Category Archives: Support

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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Posted in Donations, Support

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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, Fundraising, Support

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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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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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Posted in Support

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USO Wishbook Gifts for the Military Child

Posted on April 30, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Today is the last day of the Month of the Military Child. Here at the USO, we do our best to provide programs and services that ease the unique burdens military children face daily – to provide ways to stay connected to parents when gone for long periods of time. Help us continue to provide these important services by purchasing one of these gifts for a loved one in your life today!

Growing Up Brave
Deployment can be a challenging and confusing time for a child. This $25 kit gives them the tools they need to help cope with this challenge and keep them happy and healthy. It includes a coloring book, a specially-made DVD to answer the questions they often have and a journal.

Family Fun Day
Our military families go through lots of hardships during their service. But at USO centers, they have a chance to relax and have some fun together. For $50 you can make a Family Fun Day at a center possible and give a little something back for all their sacrifice.

Bedtime Stories
The hardest hit members of a military family are often the youngest. For $50 you can help by giving our service men and women the chance to read them a bedtime story through United Through Reading’s Military Program, record it on DVD and send it back home.

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Posted in Donations, Families, Support

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USO April Hot Jobs

Posted on April 25, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Here at the USO we’re often asked, “How can I get more involved?” Surprisingly, many don’t consider what could be considered the ultimate in getting involved: working full-time at the USO! Here are just a few positions open right now:

United States

Director, Major Gifts (can be based in Virginia or Texas) – The Director, Major Gifts is responsible for implementation of fundraising efforts targeted to individuals who are capable of donating $25,000 or more to support USO programs and services.

Intern for Information Technology – Listed  under Career Development Positions – The Career Development Program (CDP) is designed to provide current students or recent graduates with a hands-on experience to learn more about non-profits and the various roles we play in lifting the spirits of America’s troops and their families.

Pacific

Area Operations Manager, Seoul, Korea –The Area Operations Manager will be responsible for the management, operation and delivery of programs and services at the USO centers within the Seoul, Korea area.

Because why spend your days toiling away at a thankless job? Working at the USO is a truly rewarding experience where you do amazing work with passionate people and day in and day out you get messages of gratitude from the troops and their families. But, in the end, you are simply thankful for being able to do what you can. – Vyque Elessar, USO Director of New Media

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Posted in Centers, Pacific, Support, US

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