Holidays for Heroes
Spending time away from family and friends during the holidays is tough, especially when service members are in difficult training rotations, deployed far from loved ones or in remote places of the world.
Because of you, the USO’s Holiday for Heroes program brings holiday cheer and a touch of home to service members during the holidays. This year, the USO is expanding the program, reaching military members deployed in remote areas in the Pacific, Southwest Asia, Europe and the United States.
Learn more about the Holiday for Heroes program below and how you can help the USO be there when service members need a place to call home.
By the Numbers:
Holiday Boxes Sent to Remote Areas
Holiday Care Packages Sent by FedEx
Service Members & Families Served
Participating Locations Worldwide
Share your holiday support #USOHolidays
Help make the holiday season brighter for our service members and their families by donating today!
Your support in action
FAQs
Learn more about the Holiday for Heroes program
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How did the USO start Holidays for Heroes?
Holidays for Heroes began as the ‘USO Christmas Convoy’ in Southwest Asia in 2009, and was aimed at reaching the most remote deployed locations with no access to USO centers or many other resources. USO staff would convoy to bring holiday decorations, gifts, and holiday cheer to isolated outposts.
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How is the USO expanding Holidays for Heroes this year?
Since the Holiday for Heroes program’s inception in 2009, it has grown in size and scope in the Southwest Asia region, to include month-long holiday programming in USO centers, as well as dramatically increasing the number of outreach locations reached. In 2018 the USO is expanding Holidays for Heroes globally. Holidays for Heroes will now reach service members in the Pacific, Southwest Asia, Europe and the United States, at both expeditionary outreach locations and centers over the Winter holiday season. Holidays for Heroes will now take place a centers across the world, as well as almost 200 center locations and 60 outreach locations.
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What are included in the Holidays for Heroes care packages?
Holiday care packages are a special holiday gift for our service members deployed over the holiday timeframe. Each package comes “wrapped” in a red USO drawstring backpack, and includes a package of snacks, toiletries, a Jeep beanie, FedEx ear buds, and a Popsocket.
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What type of holiday programming does the USO provide?
USO centers across the globe will celebrate the holidays all month long in December, with fun activities like gingerbread house making, Santa visits, raffles and gift giveaways, holiday baking, ugly sweater contents and more. Expeditionary programming will allow USO staff to deliver holiday cheer to those service members not located near a USO center locations, bringing gifts, decorations, treats, and good tidings!
Holiday for Heroes is made possible by these generous sponsors:
