JUNE 20, 2012

Operation Homefront launches Back-to-School Brigade to prepare military children for school, seeks volunteers

SAN ANTONIO – Operation Homefront, the national non-profit that provides emergency financial and other assistance to military families and Wounded Warriors, today announced its annual Back-to-School Brigade program to collect school supplies for military kids.  Operation Homefront, and its organizations and volunteers, across the nation will begin collecting donated school supplies, along with monetary donations, that they will distribute to the children of service members at the beginning of the school year in the fall.

Today’s launch marks the sixth annual campaign by Operation Homefront to give the children of military families the opportunity to start school with all the supplies they need to be successful.  Operation Homefront is seeking volunteers from communities nationwide to help pick up donated supplies at local collection points, stuff backpacks, and assist at distribution parties.  Anyone interested in helping military kids can log on to OperationHomefront.net/backtoschoolbrigade or Facebook.com/OperationHomefront to learn more about how to volunteer or make a donation.

“Military families, especially those in the lower and mid-grade enlisted ranks, can see a real money crunch at back-to-school time,” said Jim Knotts, President and CEO of Operation Homefront.  “People in the community who want to say thank you to military families can make a real contribution by being part of the Back-to-School Brigade program.”

At a recent Operation Homefront event honoring military kids, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey said, “It’s incredible to watch the young men and women of our military families grow up.  We have a lot to be thankful for, and military children are probably right at the top of the list.  Our kids have the unique opportunity to be whatever they want to be.”

National corporate sponsors for the Back-to-School Brigade program include Dollar Tree, Veterans United Foundation, BAE Systems, and Office Depot Foundation.

In 2011, the Back-to-School Brigade program raised over $2 million in monetary donations and school supplies nationwide for military kids. Through the generosity of individual and corporate contributors, Operation Homefront provided 30,000 backpacks to fill with school supplies for children of military service members. 

Log on to OperationHomefront.net for more details on how to contribute.  In the coming weeks, Operation Homefront will announce additional information on how Americans interested in donating school supplies to military kids can help.

About Operation Homefront:  A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront leads more than 4,500 volunteers with nation-wide presence, and has met more than 590,000 needs of military families since its inception in 2002.  A four-star rated charity by watchdog Charity Navigator, nationally, 94 percent of total revenue donated to Operation Homefront goes directly to assist service members.  For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.net.