Pennsylvania AFSCME Members Support Military Families Through USO

Posted on May 15, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 13’s Next Wave committee, made up of AFSCME leaders under the age of 35, held a book and donation drive at the AFSCME Council 13 convention in Hershey, PA in April to support the USO and United Through Reading’s Military Program. No one knew what to expect, but support came out in full force –  the event raised $5,000 and 400 children’s’ books were donated to help connect military families!

The USO partnership with United Through Reading allows our deployed troops the ability to read their kids a bedtime book and virtually be there, even when they can’t be there in-person. Whether troops are stationed at a forward operating base in Afghanistan or deploying overseas, they can visit their participating USO center to read a story aloud to their child. Mom or Dad’s special storytime is recorded on camera, and the USO mails this priceless DVD and book home. Children can watch and listen to their parent at bedtime, naptime or anytime.

“You can always count on Council 13 members to do all they can for our military. Our delegation in April was truly moved to hear about the overwhelming success of the USO’s United Through Reading program, and I couldn’t be more proud of the efforts put forth by our membership to bring deployed troops and their families just a little bit closer,” said David Fillman, Executive Director of AFSCME Council 13.  With the aid of many members and locals from across the state, AFSCME Council 13’s donation will help 900 military children “see” their deployed mom or dad and help to lift the spirits of our nation’s youngest heroes.

What’s your favorite bedtime story?

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Posted in Donations, Families, Fundraising, Programs, Support, US

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Baby Shower for 125 Military Moms

Posted on May 11, 2012 by | Leave a comment

A volunteer carries a new car seat for Amanda Avant as she leaves the Bundles and Boots Baby Shower hosted by the USO of Missouri and Operation Homefront.             Army photo by Brittany Carlson.

It’s been a year of big changes and long separations for Amanda and Michael Avant.

After getting married, 19-year-old Amanda stayed home with her family in Arkansas while her husband, Army Cpl. Michael Avant, lived in the singles barracks at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.

Two weeks before Michael deployed to Afghanistan, they found out Amanda was pregnant.  They decided she should move into family housing on the base so she could prepare for her husband’s return in June and the baby’s arrival in August.  She made the move, all by herself, earlier this year.

“It’s going to be different– my husband coming home and me being eight months pregnant.  Last time he saw me I had no belly, and now I have this huge belly, and also I’m emotional, so he’s going to come home to an emotional wife!”

Avant says her husband is upset that he’s missing so many milestones.

“He’s never been in our house before.  He’s never seen it.  He’s never been to a doctor’s visit. He’s really nervous about it, but he’s excited.  He says that he’s proud of me, just being a regular Army girlfriend to being an Army wife and a mommy and moving on post all by myself.”

Lisa Yenter, wife of the commanding general at Fort Leonard Wood, thinks it’s important for young soldiers’ wives to make friendships and connections as soon as they arrive on post.

“Plug into the community,” she says, “Get them plugged in so they can navigate through the military system.”

That’s why she wholeheartedly supports events like last weekend’s Bundles and Boots Baby Shower.

The USO of Missouri and Operation Homefront hosted the all-day party, where 125 new or expecting moms mingled over displays with parenting information, baby supplies, books and food. There was even a “craving” table loaded with pickles, ice cream and other goodies for the pregnant palate.

“Every pregnant woman got four packages of diapers, and everybody got a free car seat—brand new, still in the box,” says Avant, “It was really neat.”

Soldiers helped the moms carry out their boxes and bags, and certified experts were available to install the car seats.

“When you’re far from home and you don’t know many people and you’re going to have a baby, maybe you just don’t have that baby shower,” says Yenter.  “But every baby should be showered.”

Meantime, Avant is storing all her baby items in the nursery, but she’s waiting for Michael to come home before she sets anything up.

“I’m not putting up the crib because I figure my husband would want to do that,” she says.  “I don’t want to set it all up without him being there.  Because he’s so sad that he’s missing out on everything.”

 Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day.  Join us in wishing a Happy Mother’s Day to all our military moms and families with loved ones far from home. – Malini Wilkes, USO Director of Story Development

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Flowers for Mom

Posted on May 9, 2012 by | 1 Comment

For Military Spouse Appreciation Day and Mother’s Day, flowers are almost a given – they’re a time-honored symbol of love and gratitude!

Luckily for all of you FTD Flowers has paired up with the USO to provide some unique (and patriotic!) ways to show you care while supporting our troops and their families! Just shop their USO Collection for beautiful arrangements and gifts and FTD will donate 15% of the sales to the USO!

And, in case you had a specific arrangement in mind, any purchase made through FTD.com/USO will result in a 15% discount and 5% donated to the USO!

But wait, there’s more! If you like or share this FTD World’s Greatest Mom picture on Facebook, they’ll also donate to the USO! For each of the first 5,000 shares and likes they’ll donate $1 and, then $500 for every 5,000 more.

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Honoring Military Mothers

Posted on May 7, 2012 by | 2 Comments

Whether they’re deployed, supporting a child who is serving or holding down the fort while dad’s away- there is one thing our nation’s military moms can count on this Mother’s Day- the support of the USO. While people across the country are thinking of ways to make this Mother’s Day special for their moms, the USO has made it possible for everyone to show we have not forgotten the moms who won’t get to see their children, husbands or possibly even hear their voices this May 13th because they are making the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.  There are five ways you can show a military mom your appreciation:

1. A Phone Call Home and give a mom serving the gift of hearing her child’s voice this Mother’s Day or a mom or wife at home, the gift of hearing the voice of their child or spouse

2. A Military Spouse Appreciation Event and treat a mom serving to a day of pampering

3. Bedtime Stories and allow a deployed mom to record herself reading a bedtime story to her child and have that DVD recording and the book mailed back home

4. A Mother’s Day Box filled with gifts, pampering products and a personalized note for the wife, girlfriend or mother of a deployed service member

5. Recovery Along the River and help send wounded, ill or injured female service members on a positive, recreational trip that will provide them with a temporary sanctuary free of stress and uncertainty.

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Posted in Families, Support, Fundraising

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And a Rivalry is Born

Posted on May 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

“A-R-M-Y might stand for Aren’t Ready to beat the Marines Yet,” explained an anonymous Team Marine fan at the 2012 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs on Tuesday.

After a narrow Marine victory over Army in the first seated volleyball match, Marine Corps pride filled the room from wall to wall.

We all know about the rivalry between the two services, but the fan-induced Red vs. Black inferno that lit up the opening match was white hot.

The gym was packed with what seemed to be every fan and family member at the Games. Hundreds of red and black t-shirts filled the bleachers from wall to wall—sharply separated, of course—to witness what was both a first day rematch from the previous year and a tiebreaker to settle a medal stalemate from earlier in the day.

Team Army and Team Marine left the windy cycling course tied with six medals each. Day one bragging rights would surely go to the winner of this volleyball match.

Led by flag-waving, face-painted motivators, each team’s fans erupted in waves of grunts and cheers to egg on their side.  When the Marine crowd would chant, “U-S-M-C,” Army fans would interrupt after “U-S-“ and overpower with, “ARMY!”

By the end of the match, the rivalry had escalated to the point that each team was attempting to encroach into the other’s section with their flag.  After a grueling battle, perhaps one of the closest in Warrior Games volleyball history, the Marines came out on top.

“It was a nail-biter, especially there at the end,” said Army Col. Gregory D. Gadson, Director of the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2), who sat front-and-center to lead the Army cheering section. “I was sure we would beat the Marines on day one, but this thing is far from over.”

Each team competes for three nights before playing for medals. The gold/silver medal game is scheduled for Friday night, May 4.

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For more information, medal updates and stories about some of the athletes competing in this year’s games, follow Warrior Games and the USO on Facebook. And see more images on our Warrior Games Flickr set. - Joseph Andrew Lee, USO Staff Writer

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Posted in Support, Troops, US, USO Warrior & Family Care, Warrior Games

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Warrior Spirit Revealed on First Day of Games

Posted on May 3, 2012 by | 4 Comments

Despite his tire blowing out, Retired Navy Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Jim Castaneda pushed his way to the finish line

The Warrior Games kicked off Tuesday with five cycling events here at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Both the Army and Marine teams finished with six medals. Army with two gold, one silver and three bronze, and the Marines with two gold, three silver and one bronze.

