Operation Homefront: Providing Help and Hope
April 9th, 2010 | Published in Community | 2 Comments
What happens to the families left behind once our soldiers have been deployed? How are they cared for when they return? I used to think that the toughest part of service would have been leaving your family behind. Yet I honestly never gave as much thought to the day-to-day tasks that would become much more difficult when dealt with as a “single” parent. Nor had I given much thought to the reality of returning home after a natural disaster had stuck while you were away serving your country.
Operation Homefront was created to help our soldiers and their families with the struggles that they face along with the rest of us each day. Only unlike the rest of us they are left to deal with these struggles while separated from the partner they love. They are also there for the men and women who return home overwhelmed by the transition to civilian life. Especially those returning severely wounded.
Alice M. Fisher, Director of Public Relations and Marketing, from Operation Homefront took the time to answer a few questions for us about this great organization and the wide variety of services they provide.
*at the bottom of this article is a list of soldiers with specific needs you can help! Please don’t hesitate to get involved
1. What is the mission of Operation Homefront?
Operation Homefront, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization, provides emergency and moral assistance for our troops, the families they leave behind and for wounded warriors when they return home.
2. What is your primary goal and how do you hope to accomplish it?
Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Operation Homefront was developed immediately following 9/11 to primarily support service members and the families of deployed service members.
While service members are deployed, they need to concentrate on their missions so they can accomplish them and return home safely. They shouldn’t have to worry about the emergencies their families are facing back home.
That’s where Operation Homefront is there to help by providing emergency financial assistance, counseling and/or recovery support. Financial assistance can be in the form of checks paid directly to mortgage lenders, hospitals, dentists, auto mechanics, contractors and other service providers. Funding assistance, which we usually provide within 24 to 72 hours, includes:
§ Emergency Food
§ Emergency Home Repairs
§ Urgent/Critical Healthcare Assistance
§ Critical Baby Items: Formula, Food, Diapers
§ Transitional Family Housing for Wounded Warriors
§ Operation Homefront Online Community
§ Wounded Warrior Wives Forums
Internet source for additional information: http://www.operationhomefront.net/wehelp.aspx
3. How long has Operation Homefront been around?
For more than eight years. Operation Homefront has flourished, since its inception in February 2002.
4. What sparked the idea for Operation Homefront?
Just over eight years ago, a small group of passionate and entrepreneurial military family members had an idea and a dream. The idea was to help our troops and the families they were leaving behind as they began deploying from ports and military installations to battlefields thousands of miles away. The dream was to create a sustainable organization that would provide critical services to meet the changed needs and requirements of the military communities they were serving. Little did they realize that this small regional effort would grow to become one of the largest and most successful charities assisting all branches of the U.S. military community nationwide. Beginning with that initial effort in San Diego, Operation Homefront now has 23 chartered chapters covering 32 states, and a national offices assisting with emergency needs in those locations without a chapter presence.
5. Where does the funding come from?
Operation Homefront funding comes public donations – we do not receive ANY money from the federal government. We are fortunate to count among our supporters corporations, foundations, and generous individuals who provide cash contributions, volunteer their time, and donate goods and services. In recognition of its conscientious stewardship of donations, Operation Homefront earned high marks from Charity Navigator (four stars), for three years in a row. Nationally, approximately $.95 of every dollar donated to Operation Homefront goes to programs.
6. How have you helped veterans and their families?
Here are a few examples:
Sometimes the simplest of needs can create a crisis.
Tiffany’s husband was deployed and she and her four children were trying to cope with the financial strain that accompanies separation. Her children had bunk beds that were badly broken and dangerous for the children and she had no money to replace them. Operation Homefront, with the help of a local community church, was able to get bunk beds purchased, delivered and set up. In addition, assistance was provided for the family during the holidays so they could enjoy a nice holiday meal and purchase gifts for the children.
Multiple crises can overwhelm a family.
Kristopher, wounded while deployed, was receiving treatment at a hospital near home. At the same time his wife, pregnant with their third child, was admitted at a different hospital and delivered a newborn who had to remain in neo-natal intensive care. Wanting to be there to support his wife and children, he had to drive between the two hospitals. With multiple crises going on, Kristopher turned to Operation Homefront. We provided baby items, gas money, help with the utilities and some holiday assistance to make this family’s holidays just a little easier.
A death in the family can compound the stress that already exists.
