Volume V | May 2019
May 2019 Newsletter
The USO strengthens America’s military service members by keeping them connected to family, home and country, throughout their service to the nation.
Annual VIP Benefit 2019
Join Us At The Beach!
Volunteers in Philanthropy held their Annual VIP Benefit on Thursday May 23rd, 2019. 

The  USO Northwest  would like to thank Volunteers in Philanthropy and the Hurter Team for their amazing event.

Puyallup's Pioneer Park Pavilion was filled to the brim with amazing people coming out to support their community, local military, and families.

Thank you to everyone who showed up and supported this amazing event. We hope to see you next year!


View additional event photos HERE
VIP or Volunteers in Philanthropy benefits under-served children and families, as well as local military members and their families through generosity, and simple acts of kindness.

The proceeds from this event went to:
Backpack Kids, the USO Northwest, and the Pierce County Youth and Sports Program.
It's simple, spam free and doesn't cost you a dime! What it does do is supports the USO-NW and our service members and their families in the Pacific Northwest!
 
Here's the kicker , when we reach 5,000 texts, Tito's Handmade Vodka will  double their support  and donate $10,000 to the USO Northwest!

Help us reach 5,000 texts !
Sea-Tac Center
Puget Sound Honor Flight:
On May 20th, 2019 the USO Northwest and hundreds of patriots welcomed back our heroes from their Puget Sound Honor Flight.

Puget Sound Honor Flight (PSHF) is an organization that flies Veterans from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam to Washington DC to visit museums and memorials. The Veterans are honored throughout the weekend and are given a special
“Welcome Home Ceremony” when they return to Sea-Tac International Airport. Some may not have had a ceremony when they returned from their respective wars, and this community is changing that mistake.

In addition, Jessica Garcia, along with her friend Joann Wuitschick, won an auction item through Mariners Care for an opportunity to greet the Honor Flight recipients at the gate, and then give them care packages during their welcome home ceremony. Thank you for your generosity and care in welcoming home these heroes.
Shali Center
May No-Dough Lunch:

 Our No Dough Dinners provide a free meal once a month for service members and families of Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

It is a unique and uplifting opportunity to bring together friends and neighbors in a casual, family-friendly environment. Military parents get a night off from kitchen duty and the military children have a chance to make new friends, all while enjoying a healthy meal provided by the volunteers and staff of the USO-NW Shali Center.

May’s No Dough meal was on the 14th from 1100-1300 at the USO Shali Center and was open to all active-duty military and their families. This month’s No Dough Meal was sponsored by Matt and Michelle Domko... FULL STORY HERE



Shali Center Upgrades:

Due to the generosity of the Windows of Hope Foundation, a legacy of the Gary E. Milgard Family Foundation, the USO Northwest was given a grant to refresh and refurbish our USO Shali Center.

The project features cosmetic work; including new flooring, wall repairs, painting, and new counter tops throughout the 2,000 square foot space. Additionally, new furniture, courtesy of La-Z-Boy Seattle, will replace existing furnishings that have been used by more than 300,000 guests over the last 8 years. 

Funds are also being used to upgrade the center's computer work stations. USO’s computer workstations provide our service members with access to high-speed internet via multiple computer stations (laptops).
Camp Lewis Center
Coffee Connections

 The USO Camp Lewis Center held its Coffee Connections for Military Spouses again this month.

USO Coffee Connections is a casual, monthly touch point which provide a networking event for our Military Spouses. These monthly gatherings allow spouses to relax in a comfortable setting, share advice, learn about local events, and make new friends over a cup of coffee and pastries.

Eighteen spouses enjoyed the May event, which once again featured goody bag giveaways, a raffle drawing, and more!

Join the USO each month as we host small gatherings for military spouses to connect with each other while enjoying a cup of coffee. This is a great way to network, share advice, discuss local events, and meet new friends!

Our next Coffee Connection will be hosted at the Camp Lewis Center (located inside America's Credit Union on Lewis Main) on June 20th, 2019 at 10:00 AM.

More photos from event HERE


Helping Hands Program:

The Camp Lewis Center is the distribution hub for our Helping Hands Program. This month we provided checks to 11 unit events totaling over $3,400.00.

The Helping Hands Program enables our military to spend valuable time together with their families as a unit. May's distributed funds supported unit volunteer appreciation luncheons, family readiness meetings, a unit bowling event, unit balls, and family picnics.
 


