The latest Giving Grace salutes Operation Homefront, an organization that serves our military and their families.
Program Manager Kristen Henry said Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit founded in 2002 shortly after the September 11th attacks.
“Our mission is to build strong, stable, military families so that they can thrive in the communities that they work so hard to protect,” Henry said. She said the organization is very proud of being in the top one percent of U.S. charities awarded the prestigious 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator.
One program offered by Operation Homefront is Critical Finance Assistance (CFA), which Henry says meets the critical needs of service member that are wounded or injured. The assistance includes food, rent, utilities, mortgage payments, travel expenses, home repairs and more.
“We have helped hundreds of families in the Clarksville, Fort Campbell area over the years with the CFA program,” Henry said. Another program, the Star-Spangled Baby Shower, has helped around 50 local mothers with many of the baby items they would need including car seats.
The Back-to-School Brigade took place this past July at Fort Campbell, which provided 1,000 backpacks and other school supplies to military children.
Holiday House is an event that lets military families shop for toys for their children. Henry said this year they will give away nonperishable food items that can be used to make holiday meals.
“We’re really excited to be able to eliminate some of the financial stressors that our families have with frequent deployments and relocation. So many of our military families face financial and emotional challenges,” Henry said.
With service members sometimes finding themselves in a difficult place, Henry said that with Holiday House and Operation Homefront can give back to military families.
If you would like to find out more about Operation Homefront, learn about their programs or volunteer, go to operationhomefront.org. To support the organization financially email Kristen Henry at kristen.henry@operationhomefront.org or call 615-636-9864.