The following are organizations which support our military and/or their families. Please let us know if there is an organization we should add.
Help for Pets
Dogs on Deployment: Dogs on Deployment is a 501(c)(3) non-profit providing a central database for military members to find families and individuals who are willing to board their pets while they are deployed. No pet should ever be surrendered due to a military commitment. DoD exists to help military members keep their pets by alleviating the need for pet relinquishment from military members due to the hardships of deployments.
Operation Military Pets: To keep military families together by providing financial assistance for pet relocation costs. All branches of the military can qualify for grants. Whether being relocated within the United States or anywhere in the world, SPCA International’s Operation Military Pets is here to keep pets with the ones they love.
Puppy Rescue Mission: To fund-raise and assist in pet rescue, foster and re-homing when needed, in particular pets of soldiers, especially those deployed in war zones. We assist with requests, logistics, administration and fund-raising for the adopted stray dogs of war rescued by and bonded with soldiers. This may include vet care, supplies, transport and related issues. We work with or through other organizations that help our soldiers bring their companion animals home from war.
Help for Veterans, Spouses and Kids
Military One Source: A free service provided by the Department of Defense to service members and their families to help with a broad range of concerns including money management, spouse employment and education, parenting and child care, relocation, deployment, reunion, and the particular concerns of families with special-needs members. They can also include more complex issues like relationships, stress, and grief. Services are available 24 hours a day — by telephone and online. Many Military OneSource staff members have military experience (veterans, spouses, Guardsmen, Reservists), and all receive ongoing training on military matters and military lifestyle. The program can be especially helpful to service members and their families who live at a distance from installations.
Operation Homefront: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit which provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of our service members and wounded warriors. The national office handles cases in states that do not have their own local offices. The majority of our clients are the lowest-paid service members, the E-1 through E-6 enlisted ranks.
USO: The USO recognizes the sacrifices the troops and their families make for this country, and it is more important than ever that they are remembered and supported. The USO offers a variety of programs and services to support the morale, welfare, social and entertainment needs of troops and their families, free of charge. Programs include: Warrior and Family Care, Families of the Fallen Support, United Through Reading and more.
Soldier’s Angels: Soldiers’ Angels is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and their families. Founded in 2003 by the mother of two American soldiers, its hundreds of thousands of Angel volunteers assist veterans, wounded and deployed personnel and their families in a variety of unique and effective ways.
The Soldier’s Project: The Soldiers Project is a private, non-profit, independent group of volunteer licensed mental health professionals including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, registered nurses and marriage and family therapists. We provide free counseling and support to military service members who have served or who expect to serve in the Iraq and/or Afghanistan conflicts and to veterans of those conflicts. We see active duty as well as members of activated Reserve or Guard units. In addition, our services are available to the families and other loved ones of service members. We provide help to service members and families struggling with issues related to the overwhelming trauma of war including the cycle from pre-deployment to deployment to homecoming and re-entry to civilian life.
Blue Star Families: A non-partisan, non-profit organization, created by real military families. We are committed to supporting one another through the unique challenges of military service and asking the larger civilian population to help as well, connecting military families regardless of rank, branch of service or physical location, and empowering military family members to create the best personal and family life possible for themselves.
Fisher’s House Foundation: The Fisher House program is a unique private-public partnership that supports America’s military in their time of need. The program recognizes the special sacrifices of our men and women in uniform and the hardships of military service by meeting a humanitarian need beyond that normally provided by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
Tee it Up for the Troops: Was established in 2005 by the family and friends of a soldier who enlisted in the United States Army after September 11, 2001. When the son was asked by his father what he needed, the son responded by asking his father to do something for the soldiers and their families back home. Tee it up for the Troops was created to honor that request and to recognize the needs of all veterans who have served and continue to serve this great nation.
National Military Family Association: Meeting the needs of service members and their families with recommendations, innovative programs such as spouse scholarships and Operation Purple Camps for kids and families, and grassroots efforts to better the quality of life for military families.
VA Pension Benefits: VA’s pension program provides monthly benefit payments to certain wartime Veterans with financial need, and their survivors. As Veterans and survivors consider applying for these benefits, VA would like to share important information about the pension program and organizations offering assistance with pension applications.
Courage to Call: Veteran-run, peer-to-peer support program in San Diego County. Their free services are offered to active and former military members, their families and loved ones. They connect callers with former members of the military who understand the rigors of military life and have made the transition to civilian life
Marine Infantry Veterans Foundation (MIVF): We exist solely to carry on that mutual support, because some of us are not so fortunate to be as “successful” once our time in uniform ends. The spirit of camaraderie never leaves us and everything we become, everything we are is owed to our fellow Marines. We had each other’s back in combat, and that doesn’t end, ever. We owe it to each other to make sure none of us are left behind after our war. The MIVF exists entirely on the generosity of those who donate. We are an independent not-for-profit organization. While there are many great entities that pledge to “take care of” veterans, our aim is more specific. We know that nobody can understand the issues an Infantry Marine can face after his end of service, like another 03XX Infantry Marine.