But the day was clearly not about medals. It was about teamwork and the warrior spirit, prominently demonstrated by the sea services after a couple of their athletes encountered mechanical woes.

After the first run of the course, Retired Navy Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Jim Castaneda had his left tire blow out on his recumbent bicycle.

With miles left to go, Castaneda kept on pedaling and pushed to the finish line, with his coach and teammates cheering him on.  He could have stopped when the tire blew, but says he wanted to show his son, “We don’t quit.”

For his determination to succeed, Castaneda was selected as “Athlete of the Day” by the U.S. Paralympics Committee and is profiled on their website.

Earlier, a cable snapped on another athlete’s bike, and the Navy/Coast Guard team couldn’t fix it.

“We didn’t have the parts, we didn’t have a cable, and we didn’t have a mechanic there,” said Master Chief Will Wilson, the team’s cycling coach.  “So we rolled down to the Marine Corps cadre and without hesitation they jumped on it, got the parts, fixed the bike and got the kid in the race.”

“That says it all,” said Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Michael Barrett to the Commandant of the Marine Corps after hearing what happened. “We’re doing it right.”

“Those [medals] you see hanging from the table over there, that’s not Warrior Games,” said Wilson. “What just happened down there, fixing that bike—that’s Warrior Games.”

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- Joseph Andrew Lee, USO Staff Writer

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Posted in Troops, US, USO Warrior & Family Care, Warrior Games

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BATTLESHIP and the USO Onboard to Support the Real Heroes

Posted on May 2, 2012 by | 2 Comments

“I love telling big stories about big heroes; people we admire and look up to. But, at the end of the day, real life is better than any story. Our service men and women are the real heroes.”

                  — BATTLESHIP Director/Producer, Peter Berg, as stated in the USO’s “Real Heroes” PSA

In honor of the real heroes of the United States military, the USO is partnering with Universal Pictures on the upcoming motion picture BATTLESHIP. Through this partnership, Universal Pictures, Director/Producer Peter Berg (Hancock) and film partners, such as Coke Zero and Activision Publishing, Inc. are raising awareness of the needs of troops and their families – our real heroes. As part of their commitment to supporting our troops – and Peter Berg’s personal commitment and passion – Universal produced a public service announcement for the USO to help all Americans salute our heroes.

This month we launched our latest Public Service Announcement (PSA) called “Real Heroes” which features the acclaimed BATTLESHIP director. As narrator, Berg whose father served as a Marine and later worked as a Navel historian spotlights the current men and women who serve and pays homage to the USO and our mission.

Inspired by Hasbro’s classic naval combat game, BATTLESHIP stars Taylor Kitsch as Lt. Alex Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam Shane, a physical therapist and Hopper’s fiancée; Alexander Skarsgård as Hopper’s older brother, Stone, Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson; Rihanna as Petty Officer Raikes, Hopper’s crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone’s superior (and Sam’s father), Admiral Shane.

Our founding partner Coca-Cola is inviting their Coke Zero consumers to support the USO and the real heroes through their MyCokeRewards program. For every point donated, Coke Zero will make a donation to the USO and match it up to $50,000. In addition to the points option, for every case of a 20/24 pack can of Coke Zero purchased at participating retail stores, Coke Zero will donate $0.50 (up to $300,000) to Operation Enduring Care (OEC) until June 3rd.

Another great USO partner and film partner, Activision Publishing, Inc. will donate copies of the new BATTLESHIP video game to fourteen USO Centers, USO2GOs and MEGS in Southwest Asia in the coming weeks. The video game, available on X360®, PS3™, Wii™, 3DS™ and DS™ will hits stores for gamers on May 15th.

Feel free to download the official poster provided by Universal Pictures.

See you at the movies on May 18th!! – Travis T. Burgin, USO Marketing Manager

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