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Uso Fort Hood - JJ, 7, and Skyley Aguirre, 6, receive cupcakes with their mother, Jessica, from a volunteer during USO Fort Hood's 20th anniversary Aug. 7 in Fort Hood, Texas. (Photo by Megan Skipper, Fort Hood. Public Affairs) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT HOOD, Texas - United Service Organizations of Fort Hood celebrated 20 years of service Aug. 7 at the Big Square, donating 175 free backpacks for youth, kindergarten through fifth grade.

Uso Fort Hood

To help the Fort Hood community, the USO set up several stations with a variety of activities, free giveaways and refreshments. Some of the activities included face painting and corn hole games where participants remotely attempted to throw a beanbag through a hole in a wooden board.

National Night Out • Uso Fort Hood

Lemonade and cookies were also provided as part of a USO birthday celebration to coincide with the start of the new school year at Fort Hood. In order to receive a backpack, families had to pre-register through the USO, how many children were attending and present a valid military ID upon arrival.

Isabelle Hubbard, USO Fort Hood Executive Director, explained that the USO's mission is to ensure that families can spend quality time together.

“The mission of the USO is to strengthen our military families by keeping them together, so this (event) is just one of many repetitions. As you know, our families are separated, either by deployment or training. Anytime we can bring them together as a family, that's what these events are for,” Hubbard said.

About 20 USO volunteers were setting things up behind the scenes and up front. They helped set up booths, set up decorations, sound systems, hand out snacks or backpacks, and check people in. At each station, volunteers donned birthday hats.

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Punch cards were distributed to families with a slot for each booth offered. As participants took turns, the corresponding slot on the booth matched their card.

USO Fort Hood volunteers Theodora Northey and Lakia McMillan prepare to serve lemonade and iced tea to attendees celebrating the organization's two decades of service Aug. 7 at Fort Hood, Texas. ORIGINAL

“My favorite part of planning is just getting all the volunteers together and getting them excited about what they're doing. They don't think what they're doing is important, but I really want them to know that it is. Everything they do matters,” Hubbard said.

For all those interested in volunteering with the USO, a new volunteer orientation will be held on August 24 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the USO, 761st Tank Battalion Avenue, Corp. 121. Registration can be done online at volunteers.uso.org.

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Another big USO event is Trunk or Treat. It will happen on October 29th in the near future in the USO parking lot. For USO Fort Hood events, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/USOFortHood. Before America entered World War II in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for the consolidation of several service associations into one organization to boost our military's morale and provide support on the home front. These entities—the Salvation Army, the Young Men's Christian Association, the Young Women's Christian Association, National Catholic Community Services, the National Travelers' Aid Association, and the National Jewish Welfare Board—became the United Service Organizations, or USOs. These organizations are now represented by the six stars on the USO logo.

For seven decades, the USO has continued to support our nation's military and their families. Today's military members need the care, comfort, connection and support that can only be provided by an organization that is with them every step of their military journey, no matter where or under what conditions they serve. The USO is constantly adapting to the needs of our men and women in uniform and the needs of their families so they can focus on their important mission.

The USO remains dedicated to expanding access to USO centers and programs around the world, increasing annual service connections, and increasing transition services for our service members and their families during deployment. With more than 230 physical USO locations around the world, the USO has the reach and ability to provide critical programs and services to the entire military community. Our service members in all corners of the world know that the USO is always by their side.