Help on the Homefront drive supports Jacksonville military families through USO partnership<\/p>\n
A simple hygiene kit, a handwritten note, a snack for a child or even a toy for a family pet may not seem like much, but for military families facing long deployments, demanding schedules and frequent sacrifices, those small gestures can make a big difference.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the idea behind the Help on the Homefront drive, a partnership between News4JAX, Navy Federal Credit Union and the USO, aimed at supporting service members and their families across Northeast Florida.<\/p>\n
At a recent distribution event, military members stopped by the USO tent to pick up donated items and connect with volunteers who wanted to show their appreciation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great the USO is always here to support. They\u2019re always having our back,\u201d one Coast Guard member said. \u201cIt\u2019s necessary for us because we don\u2019t always get the opportunity to get these things as easily as other people do.\u201d<\/p>\n
USO at Coast Guard Mayport (News4JAX)<\/p>\n
Another service member said the support provides a welcome boost during long workdays.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot helping us out,\u201d the Coast Guard member said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice during a long work day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The USO serves military members and their families throughout the year by providing resources, programs and support services. Organizers said the Help on the Homefront drive allows the community to play a direct role in that mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a way that the USO can share what we have for our military families \u2014 long days, long nights and small little gestures of thank you,\u201d said Zola Forest with the USO.<\/p>\n
The donated items included hygiene kits, family activities, snacks, beach items, pet supplies and handwritten cards from community members.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because you\u2019re a service member serving, you also have families,\u201d News4JAX anchor Melanie Lawson said while highlighting the donations. \u201cThe kids get some sweets too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Military members said the support they receive through the USO extends far beyond a single event.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe USO helps us tremendously \u2014 everything we need to make this happen,\u201d one Coast Guard member said.<\/p>\n
Another added that community support remains one of the greatest strengths of military life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a good community,\u201d the member said. \u201cAnything we need comes together. People provide what you need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Organizers said the success of the drive reflects the strong connection between Jacksonville and its military community. The city is home to thousands of active-duty service members, veterans and military families who contribute to the region every day.<\/p>\n
The Help on the Homefront drive continues to raise awareness and collect support for local military families through the partnership between News4JAX, Navy Federal Credit Union and the USO.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Help on the Homefront drive supports Jacksonville military families through USO partnership A simple hygiene kit, a handwritten…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":829916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,3188,723,314468,7310,1802,14605,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,340628],"class_list":["post-829915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-america","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-help-on-the-homefront","tag-jacksonville","tag-military","tag-navy-federal-credit-union","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-uso"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116657577501120443","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/829916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}