Better than a yellow ribbon

I haven't been exactly shy in voicing my distaste for yellow ribbons on cars, but I do understand that people feel a need to do SOMETHING to support the troops. I simply maintain that slapping a ribbon on the family bus and calling it a day is a rather shallow and ineffective way to do it. Ever since we got home from the conference in Charlottesville, I've been meaning to let you guys know about a program I learned about while I was there that gives people an outlet for supporting the troops in ways that matter.

Operation Homefront is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the families of deployed servicemembers, as well as those troops who return home injured. There are lots of organizations out there with similar missions, but I was terribly impressed by the can-do attitude of the woman who gave the briefing at the Worldwide, so I wanted to highlight it here.

Operation Homefront is all about connecting those who have a need with those who can help. While they do give out plenty of cash grants, they also work smart by connecting people in need with sources of help. For example, they have a relationship with Clear Channel Radio, which they use to find people in specific geographical areas who can help with specific needs.

Operation Homefront is also active in supplying computers and digital cameras to families of deployed servicemembers. That might seem frivolous, but I know how important it was to us to be able to keep in regular contact with Fred via email. They also provide wounded soldiers with laptops that are equipped with special accessibility programs for the disabled.

It was fascinating to listen to the presenter talk about what they will and will not cover. For example, they generally don't cover moving expenses for a wife to move back home when her husband is deployed, figuring it is better for the family to stay within the military community. However, let's say that the wife needs surgery and has small children who will need care while she is recovering. In that case, Operation Homefront would cover her moving expenses to go home to her parents. But what if thanks to this move, she now is facing a co-pay for her surgery away from a military medical facility? Operation Homefront would be there once again to help out.

I wish I had blogged about this sooner after returning home, when more of the details were fresh in my mind. As I go through my notes and look around on their website, I keep remembering little bits and pieces of stories that we heard, like the wheelchair ramp they built for a wounded returning soldier or the emergency foundation work they did for a soldier in Afghanistan whose house's foundation partially caved in following heavy storms. There are the school supplies donated for children of deployed troops and the $500,000 worth of DVDs sent to the troops overseas. This news clip is a typical Operation Homefront story.

I could go on and on--that's how impressed I was by the stories we heard that day. But really, you should go to their website and have a look for yourself. This is an organization that steps up to the plate in supporting the troops and their families, and they deserve your support.

• This page is not to be missed, but make sure you get a hankie before you click.