Make someone's day :)

https://www.uso.org/donate.cfm

Please donate... even a $10 Phone Home card can mean so much to a serviceman and servicewoman

[vass0922]

Done

[Thud]

Great post, Socal. The USO does lots of good things for the US military, and is completely supported by donations.

One of their services I've benefitted from personally is their airport facilities. In many major airports, they have facilities for servicemembers, where they provide some food, a lounge, sleeping facilities, and showers. This is a good thing, as many times when travelling with the military, you find yourself stuck overnight at an airport after a 15 hour flight, waiting for a connection, and all it's facilities are shut down. Or, you just have to deal with a really long layover because the govt. ships us via the cheapest possible means.

I've had some really long stays at the airports in Baltimore and Seattle, and utilized the USO facilities at both places. Both were staffed by volunteers, most of whom were elderly. They pulled overnight shifts to keep that facility open for those of us stuck there. I was able to go in, store my bags, have a bite to eat, and catch some sleep while killing time overnight at those airports.

Bottom line is, it's a good organization, and they won't squander your donations.

Hi Thud

That's cool to know; I wasn't aware of the airport benefits, thanks for the insight. I'm glad to hear this from you as you're on the inside, that the USO is a good and responsible organization and my money will go to whom I wish it to benefit - the people serving our country in the armed services.

[OuTpaTienT]

Done.

[OuTpaTienT]

Originally posted by Thud

I've had some really long stays at the airports in Baltimore and Seattle, and utilized the USO facilities at both places. Both were staffed by volunteers, most of whom were elderly. They pulled overnight shifts to keep that facility open for those of us stuck there. I was able to go in, store my bags, have a bite to eat, and catch some sleep while killing time overnight at those airports.

When we went to Germany from California they had us stuck at JFK waiting for nearly 20 hours! Just my mother (who was at her wits end by then), my little sister, a howling dog (poor thing was all hopped up on doggie downers), me and all our luggage. Since we were moving to Germany, not just visiting, that meant we had a lot of luggage. It's not like we could go enjoy a day in NYC or anything, we were literally stuck in the airport with all our stuff. But being the family of a serviceman, the USO welcomed us, howling dog and all.

The situation was horrible enough, but without the USO...gawd, I don't even want to think about it.

[Thud]

Yeah, thanks for pointing that out uhh....OuT.

My experiences thus far have only been while travelling solo. I'd imagine going through that with a couple kids (and often pets) has to be hellish, esp. if one of the parents has to make the move alone, which is often the case. So it is worth pointing out that the USO is there for servicemembers' families as well.

I know the one in Seattle has a big area just for families, with a toy-stocked play area, changing tables, etc. Little things like that can make a huge difference.