Page 73 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2017

GIVING BACK standing by our troops
UNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATION
story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster photo courtesy of USO
Since 1941, the United Service Organization (USO) has stood by American troops through every step of their service.
From deployment to rehabilitation and reintegration, USO is there to support soldiers and their families.
The organization was established prior to the onset of America’s involvement in World War II in 1941 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to unite several service associations into one organization to lift the morale of the country’s military and nourish support on the home front. Seven separate organizations ultimately joined forces to become the USO we have today.
“Our goal is to strengthen America’s military service members by keeping them connected to family, home, and
country, throughout their service to the nation,” said USO Gulf Coast Director Felice Kelly-Gillum. “Today’s USO continuously adapts to the needs of our men and women in uniform and their families so they can focus on their very important mission.”
USO Gulf Coast operates two centers in Gulfport for service members and their families. “The first center is located at the Naval Construction Battalion Center and another center
is in the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport for service members in transit,” said Kelly-Gillum. “We provide a wide range of national
and local programming to include support of local homecomings
and deployments, holiday and entertainment events, United Through Reading, USO Care Package
Program, Operation Phone Home, USO Back to School Bash, USO Spring Break Staycation, Stronger Families Seminars, Comfort Crew for Military Kids, No Dough lunches for service members and much more.”
USO Gulf Coast aspires to continuously expand its outreach to provide more programs and services to military installations in the Gulf South Region. “It is our hope to personally touch every service member in this community in some meaningful
way throughout their service to this great nation,” Kelly-Gillum said. To help USO reach their goal, consider volunteering or donating.
USO
228.248.0533 www.gulfcoast.uso.org
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December 2017 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 73