USO of Wisconsin provides morale, welfare and recreation-type services to our men and women in the Armed Forces and their families.
Outreach — When a unit gets ready to mobilize, or returns from active duty, the USO Wisconsin is available to provide financial, volunteer, organizational and material support for the various ceremonies, homecomings, parties, etc. The gatherings have ranged from 50 up to 3200 service personnel, plus their families. It can be as simple as a pancake breakfast or as large as a major homecoming with police escorts, official speeches and entertainment. But it always includes an abundance of food and beverages for the families to enjoy.
With You All the Way — Entertainer and educator Trevor Romain and his foundation have teamed with the USO to support the millions of military children around the globe and help them deal with the stresses of military life. This partnership includes the following support kits and programs.
Created by the Trevor Romain Foundation, the "With You All the Way" Deployment Kit helps children and their families prepare for deployment, stay connected during the separation and plan for reintegration. http://www.uso.org/trevor-romain.aspx
Youth Camp — Each year, the mission of the Wisconsin National Guard Youth Camp is to teach youngsters about military life, the importance of relationship building and teamwork, and to increase their confidence through building a support network of friends and adults to stay close when a friend or family member is deployed. Up to 300 campers, ages 8-17, enjoy age appropriate activities, obstacle courses, sporting events, and more. Campers’ families hail from all branches of the military. The funding provided by USO Wisconsin is critical to the overall funding needed to support this vital program.
Tickets — The USO has partnered with the Milwaukee Admirals, Brewers and Bucks to provide tickets to games throughout their respective seasons. We provide free tickets to selected concerts at the Rave and other venues. Our partnerships with Noah's Ark and Six Flags gives military families discounted tickets. - The USO has partnered with the Milwaukee Admirals, Brewers and Bucks to provide tickets to games throughout their respective seasons. We provide free tickets to selected concerts at the Rave and other venues. Our partnerships with Noah's Ark and Six Flags gives military families discounted tickets.
Information and Referrals — We provide information to military service members and their families for support services, retail discounts, event and lodging deals and more.
Care Packages — The USO provides Care packages containing personal care items, snacks and recreational items. Care packages are distributed to our troops at deployments and homecomings. We also collect cards, letters and items donated by school groups, scout troops, corporations and supportive citizens.
Operation Phone Home — The USO provides that very important personal connection for deployed troops to reach out to their families and stay in touch. To date, the USO has provided more than 2,9000,000 free pre-paid international calling cards to troops stationed overseas. The USO also launched a satellite-based based connectivity network in 2009, providing a private-phone network, dedicated high-speed internet bandwidth and WIFI access points for deployed troops in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait. In 2010,troops made more than 2,5000,000 free phone calls home using the network.
Sesame Street Talk, Listen, Connect DVD Kits— These kits give parents and caregivers tools to help children cope with the challenges that come with being part of a military family, including getting ready for a loved one's deployment or what happens when the loved one returns from deployment, and the visible and invisible changes that may have occurred.
USO/RocketLife Photo Book - Through this partnership, families upload up to 60 photos and create personal photo albums that fit in a uniform pocket. These 20 page albums warm the hears of troops and keep them connected with home. RocketLife prints the books for free; the USO pays for shipping them to troops stationed overseas.