6 Ways to Give and Receive This Holiday Season
‘Tis the season to spread holiday cheer!
Here are a few programs to help you do just that, and make the holidays merry and bright for military families:
- Toys for Tots
The U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program provides new, unwrapped toys to children in need. The deadline to request a toy varies by location so please make sure to find your Toys for Tots location and check their campaign deadlines HERE.
Monetary donations for Toys for Tots can be made here: Make a Donation
- Operation Homefront’s Holiday Toy Drive
For more than 10 years, Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization that seeks to provide financial support and stability to military families, has partnered with Dollar Tree stores to provide toys for military children. Now until December 2nd, Dollar Tree stores will be accepting toy donations.
According to their Holiday Toy Drive, here’s how you can assist in this effort:
- Collect toys to drop off at Dollar Tree stores by setting up a toy collection bin at your office, store, church or school.
- Become a Dollar Tree volunteer to collect and distribute the toys in your area.
- Make a tax-deductible donation to Operation Homefront’s Holiday Toy Drive.
To register for this or other programs to assist military families, please click HERE.
Be sure to follow Operation Homefront’s Facebook page to learn more.
- The USO Wishbook
For more than 80 years, the United Service Organizations (USO), a nonprofit organization, has supported military personnel and their families. From sponsoring entertainment for deployed troops to having volunteer-manned airport centers where service members and their families can relax and enjoy snacks between flights, the USO prides itself as “a force behind the Forces.”
For the holiday season, the USO offers a Wishbook catalog of items for deployed troops, wounded warriors, and military families. Gift prices start at $15. Check out their Gift Catalog to browse options for the perfect gift!
Additionally, local USO offices have an array of holiday assistance programs including toy and food drives. Please contact your local office HERE for more information.
Click HERE to discover volunteer opportunities with the USO in your area and how to get involved.
- Trees for Troops
This program is sponsored by the Christmas Spirit Foundation and offers free farm-grown trees to military families annually. This year, from November 28 – December 9, 2022, about 15,000 Christmas trees will be available at 84 military installations throughout the country.
Find a participating installation near you.
To make an online donation to support this program, please click HERE.
- Wreaths Across America
Military No Stress PCS recently partnered with Wreaths Across America to have wreaths placed at the graves of our nation’s heroes on December 17, 2022 – National Wreaths Across America Day. Our goal is to have 200 wreaths shipped to the following locations:
- Arlington National Cemetery,
- Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery
- Northern New Jersey Veterans Memorial Cemetery
- Florida Hills Memorial Gardens and
- Quantico National Cemetery
We are 120 wreaths shy of our goal. Please consider helping us by placing a $15 wreath order. For each wreath purchased from our link below, $5 will go to Military No Stress PCS to allow us to continue assisting military families on their PCS journeys.
Additionally, when you place an order, you will gain an entry into a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card! We’ll shout out the winner on our social media pages and in next month’s newsletter.
Help support Military No Stress PCS and honor our nation’s fallen heroes by placing a wreath order HERE.
To volunteer on National Wreaths Across America Day, please click here: https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.
- Operation Help a Hero’s Military Family “Adoption” Program
Operation Help a Hero is a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting service members and their families during deployments, as they prepare to separate from service or return to the States after an overseas tour.
Each holiday season, the organization sponsors an Operation Christmas Spirit program through which Gold Star families, active-duty single service members, and active-duty military families can receive gifts and donations from sponsors who “adopt” them for the holidays.
Registration is open on November 1st and November 15th, 2022 for those who would like to be “adopted” this season.
To donate to this program or for more information on how to “adopt” a single service member or military family for the holidays, please click HERE.
There are many different organizations and programs that support military families during the holidays and throughout the year. We simply chose to focus on these six, which include a mix of well-known and lesser-known charities and events. This season is full of opportunities to give and receive. May we all embrace and enjoy each one.
Information Compiled By:
Yolanda Conrad – Lead Concierge Agent, MNSPCS