Northrop Grumman Foundation Donates $5 Million to USO | Wounded Warriors Operation Enduring Care Initiative

Donation is USO’s largest single gift ever and is planned to support essential programs and facilities that help wounded warriors and their families 

Arlington, VA. (April 11, 2011) – The Northrop Grumman Foundation is donating $5 million as the lead donor for the new Wounded Warrior and Family Center on the grounds of Fort Belvoir in Virginia.  This is the largest single gift to the USO in the 70-year history of the organization.

The new center will support wounded warriors at the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital and the Warrior Transition Unit. During the transition from inpatient to outpatient care, which can take months, even years, the center will provide wounded troops and their families with tangible and intangible support. Families will have access to a setting that offers relief and understanding amid the rigors of rehabilitation and reintegration as well as the practical elements of day-to-day living, a bastion of comfort on the march out of disability.

The center at Fort Belvoir will be a high-end, 25,000 square foot facility where wounded troops and their families can find respite and renewal in “home away from home” surroundings. The center will be operated by the USO of Metropolitan Washington.

“The USO is humbled by the generous gift the great folks at the Northrop Grumman Foundation have pledged to wounded warriors through Operation Enduring Care. There are more than 40,000 troops wounded in war and America’s wounded warriors are on the path to rebuilding their bodies and their lives. This reality drives the USO and we are immensely grateful to the Northrop Grumman Foundation for energetically engaging with us as partners on behalf of wounded warriors,” said Sloan Gibson, USO chief executive officer and president.

“For more than 20 years, Northrop Grumman and its employees have partnered with the USO to serve our nation's military, veterans and their families.  By supporting the USO, we show our appreciation for and express our gratitude to the men and women who defend us,” said Wes Bush, Northrop Grumman chief executive officer and president.

The Wounded Warrior and Family Center at Fort Belvoir will be part of USO | Wounded Warriors, the comprehensive long-term program to create a “community of care” to give these warriors and their families the best chance for better lives. As our troops and their families face challenges on the path to recovery, the USO will ensure that Americans returning from combat zones have every opportunity to lead fulfilling lives by meeting their needs directly or through best-in class partnerships. As the USO looks at the continuum of care needed for troops and their families, we’ve outlined the help needed from point of injury on the battlefield to reentry into their local community.

The USO has undertaken a capital fundraising campaign, Operation Enduring Care, to provide resources for USO | Wounded Warriors which will be used to create programs and partner with best-in-class organizations, as well as build two Wounded Warrior and Family Centers, one at Fort Belvoir and one at the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda.  Operation Enduring Care will underwrite construction of these two centers and create an endowment to cover the cost of operations and maintain them to serve Americans injured in combat and their families. 100% of all cash and cash-equivalent contributions will go to the initiative that supports wounded warriors. No funds will go to administration or overhead.

Northrop Grumman was the first corporate supporter of Operation USO Care Package and has been a generous contributor over the years by donating both corporate and employees’ funds, resources and time to the care package program and to USO centers around the world. Since 2003, the company and its employees have donated more than $500,000 to the USO in support of Operation USO Care Package. Northrop Grumman also sponsors a number of local USO programs around the country, including the USO Airport Lounge for military travelers at Washington Dulles International Airport and in 2010 became title sponsor of the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman benefitting the USO.  

“Northrop Grumman maintains a strong commitment to programs that improve education and human services, promote cultural awareness and diversity, and support our troops and veterans,” said Sandra Evers-Manly, Northrop Grumman vice president, Corporate Responsibility and president of the Northrop Grumman Foundation.  “Through funding from the Northrop Grumman Foundation, we are proud to play a major role in Operation Enduring Care and establishment of the facility at Fort Belvoir for wounded warriors.”

The Northrop Grumman Foundation is primarily focused on providing students and teachers unique experiences related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).   A special grant is being made to the USO to support its mission to support wounded warriors and their families.   The USO will receive $1.75 million in 2011, $1.75 million in 2012 and $1.5 million in 2013 from the Foundation.

Gayle Fishel

703-908-6433

gfishel@uso.org

About the USO

The USO (United Service Organizations) lifts the spirits of America’s troops and their families millions of times each year at hundreds of places worldwide.  We provide a touch of home through centers at airports and military bases, top quality entertainment and innovative programs and services. We also provide critical support to those who need us most, including forward-deployed troops and their families, wounded warriors and their families and the families of the fallen.

The USO is a private, non-profit organization, not a government agency. We rely on the generosity of our volunteers and donors.  In addition to individual donors and other corporate sponsors, the USO is supported by Worldwide Strategic Partners: American Airlines, AT&T Inc., BAE Systems, The Boeing Company, Clear Channel Communications, The Coca-Cola Company, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Procter & Gamble and TriWest Healthcare Alliance. We are also supported through the United Way and Combined Federal Campaign (CFC-11381).  To join us in this patriotic mission and to learn more about the USO, please visit www.uso.org.