Transition Assistance Program: The redesigned TAP, known as Transition Goals Plans Success (GPS) or Transition GPS, changes the current program from a discontinuous set of activities into a cohesive, modular, outcome based program that provides opportunities and aids in successful transition into a “career ready” civilian. Transition GPS bolsters and standardizes the transition services that Service members receive prior to separating from the military to make them employment ready as well as being prepared to enter into higher education, attend career technical training, or start their own business.
Hope for Warriors: mission is to enhance the quality of life for post-9/11 service members, their families, and families of the fallen who have sustained physical and psychological wounds in the line of duty. Hope For The Warriors® is dedicated to restoring a sense of self, restoring the family unit, and restoring hope for our service members and our military families.
PC’s for Vets: provides FREE computers, software, and educational classes to any veteran and or veteran family member. PCs4Vets also offers the basic training needed to further the veteran’s (and the veteran’s family member) education to become employed, to start a business of their own, and to have an equal opportunity to participate in civilian society after having served our country.
- Classes include lessons that teach A+, Network, Security+, and Windows 7 certification, as well as computer refurbishing.
- Computer refurbishing classes are comprised of an authorized Microsoft agreement that encompasses hands-on-training.
- Resources (information, tools, and training), more doors of career opportunities are available to veterans and veterans’ family members.
Discounts for Service Members and Veterans: The Dealhack Military Discount Guide is the result of our quarterly survey of brands that offer active-duty military and veteran discounts. Every three months, we independently verify each and every store on this list.
Veteran Car Donations: If you want to donate a car to help veterans, check out this resource.
Military Spouse
Military Spouse Corporate Career Network: The Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (MSCCN) was chartered in 2004 as a private sector nonprofit organization that provides no-cost employment readiness, vocational training, and one-on-one job placement services for military spouses, and caregivers of war wounded. MSCCN operates as an employment partner to all branches of the Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Coast Guard, through Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs). State-of-the-art technology, built by Kenexa, provides real-time, verifiable tracking numbers and outcome reports to our employment partners, military services, and donors.
Military Spouses of Strength: Believing in the value of mental health awareness among the military community Military Spouses of Strength aims to improve mental health awareness by providing resources and knowledge available through tangible programming.
Career One Stop: CareerOneStop’s military transition Key to Career Success website connects veterans, transitioning service members, and their spouses with high quality career planning, training, and job search resources.
Operation Love (OpLove) Love Reunited: The last thing on your mind when your wife or husband arrives home after a 4 to 18 month tour, is capturing all this love– on film. Most people are so overwhelmed with emotions they forget to simply point and shoot the camera they are grasping of their child’s first hug, or that single tear of relief from a mother being able to hold her twenty year old son again. With the help of Operation: Love ReUnited and local photographers near your base, you can.
Operation First Response: The Last Mission Project.
IVMF – Syracuse University: Free training for becoming an entrepreneur or the workforce. The IVMF and its staff of more than 70 professionals deliver class-leading programs in career, vocational and entrepreneurship education and training, providing service members, veterans and their families with the skills needed to be successful in education, work and life. The IVMF also coordinates comprehensive collective impact strategies; and works with communities and nonprofits to enhance service delivery for veterans and their families.
Military Kids
Military Special Needs Network: Founded to respond to the family support needs of all branches of the military and of our Exceptional Family Members, we strive to support our Members by providing family and emotional support and lasting friendships. MSNN will: EMPOWER our members by offering opportunities in order to become the best advocate for their special family. INSPIRE our members by sharing personal stories and continuously motivating each other and our communities. CONNECT our members with local Community supports in order to provide helpful solutions and assistance. EDUCATE by providing information to learn how to better navigate the world of special needs within the military. Provide PEER 2 PEER interactions by creating a safe, positive environment comprised of fellow EFM families.
Our Military Kids: Provides substantial support in the form of grants to the children of National Guard and Military Reserve personnel who are currently deployed overseas, as well as the children of Wounded Warriors in all branches. The grants from Our Military Kids pay for participation in sports, fine arts, camps, and tutoring programs that nurture and sustain children while a parent is away in service to our country or recovering from injury.
Military Child: To ensure inclusive, quality educational experiences for all military children affected by mobility, family separation, and transition.
Military Kids Connect: An online community of military children (ages 6-17 yr old) that provides access to age-appropriate resources to support children from pre-deployment, through a parent’s or caregiver’s return.
