare. They also give teammates time to reconnect and support one another outside the operational environment. Every summer, we offer empowering experiences for kids and teens through camps that build confidence and camaraderie. And we facilitate memorial services for those facing loss to keep them grounded and surrounded by a trusted peer group. Together, these efforts reinforce the unifying sense of community that defines and sustains the force during and after service.

Programs

Family & Command Support

We assist NSW families and commands by honoring service and bringing people together. Readiness workshops, milestone events, and seasonal gatherings help households stay informed and connected while building shared experiences that strengthen relationships. We also host recognition activities that highlight achievement and reinforce a sense of belonging across the force. In times of loss, we offer travel, lodging, and memorial support so loved ones and teammates can be present and pay tribute.

Reconnects

Reconnect events bring together active duty service members and veterans to renew bonds and rebuild camaraderie. Hosted across the country, these gatherings create space to share experiences, support one another, and sustain relationships that carry the force beyond the operational environment. By encouraging open dialogue and shared purpose, they enhance mental health and help maintain the brotherhood that defines NSW, ensuring warriors remain in contact long after their time in service.

Camps

Our camps support the unique needs of children and teens in the NSW community by surrounding them with peers who share their experiences and understand their challenges. In these safe settings, participants build confidence, courage, and leadership while enjoying activities that foster camaraderie and personal growth. By creating space for kids to connect with others who relate to their journey, these programs build lasting friendships and equip them to thrive at home, in school, and beyond.

Respite Childcare

Respite childcare provides critical assistance to NSW families by alleviating the demands placed on parents and households within military life. The program helps service members remain focused and mission-ready while offering more than 100 hours of flexible annual care, giving spouses time to recharge, manage responsibilities, and prioritize their own well-being. It is especially vital for families facing demanding circumstances, ensuring they have reliable options when they need them most.

Wow. I am so humbled, grateful, and beyond blessed. Through these unprecedented times our family, like many families, has endured an incredible amount of difficulty, stress, and sadness, as if the stress of back-to-back deployments between my husband and I in the last year wasn’t enough. We are so grateful for the Navy SEAL Foundation continuing to support families so that we can continue to support our mission and serve.

- Wife of an Active duty service member

Community is often associated with a sense of belonging and a warm, welcoming place. Now when I first read the word community, my initial thought was my time at the NSF camps, Camp Spec Ops and Camp Legacy, that shaped me into the person I am today. I spent some of the best years of my life growing and changing with other kids and counselors that I could relate to.

It’s stressful growing up in this community. You never know if it’s going to be your turn to lose a parent, or if it was going to be your closest friend who lost a parent. Sometimes you feel like you’re alone in that. But at camp, I got to spend time with kids my own age who had grown up the same way I had grown up. It helped me figure out who I was and what I wanted to be. You can ask any kid who’s been to an NSF camp if it’s helped them in some way, and I guarantee, 99% of the time, the answer will be yes.

Programs Include

  • NSW Promotion & Awards
  • Veteran Reconnect Events
  • Legacy Preservation
  • Summer Camps
  • Holiday Events
  • Parent-Child Events

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