USO Center Spotlight - Dec. 2007

 
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USO of Metropolitan Washington

 

We had just returned from two years of living in Germany...We had not spent the holidays with our family for several years. When I found out I had duty, I was particularly disappointed that we wouldn't be able to make the trip home. Thanks to our friends at USO-Metro, we had the best holiday ever! I will never forget it!

– a grateful service member.

The USO of Metropolitan Washington provides vital programs and services to troops and their families stationed in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. The center consists of six Family Outreach centers, as well as three USO Airport Lounges.

The airport lounges are located at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Washington Dulles International Airport, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. All three full-service lounges feature Voiceover IP phones, Internet access, photocopying/faxing services, complimentary snacks, TVs and reading material. The BWI facility features additional amenities, such as baggage storage, a sleeping room and nursery.

USO-Metro has outreach centers in military housing communities at Fort Belvoir and Woodbridge Run in Virginia; Indian Head and Fort Meade in Maryland; and Bellevue Housing in Washington, D.C. A new center is set to open on Fort Myer, Va., in 2008. The outreach centers offer a wide variety of programs geared to the young enlisted families, including community days, holiday programs, youth enrichment programs, teen and movie nights, bingo, child welfare classes and distribution of child safety seats. These centers help instill a sense of community to their residents, who often feel transient.

USO-Metro also works very closely with Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda to provide entertainment, services, and support for injured service personnel and the medical team that cares for them. They also maintain 25 furnished apartments to house military families in extreme financial or medical crisis. These units are available for up to 60 days at no cost to local military families.

Following September 11, USO-Metro worked with the Pentagon to develop Operation USO Care Package (OUCP), a worldwide program that allows the American public to show their support for the troops in a safe and secure way. The program initially began on a local level, but now through a partnership with USO World Headquarters, OUCP has sent more than 1.2 million packages to troops around the world.

 

 

Program/Events: Holiday Hotel

 

The Holiday Hotel program is just one of the many ways in which USO-Metro helps the troops during the holiday season. It provides free lodging, donated by area hotels, for visiting family members of those military personnel who are unable to go home for the holidays. The program, which began in 1986, is a wonderful opportunity for local service members to enjoy the holidays with their families while remaining in the Washington, D.C. area. It provides a touch of home to service members that would normally miss out on the opportunity to see their family due to military obligations. More than 500 room nights are given away each year. This year, USO-Metro’s Holiday Hotel program will run from Dec. 20-30. E-1 to E-6 are eligible. To learn more about this program, contact USO-Metro.