By Brittany Carlson/Staff writer Belvoir Eagle
Junior enlisted Families who need financial help purchasing a Christmas tree or bringing Family into town this holiday season can now register for two programs that can help: the USO of Metropolitan Washington's Trees for Our Heroes and Holiday Hotel programs.
The Trees for Our Heroes program is open to servicemembers E-5 and below in need of a free Christmas tree and decorations this season.
Registration is open through Nov. 20.
Military Families who register for the program will have the opportunity to visit a tree farm in Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 7, where they will be able to pick out a free live Christmas tree and participate in a variety of holiday activities.
"There's a visit from Santa. There are crafts for kids, hot cocoa, there's some food, and they get the choice of chopping down a tree or just picking up their tree," said Beth Messerli, USO-Metro programs specialist. "The farm has animals there and there's a lot to do, so it's a really cool experience."
Families will also receive a tree stand and decorations for their new tree.
"As military Families move around, a lot of them don't bring this stuff with them, or don't have a lot of holiday decorations because they don't want to lug it all around with them each time they PCS," Messerli said. "They'll get it all."
The Trees for Our Heroes program also provides military Families with a way to spend time together and with other military Families doing something fun, she added.
"It gets the Family out there as a unit. It creates excitement. It creates an opportunity for them to spend time together and it also cuts expenses, because getting a Christmas tree can be pretty expensive," Messerli said. "The kids have an opportunity to meet other military kids their age too and interact with them through the different games and activities that go on at the event."
The Trees for Our Heroes program is provided by a partnership between the USO-Metro and BAE Systems, according to the USO-Metro website. It started in 2009 to express appreciation for military Families during the holidays.
To register, visit www.usometro.org/holiday.
Junior enlisted servicemembers who can't go home for the holidays this year can bring their Families to them with a free hotel stay, courtesy of the USO-Metro's Holiday Hotel program.
Holiday Hotel provides a free, three-night (maximum) hotel stay for Family members of registered servicemembers, who fly into the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area from Dec. 20-30.
"This is for junior enlisted E-5 and below ... who, because of duty requirements or maybe even cost, can't get home to their Families for the holidays," Messerli said. "The holidays are a really hard time to be away from your Family, especially (for) the younger servicemembers who are stationed here. If the Families are able to come and take a little time out here to spend with the young servicemember, then it just adds a little bit of cheer and boosts morale during a time of year when it's needed most."
Family members must be coming from out of town (at least 150 miles away), and one room will be booked per applicant, at the participating hotel closest to the servicemember's duty station or assigned residence.
Registration is now open through midnight on Dec. 6. To register, visit www.usometro.org/holiday.
For more information, contact the USO Metro holiday hotline at usometroholidayprograms@gmail.com or (703) 888-7602.
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