USO (United Service Organizations, Inc.)

The USO provides services that deliver America to our overseas military community including travel assistance, libraries, educational workshops, child care, foreign language courses, recreational lounges, family crisis intervention and celebrity entertainment.

Why do we exist?

Our Mission: The USO lifts the spirits of America’s troops and their families.

Everyone knows someone who has served or is serving in the military, and their service has touched each of our lives. The USO recognizes the sacrifices that troops and their families make for this country, and it is more important than ever that they are recognized and supported. As fellow Americans, it’s our duty to honor the heroes who help preserve the freedoms we so often taken for granted. Our support means so much to our troops and their families because it lets them know we care and appreciate their service, and what they do matters.

Millions of times each year at hundreds of locations around the world, the USO lifts the spirits of America’s troops and their families. The USO is a nonprofit, congressionally chartered, private organization that relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to accomplish its mission.

The USO is unique among military charities because of its international reach, broad variety of programs and services, and strong volunteer base. With more than 160 locations worldwide and supported by more than 20,000 volunteers, the USO serves millions of troops and their families no matter where their mission takes them. The USO offers a wide variety of programs and services to support the morale, welfare, social and entertainment needs of troops and their families, free of charge. We also provide support for military children, wounded warriors and their families, and families of the fallen.

What have you accomplished?

In 2010, troops and their families visited USO centers nearly 8 million times and 90,000 military children received support from USO programs. We touch thousands of lives every day, but the USO’s impact on troops and their families is best told in their own words:

“I have two Purple Hearts. The first one, I got hit and I could have gone home. But I asked my lieutenant colonel if I could stay on and he said, ‘Well, just don’t get hit again there, Sergeant First Class.’ I said I’d try not to, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. I suffered a traumatic brain injury. A lot of wounded warriors like myself who suffer severe injuries, when we’re going through medical care, we don’t have anything with us because they take all your stuff from you. So, I showed up in a robe with nothing else. A USO volunteer came into my room and gave me a duffel bag full of clothes and other stuff I needed. I hugged her and said thank you. And she turned around and took my hand and said, ‘No, thank you.’”

- First Sgt Mike Martinez, U.S. Army

“My husband was wounded halfway through his tour in Iraq and life-flighted to Walter Reed. We spent three months there and honestly, I don’t think we would have made it without the USO. The USO helped us through Operation Enduring Care. They were always right there and showed us what to do, where to go and what to say. When my husband arrived, he had nothing. They gave him a duffel bag full of clothes, books, CDs, anything that would help take his mind off what was going on. I’m just so grateful for how the USO was there in the beginning and stuck with us until we went home. They gave me a hug and a shoulder to cry on when I needed it.”

- Megan Malone, U.S. Army spouse USO Volunteer

“I ’m a full-time soldier and a full-time mom. I have two sons, 13 and 7, and an 8-year-old daughter. Staying in touch with them when I’m deployed is so important. It all helps to ease their fears and let them know I’m safe. The USO is a big part of making that connection for any soldier, but there’s more to it than just keeping families connected. I was stationed at a small FOB in Iraq. We got hit a lot. A lot of times, our PX would run out of things that made living out there a little less difficult. You could always count on the USO for baby wipes, tissues, fresh socks, clean t-shirts, and a place to take a break and chill out for a while. It gave everybody an extra boost to keep going. It meant the world to us.”

- Sgt First Class Charline Hayward, U.S. Army

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We appreciate all that you do for us over here. We truly appreciate the time, money and effort that each of you puts into programs like these. These are the things that put smiles on even the most war hardened faces.”

- A deployed troop after their forward operating base received a USO2GO

My husband is stationed in Iraq. We have a 2-year-old son and this is the first time his dad has been away from us. At Christmas, he sent a children’s book and a DVD of him reading it through United Through Reading’s Military Program hosted at the USO. It really made our Christmas. My son watches it every night before he goes to bed. It’s so wonderful to see that he realizes his dad is still a part of his life. I started volunteering at the USO recently and I’ve met other mothers with small kids whose husbands are overseas. When they’re that little, kids can’t really understand the situation they’re in, but watching those DVDs, they can see that their dad or mom still loves them and still thinks about them.

- Vanessa Weaver, U.S. Army spouse and USO volunteer

 

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