"Thanks to the USO's financial support (as well as the USO's operation cookie drop), we were able to treat our Soldiers and families to a fun time at our annual Battalion Spring Fling. Our volunteers did face painting and ran a bounce house for the kids. The parents enjoyed taking home free boxes of girl scout cookies!"

-Michelle Watson,
24th CSC, SFRG
24th Composite Supply Company Spring Fling
Portland Center
Oregon Honor Flight:

The USO Northwest's Portland Center supported another Honor Flight this month. The first two photos are of Veterans from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, exuberant before boarding their flight on May 17th to Washington DC where they visit museums and memorials.

There were a total of 66 Veterans, including 2 World War II, 25 Korean and the remaining Vietnam Veterans. The total traveling party included over 130 participants.

The last two photo's are of their triumphant return from the weekend. These proud Americans are being greeted as heroes during a welcome home ceremony at Portland International Airport.

The USO PDX provided 4 volunteers. Other volunteers included members of the Boy Scouts, the Patriot Guard Riders, The Port of Portland Police and Fire, as well as many other local organizations on hand to celebrate their return.
Mobile Center
The Boeing Company "Fill The Van" Donation Drive:

On Friday May 3rd,  The Boeing Company  held a "Fill The Van" donation drive for the  USO Northwest .

The USO brought two of our mobile units out and provided lunch as the employees arrived and filled them with donations for the military we serve.

From 0900-1200 Boeing employees showed up, dropped off their donations, and enjoyed hot dogs fresh off the grill,  Tim's Cascade  potato chips, plus ice cold water and lemonade.

These donation will directly support our service members and their families.
Thank you to Boeing for being such a generous supporter of the military all year round, and today for holding the donation drive.

More photos from event HERE


Our three Mobile USOs serve our military and their families at more than 300 events each year – expanding our reach and the number of service members and their families we serve.

You will find our Mobile USOs at
pre-deployment parties, homecoming celebrations, unit activities on military installations and many other special event activities throughout Washington and Oregon.


Sign up for Mobile USO HERE
Service Spotlight
Emerald Downs Salute to Armed Forces Day:

Emerald Downs Race Track & Casino hosted their annual Salute to the Armed Forces day on May 26th, 2019.

Highlighting the day's events were:

  • Fallen Soldier Memorial
  • POW/MIA Remembrance
  • US Army K9 Demonstration
  • US Navy Swearing-in Ceremony
  • A demonstration by the Seattle Buffalo Soldiers

Each branch of the Armed Forces had a race dedicated and named after them.

  • Race 1- USO Northwest Purse
  • Race 2- POW/ MIA & Military Veterans
  • Race 3- US Army Purse
  • Race 4- US Navy Purse
  • Race 5- US Air Force & Gold Star Families Purse
  • Race 6- Auburn Stakes Purse
  • Race 7- US Marine Corps & Coast Guard Purse
  • Race 8- National Guard Purse


Thank you to  Emerald Downs  and their partners for honoring our Armed Forces on this Memorial Day weekend, and continuing to be the  #F orceBehindTheForces






For more photos from the event go HERE
Upcoming Events
The USO-NW Red, White & Blue Golf Classic is the Northwest's premier golf tournament and auction benefiting the USO-NW and our local military families. Join 350+ golfers, spectators, local celebrities, and military heroes from all six service branches for a world-class golf event spanning two courses, an 18-gun salute from the US Marines, a special performance of our National Anthem, an aircraft flyover, award-winning Northwest cuisine and much more!

We will need volunteers for a variety of positions, a description of the positions along with the official arrival & departure time are listed below. Please leave your email address and a contact phone number. You can also email the USO-NW Event Manager at  events@usonw.org with questions.

To register as a sponsor or individual golfer for our USO-NW’s Red, White & Blue Golf Classic  click HERE

If you are a active-duty service member and would like to sign up on our military golfer waitlist  click HERE

If you would like to sign up to volunteer at our USO-NW Golf Classic  click HERE
USO is not a government agency. We rely on donations from individuals like you -- to support the programs that have the most impact on the lives of our military service members. 

Thanks to YOU, USO Northwest served over 800,000 service members and their families last year -- but we didn't do it alone.
  
You donation will enable USO Northwest to continue to offer the programs that have the greatest impact for our military and their families. 

Your support does make an impact as 91¢ out of every $1 you donate to the USO Northwest goes directly to serve our service members and their families.