Fort Drum Programs

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County strives to meet the educational needs of all our county residents. This includes those special families whose loved ones are serving in the US Military. Through a contractual arrangement with Fort Drum, Cornell Cooperative Extension partners with Army Community Services to reach soldiers, military families, and civilians and assist them with a wide variety of topics. Families learn transferable employment skills. They learn how to deal with the separation and the reunion of a soldier serving in distant and difficult situations. Families learn about Army life; and about how to be a leader, a volunteer, and a community advocate. Families can learn about our neighborhoods and about areas they have just been assigned to. Cornell Cooperative Extension is proud to be a part of the important service our military and their families provide every day.

Our Fort Drum programs are listed below:

Army Emergency Relief (AER) assists service members, retirees, and families with emergency financial assistance. For more information, contact Cheryl Matson.

Army Family Team Building (AFTB): This program assists soldiers and military families in learning about and adapting to Army life, accepting challenges, managing change, and developing life and leadership skills. For more information regarding the Army Family Team Building program, contact Dawn Lucowitz.

The Army Outreach program provides support to incoming families and soldiers with information on Fort Drum and the North Country. For more information, contact Darci Michaud.

Climb to Fitness: This program is designed to assist soldiers in maintaining the Army's weight and body composition standards. For more information about our Climb to Fitness program, contact Lori McKenna.

Community Life: This program works to bring educational activities such as after-school programs, cooking classes, and drug and crime prevention to military families on and off post. For more information about the Army Community Life program, contact Renata Carter.

Family Advocacy Violence Prevention Education: This program is intended to prevent child and spouse abuse. It offers a variety of workshops that deal with stress management, anger control, communication skills, refusal skills for teens, parenting issues, and conflict resolution. For more information regarding our Family Advocacy programs, contact educators Greg Auffrey or Lorilyn Starr.

Family Member Employment Assistance Program (FMEAP): This program assists military families in developing career and employment skills. It is also an educational resource between community employers and military family members seeking local job opportunities. For more information, contact Amy-Jo Johnson.

Family Readiness: As the Army deploys units more frequently, families must be prepared to deal with the stress and family decisions brought about by deployments and reunions. Operation READY provides training and resources to soldiers and their families in support of readiness. For more information about our Family Readiness programs, contact Allison Allen.

Financial Readiness: This program provides financial education for military families. Programs include basic budgeting for new soldiers and spouses; check management; one-on-one financial counseling; investment opportunity counseling; and Army Emergency Relief (AER), which assesses emergency financial situations and needs of the individual soldier. For more information regarding Financial Readiness, contact Judee Kelly.

Installation Volunteer Program: This program assists military and community individuals find volunteer opportunities. Both military and civilians can access this service. Military and community-wide agencies that need and use volunteers can be matched up with newly relocated military families seeking volunteer opportunities within the community. For more information regarding the Installation Volunteer program, For more information, contact Krista Auger.

Relocation: This program assists military families in the relocation process. Available seminars and classes are designed for new personnel and spouses arriving at Fort Drum, as well as informational packets for soldiers and families who are relocating overseas or to other areas of the United States. For more information, contact Amy Kilionski.