 |
The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association is partnering with the USO and the White House to support the First Lady’s Joining Forces initiative to strengthen military families. AHEPA, the largest and oldest association of American citizens of Greek heritage and Philhellenes in the world, has chosen to help military families through the United Through Reading® Military Program, its national service project for 2012. The 40,000+ members of the AHEPA family will raise funds for the program that enables service members to video record themselves reading books to their children back home and provides a DVD of the recording and a copy of the book to the child. The mission of the AHEPA Family is to promote the ancient Greek ideals of Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, and Family and Individual Excellence through community service and volunteerism.
|
 |
The AMVETS National Ladies Auxiliary has joined forces with the USO to support our troops and their families. In August 2011, the AMVETS National Ladies Auxiliary's newly elected President Lynda Taylor chose the USO program "With You All the Way" as her National President's Project. Taylor is asking AMVETS National Ladies Auxiliaries around the country to stand with her and help her raise funds to support the program over the next year. AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary is a subordinate of AMVETS and has been in the business of assisting veterans and their families for over 50 years.
|
 |
The Elks have joined forces with the USO and the White House in support of the troops and their families. Starting with a leadership gift of $25,000 from the Elks National Foundation to support a USO2GO sent to FOB Shinwar, the Elks are showing their support in various ways. Lodges are committed to supporting our troops and their families here and abroad through programs like No Dough Dinners, United Through Reading®, care packages, Mobile Entertainment Gaming Systems, USO2GOs or volunteering locally. The Elks are more than 850,000 strong in 2,000 communities across the country, and have a long history of supporting veterans and active military and their families. Through their Army of Hope, Lodges partner with local and state organizations to adopt units and families to help through trying times. Elks volunteers are at the ready to help families of those patriots called to serve our nation.
|
 |
The General Federation of Women’s Clubs has joined forces with the USO to provide comfort and resources to members of the armed forces and their families, in recognition of their sacrifice and dedication to protect our country. GFWC is active in numerous USO programs including Operation Enduring Care, United Through Reading’s Military Program, USO Sesame Street Experience, USO2GO, Operation USO Care Package, and Operation Phone Home. GFWC clubwomen are also active in supporting local USO centers in their communities by performing service projects like book drives that provide support for our military families. “Since its founding 122 years ago, GFWC members have embraced those serving and those who have served in the US military. Believing that these courageous individuals are owed a debt of gratitude, GFWC programming reflects an ongoing commitment to benefit those who so willingly serve our country. We are proud of the partnership that has been forged with the USO; and eagerly look forward to the many ways our members will be of assistance to the men and women served by the USO,” said Carlene A. Garner, GFWC International President. The General Federation of Women's Clubs is one of the world's largest and oldest nonpartisan, nondenominational, women's volunteer service organizations. GFWC members donate an average of $16 million, through 112,000 projects, and volunteer nearly nine million hours annually.
|
 |
Since 1919, Optimist International has been focused on “bringing out the best in kids,” and in 2011 partnered with the USO to bring their unique Optimistic spirit to military families around the world. Through their 97,000 individual Members and 3,319 Clubs, Optimist International will conduct community service projects and fundraisers to support military children in their communities. Optimist Clubs will work with their local USO Centers to serve the military youth in their community and the Clubs will also support USO national programs for military families including United Through Reading® Military Program, USO Operation Phone Home, With You All the Way, Sesame Street/USO Experience for Military Families, among others. Optimists happily serve six million young people each year conducting 65,000 service projects and spending $78 million providing a helping hand to youth in their communities.
|
 |
With many members who are serving or have served in the military, the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta launched its new philanthropic partnership with the USO in 2011. The brothers accepted the challenge with over 20 chapters holding events in support of our brave men and women in uniform. “Many Phi Gamma Delta brothers proudly serve (or have served) our military, making it easy for our chapters to see the benefit their support provides. In addition, the coaching and resources the USO staff provide help our undergraduate chapters to more easily plan and execute fundraising and service events, allowing them to make a difference in the lives of our men and women in uniform,” said Rob Caudill, Director of Education, Phi Gamma Delta International Headquarters. Fiji chapters have chosen to support programs like United Through Reading’s Military Program, Operation Phone Home, USO2GO, Mobile Entertainment Gaming Systems (MEGS), Operation USO Care Package and in their local communities through our USO Centers. Phi Gamma Delta is on 140 campuses at the foremost colleges and universities of the United States and Canada. Service is one of the fraternity’s five values and recognizes its obligation to give back to the campuses and communities that foster its growth.
|
 |
The brothers of Phi Kappa Tau (PKT) officially adopted the USO as its national service project in 2011. With nearly 90 collegiate chapters and colonies across the country, brothers are supporting the United Through Reading’s Military Program by hosting book drives on their university campuses and in their communities or raising money to support the program. United Through Reading® allows a deployed parent to be video recorded reading a book to their child. The DVD and the book are then sent to the child. This partnership with the USO allows Phi Kappa Tau chapters to support their vision of being recognized as a leadership organization that binds men together and challenges them to improve their campuses and the world. Founded in 1906 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Phi Kappa Tau is a national fraternity that fosters three core ideals within its membership: learning, leading and serving.
|
 |
Screen Actors Guild has a long history supporting our armed forces through projects big and small, from mobilizing the Hollywood Victory Committee shortly after the United States’ entry into World War II, to this year’s partnership with First Lady Michelle Obama and the entertainment industry guilds on the Joining Forces initiative supporting military families. And for the second year in a row, Screen Actors Guild has thrown their support behind a USO program that lets America’s men and women deployed overseas call home. In 2011, Screen Actors Guild and its members donated over $15,000 to provide nearly 45,000 calls home through the USO Operation Phone Home program. “Screen Actors Guild is deeply grateful to the members of the military. These men and women have volunteered to leave the comfort of home and put themselves in harm’s way for a higher ideal,” SAG President Ken Howard said. “As we have for decades, Screen Actors Guild continues to stand with the USO to do our small part to improve the quality of life for service members and their families.” With 20 Branches nationwide, SAG represents more than 125,000 actors who work in film and digital motion pictures and television programs, commercials, video games, corporate/educational, Internet and all new media formats.
|
 |
VFW members have a proud tradition of community service with volunteerism benefiting education, America’s youth and civic projects. In 2011, the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary to the VFW formed a partnership with the USO committing their members’ support of our troops and their families. “The VFW is extremely proud to have formed this exciting partnership with the USO. Our members have a rich tradition of volunteerism, and the USO provides them with new opportunities to show their commitment to our nation’s heroes and their families,” said VFW National Commander Richard DeNoyer. Here are the many ways VFW members will get involved with the USO: hosting book drives to support United Through Reading’s Military Program, collecting items for the USO Holiday Box program, and supporting local USO Centers with food and supply drives.
|