On December 10, 2004, President and Mrs. Bush showed their support for our troops and their families by helping assemble USO Care Packages at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

About the USO Care Package Program

• The USO Care Package Program was created to provide a safe and secure way for the public to show their support for our men and women in uniform.
  
• For a $25 dollar donation, Americans can sponsor a care package for a service member who is either en route to an overseas assignment or currently deployed. Each USO Care Package is assembled by volunteers and contains, at a minimum, a 100-minute international calling card, a disposable camera, toiletries, sunscreen, and a message of support from a Care Package sponsor. Over 480,000 care packages have been distributed as of December 2004.
  
• Additional information about the USO Care Package Program is available at www.usocares.org or by calling (877) USO-GIVE.
  
• The USO is a Congressionally-chartered non-profit corporation whose mission is to provide morale, welfare, and recreation-type services to military personnel. The USO operates 125 centers, including centers in Kuwait and Qatar, and will soon open a center in Afghanistan.

Other Ways to Show Support for the U.S. Military

America Supports You

• America Supports You was recently launched by the Department of Defense to help recognize the efforts of Americans across the country to support our military and to communicate that support to members of our Armed Forces serving at home and overseas.
  
• Using the website, www.americasupportsyou.mil, Americans can show their support by posting a message to the troops, requesting and wearing the program’s free dog tag, or finding an organization through which they can donate frequent flyer miles, send gift certificates, help sponsor homes for disabled troops, or send letters, messages, and care packages.

On the Homefront

• USA Freedom Corps, an office of the White House created by President George W. Bush to encourage volunteer service, in collaboration with the Department of Defense, launched On the Homefront in March of 2003 to provide information about opportunities for Americans to support members of the military and their families.
  
• On the Homefront links Americans wanting to show their support with existing organizations that send messages and care packages to the troops and those that use volunteers to assist family members of deployed military personnel with child care, household repairs, mentoring, tutoring, and other needs.
  
• More information about On the Homefront can be found at www.usafreedomcorps.gov.