With two babies in tow, Amber had to make an emergency trip due to a death in the family while her husband was deployed. Following her return, the family’s only car broke down and suddenly the expense of the holiday was on her. Amber held on and did a great job of managing while her husband was gone, but then she found out the car needed additional repairs. One thing after another stressed this family financially,
so Operation Homefront stepped in and arranged to have the car repaired and provided food assistance to further take the pressure off this proud military spouse.
A Wounded Warrior needs care to heal.
Ross was a Wounded Warrior who was scheduled for three lower back procedures and no one to assist him before or after the operations . Quickly, his mother quit her job and moved to Kansas to care for her son. At the time, the prognosis could not be determined resulting in uncertainty of the length of her stay. She located a house to rent month-to-month but the sum of the expenses of a deposit on the house, first month’s rent and utilities put incredible stress on their finances. With a car payment and another’s month’s rent approaching, they turned to Operation Homefront for assistance. We provided a car payment, one month’s rent and money for groceries.
Discharge, injury and no fulltime employment causes family stress.
Carlos returned from deployment with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) as well as neck, back and foot injuries. Being able to find only a part-time job, he is not bringing in enough money to cover the bills. He is married with two children, ages 3 years and 10 months. His wife is also desperately looking for a job but with the national unemployment rate at 10%, she is unable to locate one. Operation Homefront helped with food assistance and paid the rent so they avoided eviction.
Medical disability often means reapplying to the Veterans Administration for help.
Jason was discharged in 2008 on medical disability, with a 70% disability rating. His injuries include PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) as well as injuries to his back and knee. He has an open VA claim for an increase, but in the meantime he got behind on his utilities for October, November and December. At the time they were living on only $700 per month with six dependents. Operation Homefront assisted by paying the back utilities to keep them from being disconnected.
Below is a list highlighting some of our accomplishments demonstrating how we helped service members and their families in 2009.
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2009 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Needs met increased 140% over 2008 (154,000 compared to 64,000).
- Requests for food assistance rose a dramatic 179% over 2008.
- Total revenue increased 56% over 2008 ($28M compared to $17.9M).
- Back-to-school backpack distributions increased 132% (8,177 in 2008 and 18,998 in 2009).
- Served 83 wounded warrior families through Operation Homefront Village with a steady waiting list of 10-30.
- Served 345 wounded warrior wives through online/offline discussion groups.
- Served 19,646 members through Homefront Online and had more than 17,545,068 total page views for the year
- Operation Homefront participated in major sponsorship and promotional events through the holiday campaign with Wal-Mart, the Kid Rock concert series in conjunction with Jim Beam, and a very successful Veterans Day campaign with MillerCoors.
- Through the Wal-Mart partnership to distribute holiday toys, Operation Homefront reached 10,000 military children in a single day.
- Arbonne International donated approximately $7 million in product that was distributed to thousands of military families across the country.
- Operation Homefront launched the Military Child Award to recognize the service and sacrifice of our nation’s youngest heroes. This event honors a child of a military family who exemplifies what it means to be part of the military community.
- Through our partnership with Dollar Tree, Operation Homefront collected 5.6 million toys in more than 3,400 Dollar Tree stores to provide holiday toys to military children.
- Received the highest possible rating, 4-stars from Charity Navigator for the third consecutive year, which is awarded to only 13% of charities.
- Operation Homefront dropped its overhead ratio to an even lower 5%, which means 95 cents of every dollar directly supports our military families.
- American Institute of Philanthropy recognized Operation Homefront on its best-rated list of military charities.
7. What challenges do you face when trying to help veterans and their families?
There are always more needs than cash contributions to meet them. As the needs have increased dramatically, the economic downturn resulted in 30-40% less cash contributions to nonprofits nationwide. The more support we have, the more deserving family members we can serve.
8. What are the biggest obstacles you face when trying to reach people?
There are a lot of relatively new military support nonprofits that have sprung up, especially since 9/11. Our military families and even the military’s family support groups sometimes have a hard time knowing where to go for help and figuring out which organizations provide good and trustworthy service. We encourage donors and the military families to do their homework, and use services like Charity Navigator, the American Institute of Philanthropy and the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance to make sure the organization’s they use are top quality.
9. How many people do you reach?
We are available to serve all military branches, service members and their families. Our clients turn to us out of genuine need. The people reach are not looking for hand-outs. They are looking for a leg up. Our target population serves families of deployed military, active-duty, and transitioning wounded warriors and active-duty families or individuals, including Guard and Reserve service members. The majority of our clients – 75% are the lowest paid service members, the E1 – E6 enlisted ranks, living on an income level that is 80 percent below the median income for the communities in which they reside.
