The USO is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the troops by providing morale, welfare and recreation-type services to our men and women in uniform. The original intent of Congress — and enduring style of USO delivery — is to represent the American people by extending a touch of home to the military. The USO currently operates more than 140 centers worldwide, including ten mobile canteens located in the continental United States and overseas. Overseas centers are located in Germany, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Qatar, Korea, Afghanistan, Guam and Kuwait. Service members and their families visit USO centers more than 6.9 million times each year. The USO is the way the American public supports the troops.
From bases around the world, our heroes in uniform put their lives on the line every day to protect the freedoms we cherish. Back home, their families deal with the stresses of the uncertainty and risks that their loved ones face every day.
Here are a few ways you can make their lives a little easier:
- Get involved with your local USO Center. Thanks to dedicated volunteers, USO centers operate to provide a place to unwind, to connect to families back home or whatever else is needed to ease the burden. Even if you are not able to volunteer on a regular basis, local USO centers often have programs and events that need your support. Find your local USO Center.
- Check out all the ways to volunteer and learn how you can make a difference.
- Join TEAM USO. TEAM USO is an easy, fast and effective way to organize or participate in an event to raise money for the troops and their families
Comment policy:
The USO prescreens and approves all submitted comments. The USO reserves the right to reject comments that contain any of the following:
- vulgar language;
- personal attacks of any kind;
- offensive comments that target or disparage any ethnic, racial, or religious group;
- spam or links to other sites;
- items that are clearly off topic;
- advocate illegal activity
- promote particular services, products, or political organizations
- infringe on copyrights or trademarks;
- include personal identifiable information that could in any way compromise the safety and security of the military
I left something in “From The Desk Of” for the troops to read. I don’t know how to reach them. Is there some way to get what I wrote to any of the soldiers stationed anywhere in the world? Thanks for your help.
Lisa
i think this is a good thing that yall are doing
what does U.S.O. stand for? How can I be a part of U.S.O?
i want to be a volunteer.
I made a donation in November of 2009. I was told I would receive a tote bag in 4-6 weeks. I would like the bag so that people will ask me about it and hopefully I can get more people involved in The USO. I attend a WWII reenactment in Rockford Illinois each September and the USO exhibit is one of the best!! Looking forward to receiving my bag and promoting one of the best outfits in the world.
Thanks, Jacquie McArdle
McHenry, Illinois
Hi Jacquie,
Thanks for your support! We’re checking with our folks in development on your bag. We’ll get it to you soon!
Did the USO pair up with the Girl Scouts in their cookie sale to collect money to send Girl Scout cookies to troops overseas? I donated to such a movement and would like to know if it is a legitimate cause.
Several local USO’s have paired with Girl Scout troops for cookies drives. It’s legit!
Thank you for all that you do for my husband, my family, and me. I plan on stopping at the USO lounge in LAX on my way home from visiting my husband in Korea. Knowing I have a safe place with warm smiling faces to stay for my layover makes me feel comforted.
My son is in Irak,I like to know how my son could be beneficiary for USO donations
Thank to all for your support.
God bless all.
hey, u should add him to the soldiers angles network also. i volunteer with them also and we send cards, packages and all sorts of support. You can sign him up on there web page. http://www.soldiersangels.org
take care
Hi Edgidia, There are lots of ways for him to get to know the USO! His commanding officer can do things like request USO2GO. More info is here: http://uso.org/whatwedo/usoprograms/uso2go/
Also, we have several USO Centers in Iraq and he could visit those, too! http://uso.org/whoweare/findyourlocaluso/usooverseaslocations/#Iraq
And always feel free to reach out to our USO Community on Facebook for more ideas: http://facebook.com/theUSO
Why doesn’t the USO wbesite have the ability to select recurring credit card donations like most other organizations? It sure would make giving on a regular basis to such a worthy cause so much easier.
Hi Gery,
That’s a great idea and it’s something that we’re looking to implement later this year. Stay tuned and thanks for your support!
I have a friend that lives in TX and wants to play for the soldiers on Ft Hood. She did it yrs ago in Japan and had a great time. But we don’t know who to contact. Her name is Stephanie Urbina Jones. Please let us know so she can play at Ft Hood and possibly other posts also. Thank you.
This is a legit offer.
I have a friend that is interested in entertaining the troops at Ft Hood. She lives in TX. How and who do we contact to help get this done? She entertained troops in Japan yrs ago and really enjoyed it and wants to help again. Please reply or advise. Thanks
Hi Cindi,
You can always fill out this webpage (https://www.uso.org/contact-the-uso.aspx) and we will get back to you as fast as possible.
Thank You for Your Support!
We would like help promoting this new free Hero dating website. My husband a Marine and a Police Officer and I, a retired Police Officer met a great group of Army Ranger’s back from Afghanistan in Las Vegas the weekend of July 17th at their official launch. This talented group of heroes are trying to pay it forward to others who serve or have served by designing this website for our American Heroes. Please repost and pass along to anyone who loves our heroes.
You can sign up for your free account at: http://www.SingleHeroes.com
Their Facebook fan page is:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SingleHeroescom/124791770892966?v=info&ref=mf
Their mission is to provide everyone a way to meet and get to know the men and women that serve our nation, states, counties, and cities.
My neighborhood knitting group would like to knit helmet liners, scarves, or whatever is needed for overseas troops. How do we find out what items are needed, what the official quidelines are, and where we should send finished items? Thanks.
