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ARLINGTON, Va. — The United Service Organizations marked its 100,000th recording of United Through Reading’s Military Program on June 5.
The program, which helps deployed servicemembers and their families stay connected by reading children’s books on DVD, is available at more than 70 USO centers stateside and overseas through a unique partnership between the USO and United Through Reading.
“We are extremely proud to reach this significant milestone, connecting deployed servicemembers with their families despite the thousands of miles that separate them,” said Sloan Gibson, USO president/CEO. “United Through Reading is a great example of our mission to support military families wherever they are located around the world.”
USO Kaiserslautern offers two USO locations for United Through Reading: the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility and the Warrior Center. USO
Kaiserslautern is excited to announce two more USO centers that just started offering United Through Reading in June: the Deployment Center on Rhine Ordnance Barracks and the Ramstein Terminal. The USO located at the Ramstein Terminal is an open United Through Reading facility for all military ID cardholders in the KMC.
USO Kaiserslautern employee Fawn Bennett said she is excited United Through Reading has reached its 100,000th reading.
“The United Through Reading program is truly an awesome idea. The feedback we have been given by the servicemembers has always been outstanding,” she said. “When the child sees the bright yellow package, they know there is a book and a story waiting for them from a loved one.”
United Through Reading offers military families a chance to see their loved one’s face and listen to his or her voice. Once the troop is recorded reading a personally selected children’s story, the book, DVD and instructions are mailed to the family. The parent at home is encouraged to photograph the child watching the DVD and following along with the book. This keepsake is sent back to the deployed servicemember, boosting morale, promoting a full circle of communication and offering a way to personally and visually communicate during deployments.
Since 2006, the number of United Through Reading’s Military Program recordings at USO centers has steadily increased. In its first year, a little more than 4,200 recordings took place at USO locations. The total number grew to more than 20,000 in 2008 and 50,000 in the fall of 2009.
(Courtesy of USO)
