Newsroom & Press Releases

2009 and Looking Forward in 2010

USA Cares marked its 6th anniversary in March 2009.  In our short lifespan we have achieved some pretty remarkable accomplishments for our Kentucky-based non-profit.  We received our nineteen thousandth request for assistance last year as well as granted our sixth millionth dollar on behalf of the needs of military families.  We began our Warrior Treatment Today program in Texas—providing financial support to OIF/OEF veterans who couldn’t afford to attend residential rehabilitation treatment for PTSD.  The program grew throughout the year to over 100 veterans in 28 different states with over $200,000 in financial aid provided.

USA Cares grew in its reputation as a valuable partner with both fellow non-profits and with government agencies as well.  Selected as a member of the Department of Defense Centers of Excellence (DCOE) for our work with PTSD, USA Cares is often the “go to” charity for helping a military family when other non-profits can’t help.  For example, Fannie Mae has continued and deepened its relationship with USA Cares to include a grant to establish the first Military Family Housing Lender Education Course—designed to assist the lending community in better understanding the unique needs of military borrowers.  Other initiatives are underway that will increase USA Cares’ impact on the dismal housing situation faced by military families.

Our independent audits continued to show USA Cares operates with a high degree of efficiency with donor dollars.  The Board of Directors of USA Cares met regularly to provide broad oversight and strategic guidance to the staff in addition to acting proactively to raise funds.  USA Cares was frequently consulted by news media outlets seeking to find real stories of military family assistance.  No story could be more real, and more tragic, than the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas.  USA Cares responded the next morning with emergency funding to assist family members with food, lodging, and travel as they sought to quickly join their wounded loved ones.  Assistance activities for the Fort Hood shooting victims continue up to the present. 

USA Cares continued to benefit significantly from the very public support of our national spokesperson Dennis Miller.  Mr. Miller made several appearances on behalf of USA Cares during the year to raise funds, and he used his nationwide radio show to remind people about the sacrifices of our military personnel and their families.  The year ended with Bill O’Reilly of Fox News donating $25,000 on the air during his popular show—the O’ Reilly Factor, as a result of Dennis Miller’s support of with USA Cares and our cause.

The New Year 2010 brings with it some of 2009’s leftovers—housing crisis, increased foreclosures, high unemployment, and the threat of global terrorism.  The near-successful plot to explode an airliner over Detroit jerked the public out of its economic woes long enough to re-engage on national security issues.  The President has ordered 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan while Yemen and other hot spots loom.  For USA Cares, all this portends a continuation, if not increase, upon the demands that will be made of our military—and their families.  We are reminded that only 1 per cent of the population is serving in the military—that leaves the remaining 99 per cent to enjoy our freedoms and quality of life thanks to that tiny, voluntary segment of American society.  In response, USA Cares will continue to grow to provide services to more service members in 2010 than ever before.  We will reach out aggressively to those in need and those who can lead us to them.  USA Cares will ask millions of Americans to share the sacrifice made by our military families and donate to our/their cause—thus allowing us to continue this noble work in 2010—and beyond.

Bill Nelson—Executive Director, USA Cares