Lauren,
Various knitting groups can be found online (http://knitting.about.com/od/knittingcommunity/tp/charityknitting.htm), Project Linus is the “biggest” one.
Thank You for Your Support!
Our adult Bible study class would like to send a “Hero” booklet, which is about thanking and honoring all military personnel, former and current, for their service to our country. Inside each booklet, their will be a handwritten personal note of encouragement to a serviceman.
Is this something you would be interested in?
Thanks for your time.
Marcia
I made a donation on 4/12/2011 for one of the USO bags and have not received it yet. I am a local USO volunteer and want this to show when representing the USO. Whereis my bag????
Can we get a satelite USO on the east-side of Bagram? I sure miss the USO coffee! Thanks.
I would like to ‘donate’ for cell phone calls home for which I would receive a 3 x 5 flag. The ad was in the Parade magazine. Says I can order from 1-855-257-1121. Is this a legitimate offer?
Yup, totally legit!
I’m currently working with http://www.militaryeducation.org. They specialize in educating others who are interested in Military Scholarships.They have created a new Military Infographic, which I thought might interest your readers.
You can review the graphic at http://www.militaryeducation.org/military-equipment/. If you like the graphic, I’d appreciate if you could add it to your blog or share it through your social media accounts. Thank You!
60 Minutes Overtime grabbed my attention with Operation Proper Exit. I am a writer/journalist living in south Florida. My bool. Interrupted Lives: A Holocaust Remembrance (Middle River Press, 2011) deals with a sensitive subject like your Wounded Warriors. Please provide me with a contact/introduction so I may proceed. Thank you so very much.
I am a small business owner of JuiceBox Dance Academy located in Avondale Arizona. We plan to honor and create an event to play tribute to all of our military troops in our 2nd Annual Show case June 23rd, 2012.My husband is a veterans from the Marine Corp and we truly respect and honor our troops. We plan to invited the enitre valley to this amazing event. Who can I contact for any possible sponsors for the show and how can I get USO to help spread the word? Thank you so much for your time and God Bless. I hope to hear from you soon.
Andie
Thank you to all the volunteers who help keep the USO going. I am a military wife stationed overseas and have used so many USO abroad and stateside. It’s so nice to a nice place to go full of friendly people after a 10 hour flight. We are getting ready to PCS once again this time to the other side of the world and I’m looking forward to many more great encounters with the USO.
Sherry
Sigonella, Sicily
Hi. First of all, thank you for all you do for ours troops! I know that our guys and gals wouldn’t get half the stuff they do if you didn’t put in all the volunteer hours! It’s much appreciated!!
Second, I heard through the grape vine that you do birthday cakes for our people in Afghanistan. I’m hoping this is true cause my husband is there now. His birthday is July 7. He’s missed his last 4 birthdays with family, so maybe this would let him know we’re still thinking of him.
Please let me know if this is something that can be arranged. I know it’s kinda last minute, but my FRO just told me about it 2 days ago.
Thanks!!
A friend referred me to this site and I wanted to reach out and let you know that it has really been encouraging to read and recognize that I’m not alone. Thank you thank you thank you!
A few days ago, a web series popped up on my AOL home page called “Greetings From Home.” Have you heard of it? What are your thoughts? It’s a family comedy about the trials and tribulations of a military family with dad raising two unruly teens while mom is deployed overseas. It’s really great! Just thought I’d pass it along. You can search Greetings From Home on AOL or here’s a direct link: http://on.aol.com/playlist/greetings-from-home—full-series-147747#_videoid=517482348
Have a fantastic day and rest of your week!
Being a frequent flyer my husband and myself have been to several USO’s and have never had anything negative to say until today’s (12.31.12 @ 12pm ) visit to the Chicago Ohara USO. Upon entering we were not greeted in any way by the two ladies who were behind the front desk. After signing ourselves in and walking around the corner the workers finally acknowledged us by informing us that our service dog was required to be in a cage if we wishes to enter ( mind you she is a 12lb ). We informed her that the dog was a service dog and not required to be caged and they told us there were families inside that had small children and that there might be dog allergies, making it sound as if we were not welcomed. We let the lady know that she is a hyper allergenic dog and extremely friendly , as well as the fact that she has been trained as a service dog and completely ignores anything around her unless I as a handler tell her its okay, and still then she is unsure to do anything other than her job. Because of the negative attitude that we received and continued to recieve we left the USO to wait out our long layover at the extremely over crowded gate.
I know for sure as we continue to travel we will continue to use the USO’s because usually it is a very nice and welcoming experience but we will probably never go back to the Chicago Ohara USO.
I would also advise volunteers to be informed of the rules when it comes to a service animal because children and allergies is no excuse to descriminate against the handler of a service dog from entrance to any public area , and such descrimination can lead to heavy fines.
Kristen,
We’re so sorry you had this experience! We’ll be sure to add in more training and information about service dogs for our employees and volunteers and will reach out to that center directly as well.
Girl Scout Cookie Season is starting and I have two troops that are looking to donated collected boxes to the troops overseas. I’m in Mesa, AZ. Can you give me any direction on who to reach out to make this happen? We only had about 80 boxes last year but I would love to share the info with the rest of the Troops in my Neighborhood, which is about 80 Troops maybe more to get as many boxes as possible donated. Customers are so more likely to donate boxes when they know who they are going to.