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For more information,
to donate or volunteer visit our website:
333 S. Wabash
16th Floor
Chicago IL, 60604
(312) 822-6699
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The USO of Illinois
annually
serves over 300,000 service members and their families at 5 USO Centers and through hundreds of programs and services.
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Charles "Peanut" Tillman serves the military community at USO No-Dough Dinner
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| Charles Tillman receives USO Angel Harvey Heart of a Patriot Award from USO of Illinois President and CEO, Alison Ruble and Captain William Buils, Commanding Officer, NAVSTA Great Lakes. |
Since 1999, USO Great Lakes has been serving No-Dough Dinners to provide troops and their families with free, hearty meals right before their next paycheck. On Tuesday, February12
thCharles "Peanut" Tillman of the Chicago Bear's visited the USO of Illinois at Naval Station Great Lakes to help serve a No-Dough Dinner.
Tillman has been a longtime advocate of the military community. Growing up, Tillman spent the majority of his youth traveling the world with his family and his father, Donald Tillman Jr., who was a Sergeant in the United State Army.
"I understand and respect the young people who have joined our United States Armed Forces. I thought about joining a lot while I was growing up. I was in the community, I saw day-to-day what these people go through. But, when I went to college and got my football scholarship I was on a new path," said Tillman. "I never forgot about them always in the back of my mind. When I started my career with the NFL, I thought:
how do I give back to this amazing community that embraced me as a youth and shaped my life? Being able to partner with the USO to do great events like, this, like No-Dough's allows me to give back to that community. To tell them - hey I'm here for you and I understand."
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| Tillman serves dinner to sailors at Naval Station Great Lakes as part of the USO of Illinois No-Dough Dinner. |
Before dinner began, Tillman was presented with the USO Angel Harvey Heart of a Patriot Award.
While his father had previously accepted the award on his behalf at the USO Salute Gala in October 2014, the USO was honored to present the award to him in-person. The USO Heart of a Patriot Award is presented to supportive citizens of our nation who have gone above and beyond to support the troops and their families.
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| Charles Tillman sits down to eat dinner with sailors at Naval Station Great Lakes. |
Over 250 service members and their families were served at the No-Dough Dinner, during which Tillman took time to socialize with the sailors, as well as autograph memorabilia. The dinner was generously sponsored by The Gary Sinise Foundation, catered by Real Urban BBQ of Highland Park and served by a host of volunteers which included Jack Detzel of PepsiCo and Todd Jones, Ric Rumowski and Jeremey Crooks of Bridgeview Bank Mortgage Division.
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| From left: Charles Tillman, Jack Detzel of PepsiCo, Todd Jones, Jeremy Crooks and Ric Rumowski of Bridgeview Bank Mortgage Division serve dinner at the USO of Illinois No-Dough Dinner. |
Thank you to all of those who came out to help us serve another great No-Dough Dinner and a special thanks to Charles "Peanut" Tillman.
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MWR Great Lakes Polar Bear Club jumps for the
19
th Annual Polar Bear Plunge
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| USO of Illinois staff and volunteers keep spirits warm at the 19th Annual Polar Plunge. |
As temperatures dipped in the Chicago area on February 7
th, Morale, Welfare & Recreation (MWR) Great Lakes Polar Bear Club members and USO of Illinois staff and volunteers set up for the 19th Annual MWR Great Lakes Polar Bear Plunge. The big jump took place in Lake Michigan, the third largest of the six Great Lakes. While it may only be third in size, Lake Michigan geographically adjacent to the only Naval boot camp in the United States, Naval Station Great Lakes.
"The USO of Illinois loves to support all activities at the Naval Station. Today we are here with warm beverages and snacks for the participants of the Polar Bear Plunge," said Chris Miller, USO Great Lakes Center Director. "It's great to see service members, friends and family coming to participate in the event."
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| Outdoor recreation coordinator at Naval Station Great Lakes, runs out of the icy water. |
The Polar Bear Plunge is a time-honored tradition at Naval Station Great Lakes. Each year the first two people selected to take the icy jump are the current Commanding Officer of the Naval Station and the incoming Commanding Officer. As the Polar Bear Club called participants to attention, neither of no one had any reservations about plunging right into the water after receiving important safety instructions. Over 150 people took the plunge this year. Some even donned costumes. Several mermaids, Disney's Elsa, Elvis and even a duo dressed in Hawaiian garb, showed their polar bear tendencies.
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| A group of super-hero themed jumpers getting pumped-up to take the plunge. |
"The Polar Bear Plunge is a great way to relieve stress and have a great time with service members you might not
see that often. I try to fly out to Great Lakes each year to plunge with some of my old service buddies. I came through Great Lakes during my training, and the USO of Illinois and the staff at Naval Station Great Lakes left such an impression on my young career that I cannot help but return for special events such as the Polar Bear Plunge," said a service member from New York.
Thank you to MWR Great Lakes Polar Bear Club for having the USO of Illinois at this great event! |
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