In 2009, we met more than 154,000 needs for military families from all branches of service. Since our founding, we’ve provided more than $105 million for programs to benefit military families and met more than 257,000 needs.
Please see the attached graphic for more details.
10. How can our readers get involved?
- Donate through online giving at www.operationhomefront.net/DonationForm.aspx
- Forward Our Donation Link to Facebook Friends and encourage them to donate $5.00 www.operationhomefront.net/DonationForm.aspx
- Text the word PATRIOT to 90999 & donate $5.00 to Operation Homefront. When prompted, reply with YES to confirm your gift. A one-time, tax-deductible $5 donation will be added to your mobile bill.
11. What message would you like to communicate to our readers?
Like many nonprofits, Operation Homefront is also feeling the pinch due to the economy; we have seen a 30 percent decline in cash contributions. More than ever, we are in need of generous patriots to step up and support us. We encourage readers to find your local chapter, and get involved. The needs are many, directly below is a list of some of our current immediate needs, which can also be viewed at: www.operationhomefront.net/currentneeds.aspx
Wounded Army Soldier Needs Support For Basic Living Expenses
A Wounded Warrior has been waiting for VA compensation for an unbelievable 15 months. After his separation from the Army, due to his injuries, he was able to secure a part-time job, but was laid off just last month causing his expenses of living to outweigh his income. These unfortunate circumstances have put him in extreme financial hardship, so much so, that his children’s mother will not let the children stay with him due to the instability. Considering the emotional distress of the situation, this Wounded Warrior has maintained a positive outlook and has not lost the determination and the will to succeed. This wounded warrior is in need of support for basic living expenses including rent, car payments, gas and food.
If you would like to assist with this need, please reference client case number: NL100107
This need is current as of 3/12/2010.
Location: Mobile, AL
Click here to donate to Operation Homefront in support of this need.
Marine, Wife, & Child Stationed in American Samoa Lost All Belongings In House Fire
A fire broke out in the Marines 5-year old daughter’s bedroom. The family devastatingly lost three bedrooms, a kitchen, and living room full of belongings. The family is seeking donations of clothing, furniture and toys: The little girl wears a girls 6/7 and kids 13 in shoes. The wife wears a medium top, size 8/10 pants, and size 9 shoe. Donors must be willing to pay for shipping.
If you would like to assist with this need, please reference client case number: NL100117
This need is current as of 3/12/2010.
Location: American Somoa
Click here to donate to Operation Homefront in support of this need.
Wounded Marine Needs Financial Assistance
Operation Homefront received a request from a military officer with the Wounded Warrior Regiment in South Carolina regarding one of their wounded Marines. When this Marine returned home from deployment he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as well as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) received during combat. He has applied for benefits but is yet to receive full pay and is struggling to make ends meet. This service member does not have an automobile and this is causing extreme hardship on him as he is forced to take taxis to and from doctor and VA appointments. The cost of doing this is becoming overwhelming. If he can obtain a donated vehicle he would be able to better budget his money and be able to get back on track.
If you would like to assist with this need, please reference client case number: NL100097
This need is current as of 3/7/2010.
Location: South Carolina
Click here to donate to Operation Homefront in support of this need.
Wounded Warrior Needs Furniture and Financial Assistance
Operation Homefront received an urgent request from a Wounded Warrior who returned from Iraq in November. After returning from combat and facing a divorce, he was unable to stay above water financially. Among those financial demands, he has to rent furniture and appliances. He needs a bed, including a new mattress, as well as financial assistance to cover basic needs.
If you would like to assist with this need, please reference client case number: NL100070
This need is current as of 2/10/2010.
Location: Fort Riley, KS
Click here to donate to Operation Homefront in support of this need.
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March 14th, 2011 at 12:20 pm (#)
How much of each dollar goes directly to help the individual in need?
Thanks,
Sheldon
August 22nd, 2011 at 5:45 am (#)
I am on medical retirement after comming home from Iraq. I have ahd some family emerceny and now I am in need of some help if you can help.I need help getting four new tires on my car. Took my car to NTB for a flat and they state that all four tires are bald. The estimate cost is $781.06. If your company can not supply, I will take what ever help you provide.