USO Special Delivery Celebrates 160th Event for Military Parents

The birth of a child is typically a time when family and friends gather together to support mothers and fathers-to-be as they celebrate and navigate their changing family dynamics. However, military parents can experience this time in their lives far away from their homes and traditional networks of support.

This is where the USO steps in to deliver on its mission of strengthening through connection. Since 2013, the USO and Heidi Murkoff, author of the “What to Expect” book series and creator of whattoexpect.com and the WTE Foundation, have partnered in hosting Special Delivery baby showers for new military parents and parents-to-be around the globe. Special Delivery celebrates, educates, and connects new and expectant parents who are often stationed far from their families, friends, and support networks during their pregnancies.

The USO and Heidi hosted its 160th event on December 5 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with nearly 100 moms attending—many with babies in tow. The event included games, lunch, gifts and a valuable and insightful pregnancy and parenting Q&A session with Heidi. Alan Reyes, USO Senior Vice President of Operations, Programs & Entertainment helped to kick off the event by honoring Heidi for the partnership and for all of her time, insights, support and countless hugs that she is known to give at Special Delivery events.

“This program started as an idea that we birthed together, and it has been wonderful to work with Heidi and her husband Erik to nurture and grow the program into the incredible initiative that it is today,” Reyes said.

As a thank you for the tremendous collaboration, the USO team presented Heidi with a photo book of memories from Special Delivery events over the past six years.

The day was filled with laughter from both the moms and babies, and served as a way to build friendships, share knowledge, and be pampered with lunch and gifts.

“The question-and-answer time was great. We learned a lot and asked questions [we] had, “said Amanda Purcell, a mom-to-be and Army spouse who attended the event. “We learned a lot about feeding tips.”

“I would definitely recommend this event to first-time moms,” said Ellen Burt, an active-duty mom of two who has served nearly 10 years in the Navy. “The stories and the experiences that other moms share are great. I’ve learned things here that I would have never known about.”

“The simple act of a baby shower might seem frivolous, but the underlying purpose is to celebrate and support women during a time that can be challenging even in the best of circumstances,” said Shanna Helf, USO Program Specialist for Military Families. “Behind the food, the gifts, and the fun is a wish that these moms leave feeling more connected, more informed, and more confident in their own strengths than they did before they walked in.”

Heidi also shared that the learning and teaching hasn’t been one-way. While she and her husband do not come from military families and didn’t have any previous direct military connections, this program has taught them the true meaning of service and sacrifice.

“Clearly, we will never know firsthand the challenges military families face, but we’ve seen and heard so much, and we have been left in awe of what they deal with — with such incredible strength, grace, courage, commitment, camaraderie, sense of community and sense of purpose,” said Heidi. “And most importantly, I’ve learned that spouses and children sacrifice and serve too, and deserve our support and gratitude at least as much as servicemen and women themselves.”

The event ended with a meet and greet with Heidi, where each mother received a signed copy of a “What to Expect” book and a gift card for Target, which began sponsoring the program in 2017.

Since its launch, the program has supported more than 10,000 new and expectant active-duty parents at 47 locations across 25 U.S. states and territories and four countries overseas. In 2018, the Special Delivery program has also included 17 reunions and six showers for expecting fathers across 18 U.S. states and territories, and four countries overseas.

Heidi commented on the importance of community and connection in saying, “parenting is at least a two-person job, but many military parents do it alone, sometimes while on active duty themselves. That’s why it’s so important to reach out and form networks, whether through resources like the USO or through programs like Centering Pregnancy or through online groups, like the What To Expect community. Every parent needs someone, or a group of someones, to celebrate with, commiserate with, vent to, share special moments with.”

After the baby shower, the USO held a reunion for past program participants. The reunions provide a chance for Heidi to reconnect with moms, children and families she’s met in the past and prove the strength and importance of the relationships formed through this program. In some cases, Heidi has reconnected with families three or four times as the families travel and reunite at various bases and USO centers for the Special Delivery events. She stays in touch with them in between in-person hugs via her Facebook page and Instagram.

Reflecting on the reunions, Helf said, “I have the immense privilege of traveling with Heidi and am constantly fueled by the energy she brings to each event, and to each mom. She truly connects with everyone in the room and maintains those connections virtually and in-person long after the shower has ended. She uniquely brings the knowledge of an expert, the listening ear of a best friend, and the comforting hug of a mother who has done this before and knows that you, too, can handle the job ahead.”

Heidi also reflected on some of her most impactful moments through Special Delivery, sharing that at Fort Drum she met a young Army spouse who asked Heidi to sign a very old, battered copy of ‘What to Expect the First Year’; the woman explained that she and her husband had bought it at a thrift store just before he deployed to Afghanistan, and he kept it with him the entire time he was gone to stay connected with his wife and the baby.

“Literally, every mom and dad has left their mark on me, as has every baby. I could tell stories…heartwarming, inspiring, funny, sad, all of the above, for days or even weeks,” said Heidi, “I’m inspired by every single one of them, every single day – and so grateful to have the opportunity to share their Special Deliveries with them, to share hugs and cuddles, and to stay a part of their lives wherever they go through reunions and social media.”

For more information about the Special Delivery program click here and find more details about military spouse and family programming here.