See the message from the USO on how you can help this year:
As military deployments tear families apart, United Through Reading helps bring them together. Thanks to this program, GIs who are thousands of miles away from home and loved ones can still read a bedtime story to their kids every night.
In 62 locations around the globe, the USO's United Through Reading volunteers make DVDs of GIs reading children's books – like "Goodnight Moon" or "The Cat In The Hat" – aloud. The DVD and the book are then mailed to the kids back home to show them that mommy or daddy, though far away, is in fact OK.
Program participants tell of children touching the TV screen or talking back to the recorded image of their parent every time the DVD is played. And troops in harm's way will line up for hours just for the chance to make a recording for their kids.
In less than three years, the United Through Reading program has exploded. Over 50,000 recordings have been made this year, and 100,000 are projected for 2010. Your donation will help the USO provide the cameras (many are wearing out from overuse)... the books… the DVDs and mailers... even the boxes of tissues that must be placed in every recording location.
Our men and women in uniform give up so much when they go off to war on our behalf. Please help the USO bring them a little closer to the loved ones left behind by supporting United Through Reading as generously as you can. On behalf of those we serve, Thank You!
Click here to go to the USO site for more information or to donate.