Even While Deployed, Military Parents Show Up for their Children’s First Day of School with Some Help from the USO

By Brittany Laursen

Back-to-school season is always a busy and exciting time. Children head into a new year of learning and growth, while parents make sure they’re ready by packing school supplies, snapping that first-day photo and sending them off with encouragement. It’s a moment many deployed service members miss when deployed far from home.

USO Romania recognized this milestone as an opportunity to bring a piece of home overseas. By hosting, the “Back-to-School Bundle Bash,” a local, special back-to-school event, the USO team gave deployed mothers and fathers in Eastern Europe the chance to create personalized bundles for their children who are stateside, helping them stay connected and share that first-day experience, even from thousands of miles away.

Service members were able to include a fun polaroid photo to encourage their child on the first day of school. | Photo credit USO Photo

Instead of hitting up the store stateside, the USO created an opportunity for service members to create personalized pencil pouches for their children and loved ones. Each bundle was filled with practical supplies including pencils, erasers, stickers, keychains and fidgets. Each pack was topped off with an inspirational hand-written note and a Polaroid snapped at a school-themed photo booth. The result was simple and powerful: a care pack that felt as personal as a hug.

The event wasn’t just a checklist item before the first day of school; it was a moment to feel like Mom or Dad again. For these deployed parents, missing milestones like the first day of school can be emotionally challenging. Creating and packing bundles of school supplies to send to their children back home can give them a meaningful way to stay connected and present in their kids’ lives, even on the other side of the world. It’s also a reminder that no matter the distance, their parents’ love and support are always with them.

At each USO back-to-school event across Europe, it was the small details that spoke volumes. In those choices, a quiet language of love echoed through every moment. | Photo credit USO Photo

“The Back-to-School Bundle Bash proved to be a valuable experience for me as a parent, offering a chance to bond with my son, Justice,” said Sgt. Donald McGraw. “By personalizing school supplies to align with his favorite color and characters, I felt more connected to him. Events like these empower parents to nurture their relationships with their children, even when separated by distance.”

Throughout the event, the focus stayed on small details that mean so much in military families. Parents chose colors and characters with the same care they’d bring to a Saturday run to the store back home, pausing to remember their preschooler’s favorite animal or which superhero their middle-schooler won’t put down. Those choices (maybe green instead of blue, dolls versus plush toys) became a language of love.

Support partners from the military helped make the experience deeper than a craft table. Military and Family Life Counselors (MFLC) were on site to share resources for staying connected while stationed abroad, from communication tips to coping tools for kids navigating a new school year without a parent at home. The USO team also highlighted the USO Reading Program, which lets parents record themselves reading a children’s book and then send both the video and the book home at no cost – another way to bridge the miles at bedtime.

“My wife and I look forward to school shopping together for the kids every year, just making a day of it together,” said Staff Sgt. Mathew Annis. “This year will be my youngest’s first year of school as a kindergartner and I was super bummed that I wouldn’t be there for the start of it. The back-to-school event at the USO helped me feel reconnected and involved without physically being there, and now my kids will have a little feeling of Dad there with them for their first day.”

Across Europe, the USO brought nearly 6,000 military families together for back-to-school celebrations — proving that connection knows no borders. | Photo credit USO Photo

Creating opportunities for connection — even when geography says it’s impossible — is what the USO is all about. This year, the USO hosted 17 back-to-school programs for military families across Europe, reaching nearly 6,000 service members, family members and teachers. From first-day-of-school celebrations with hot dogs and music, to supporting military parents and children with school like “Rucksacks to Backpacks”, , USO staff and volunteers were proud to be there to celebrate this season of new beginnings.

“Moments like this remind me why I love what I do,” said USO Romania staff member, Tara Barnes. “As an event programmer, I strive to create more than just events — I aim to create opportunities for connection, community and support for families separated by distance.”

As service members sealed the pouches and signed their notes, they were sending more than school supplies. These packages carried a message that travels well across oceans: I’m thinking of you. I’m cheering for you. I’m with you, even from here.