Seats are still available for "Living in the New Normal: Helping Children Thrive in Good and Challenging Times (LINN)," a professional development event seeking to generate local support for military children in the community.

The event is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club's military child initiative, which seeks to raise local awareness of military families in Moore County.

With so many families directly connected to Fort Bragg, the National Guard and Army Reserve living in the area, the purpose of the initiative is to raise local awareness of the many hardships children face when a parent serves in the military.

The "LINN" training is a step toward building a strong community support system for military children by equipping citizens with the tools necessary to give children positive reinforcement that will help keep them resilient during tough times.

The Kiwanis Club has sponsored a membership for Moore County schools in the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC), a national nonprofit organization based in Texas.

The all-day training session will be held at Southern Middle School Aug. 9, with breakfast and registration beginning at 8 a.m.

Though the session is limited to 40 participants, roughly half of the seats are still available. Institute training will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:45 p.m. Anyone from the community is welcome to participate, and there is no cost for the training.

Those interested in registering for the event should visit www.militarychild.org and click on the "Upcoming Trainings" tab to register.

For more information about the event or the Kiwanis' military child initiative, contact Charlie and Suzy Carlton at (910) 235-0271.