USO Launches First of Its Kind Alternative Giving Website "USO Wishbook"

Press release (Nov. 15, 2011) — Tis the season for giving and this holiday season the USO is offering Americans a unique way to spread cheer and give gifts that matter, with the launch of its first-ever alternative giving website, the USO Wishbook.

A first of its kind, the USO Wishbook is the most comprehensive alternative giving website that solely supports U.S. troops and their families. USOWishbook.org features dozens of symbolic gift items our troops and their families need the most. Consumers can find a gift that not only supports our brave men and women in the military, but also to honor their own friends and relatives with a gift.

With gifts to suit every budget, the USO Wishbook offers items priced from $15 up to $5,000 for extraordinary gifts. For $25 or less, you can purchase a care package that helps get a service member through the initial days of deployment, a kit to help a military child cope with the stresses of military life, or a calling card to keep a service member and their family connected.

Visitors to the site can easily browse gifts in multiple ways: across price ranges; gifts that benefit deployed troops, military families or wounded warriors; and gifts for him, for her, for kids, and for colleagues. USO Wishbook provides an affordable and easy way to give unique gifts and say thank you to the troops this holiday season.

“Every year, the USO delivers what we call 'goodness' to men and women in uniform and their families. It's how we lift the spirits of troops and their families,” said Sloan Gibson, USO President and CEO. “Now, through the USO Wishbook, every American can find a gift that gives twice — honor friends and family with a gift that will go around the world to support those who give so much for our country.”

How it works:
-Log on to: www.usowishbook.org
-Browse the catalog
-Select and purchase a gift
-Choose to send gift recipient an e-card informing them they have been honored with a USO gift
-Receive your receipt for tax-deductible donation to the USO

The debut of USO Wishbook comes as the USO celebrates 70 years of service. Charity Navigator, the nation's largest evaluator of philanthropic organizations, gives the USO its highest rating, “4-stars – Exceptional.” Four stars is the highest rating possible in evaluating the financial health, accountability and transparency of a nonprofit.