National Military Appreciation Month: Remember. Honor. Support.

Initiated by the United States Congress in 1999, National Military Appreciation Month is held each May as a time to thank service members and their families for all their hard work and bravery, and honor those who have died in the pursuit of freedom.

This #MilitaryAppreciationMonth, America's Charities is honoring our troops and veterans, and celebrating our nonprofit members who support them with special programs and services made possible by donors like you.

One of the most cost-efficient ways you can support these nonprofits is to donate to them through your employer's workplace giving program (Don't have a program? Click here to have your employer contact our team.) Click on each charity's name below to learn more about their work, and for more ways to support them!

• ServiceSource: ServiceSource is a leading nonprofit disability resource organization with regional offices and programs located in nine states and the District of Columbia.  They serve more than 25,000 individuals with disabilities annually through a range of innovative and valued employment, training, habilitation, housing and other support services. Through their Warrior Bridge program, they provide a vital connection to resources and support for veterans with disabilities as they seek employment, self-sufficiency and improved quality of life. In response to an overwhelming need for coordination among veteran-serving organizations, Warrior Bridge works to facilitate greater collaboration among government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private sector employers. In the last fiscal year, ServiceSource served 671 veterans with disabilities through a range of support services, directly hired 69 veterans, and placed 105 veterans in community employment. Click here to learn more and support their work.
• National Military Family Association: For nearly 50 years, the National Military Family Association has been the voice of military families.  Standing behind America's heroes is a form of sacrifice that many don't understand.  The stress of multiple deployments, constant relocations, wounds, illnesses, and injuries have a significant effect on military family members.  When a family is well supported on the home front, the service member's focus can be on the military mission ahead. NMFA provides spouse scholarships, camps for military kids, retreats for families reconnecting after deployment and for the families of the wounded, ill or injured.  NMFA aims to strengthen the families of the currently serving, veterans, wounded or fallen members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard and Commissioned Corps of the USPHS and NOAA. Click here to learn more and support their work.
• Fisher House Foundation: For over 25 years, Fisher House Foundation has been dedicated to meeting the needs of our nation’s wounded, ill and injured service members and their families. Fisher House Foundation builds comfort homes so that military and veterans’ families can be close to their loved ones during a medical crisis. Click here to learn more and support their work.
• Wounded Warrior Project: Wounded Warrior Project is transforming the way America’s injured veterans are empowered, employed, and engaged in our communities. We believe that every warrior has a positive future to look forward to, and we work together to get them there by setting and achieving goals, big or small.We direct every dollar, hour, and action toward helping warriors live life to the fullest, no matter what that looks like. And warriors never pay a penny for our programs – because they paid their dues on the battlefield. Our free services in mental health, career counseling, and long-term rehabilitative care change lives. We’re committed to helping wounded veterans achieve their highest ambition. When they’re ready to start their next mission, we stand ready to serve. Click here to learn more and support their work.
• The Sesame Street Yellow Feather Fund: Nearly 800,000 school-aged children have a parent serving in the U.S. military. These children may struggle to understand why Mom or Dad needs to leave home or how things might change upon their return. Exiting the military poses additional challenges: new jobs, a new home, new family roles and routines—often at the same time. Even under the best circumstances, these adjustments aren’t easy, especially for the littlest members of military families. In 2006, when military deployments were at record levels, Sesame Street reported for duty with a multimedia initiative that equipped families with child-friendly tools to tackle the unique challenges of military life. Topics include deployments and homecomings, grief and loss, military-to-civilian transitions, and how to stay healthy as a family. Since then, the Sesame Street for Military Families initiative has grown to include bilingual videos, storybooks, and activities, Sesame Street/USO family tours, television specials, “Sesame Rooms” in military spaces, and more. Click here to learn more about how they support military families.
• Feeding America: 1 in 5 of the households Feeding America serves have a veteran member in it. It is unacceptable that anyone goes hungry, but it’s particularly troubling that millions of Americans who’ve protected and served our country are left without enough to eat. At Feeding America, we’re working on changing that. Learn more about how you can help us end hunger for veterans. Veterans fought bravely to make the nation a better place for us, now it’s time for us to fight to make it a better place for them.