Bob’s welcomes all guests to contribute to Operation Homefront as we enter five years of partnership this fall. From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, Bob’s is collecting guests’ contributions in all 169 stores from coast to coast and matching those donations dollar-for-dollar with a maximum contribution of $150,000.
It’s simple to support Operation Homefront through this annual Café Collections for a Cause partnership. Stop in any Bob’s store and visit the on-the-house-café to contribute. Guests can also donate to the Bob’s matching campaign online here.
Since partnering with Operation Homefront in 2019, Bob’s has contributed more than $200,000 to support the organization’s programs and services available to military families, including critical financial assistance, a variety of housing support and meal assistance.
“In this challenging economic environment, we have found many more of our military families are really struggling to make ends meet,” said retired Brig. Gen. John I Pray Jr., President and CEO of Operation Homefront. “Which is why we are so grateful to amazing partners like Bob’s Discount Furniture, and their generous Café Collections for a Cause customers, for their unwavering support of our efforts to give this very deserving group of our fellow Americans the opportunity for a stronger, more stable, and more secure future.”
Operation Homefront has provided more than 20,000 families with over $39 million in financial assistance and more than $100 million in home equity since 2011. Through Operation Homefront’s Back-to-School Brigade® program, the organization has filled and distributed over 500,000 backpacks for children since 2008.
Our mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so they can thrive – not simply struggle to get by – in the communities- OUR communities- they have worked so hard to protect.
Operation Homefront
“We are grateful to be celebrating five years of partnership with Operation Homefront, which has allowed us to contribute furniture, financial relief and volunteer hours to the organization,” said Bob’s Discount Furniture President and CEO Bill Barton. “Our Café Collections for a Cause fundraising enables Bob’s and our guests to support active military and veterans who have done and continue to do so much for all of us.”
Meet Navy Veteran Felicite Gray
To kick off the fifth year of partnership, Bob’s helped furnish an apartment for Navy veteran Felicite Gray who is currently enrolled in Operation Homefront’s Transitional Housing – Apartments program.
After seven years of service, which took her to Dubai, Singapore, Bahrain, and Hawaii, Felicite separated from the military with an honorable discharge at the end of her contract. Felicite, who is a new mother, needed to relocate from San Diego, where she honorably discharged from the military back to the East Coast to be near family support. This summer, Felicite was accepted into Operation Homefront’s Transitional Housing – Apartments program. The program provides a rent and utility free apartment as well as supportive services that include case management and financial counseling.
“The apartment has been such a stress-reliever as a first-time mom with a newborn,” Felicite said. “It helped me get back to the East Coast, and the program manager and resources have been amazing.”
Bob’s was honored to offer Felicite the opportunity to furnish her new space. She and her new baby, Aryah, were treated to a personal shopping experience at her local Bob’s, where a store manager helped Felicite turn her new apartment into a home.
“It’s a blessing,” Felicite said. “It feels good to know the assistance I am getting is being done with genuine spirit. Sometimes we get so caught up in life that we don’t realize there are companies and entities that are willing to help.”
Bob’s Commitment to Meals for the Military
In addition to supporting Operation Homefront through financial and furniture donations, Bob’s employees have volunteered at an annual Holiday Meals for the Military event nearby the corporate headquarters in Connecticut. This year, Operation Homefront anticipated that 15,000 military families will be fed during the meal distribution across America.
In November, Bob’s employees will volunteer for a third time, to pack meal bags for more than 100 military families in Connecticut for distribution. The volunteer event is also an opportunity for Bob’s employees to connect with local military members and their families for a day of activity.
“Our partnership with Operation Homefront is significant for Bob’s and its guests on many levels,” commented Lindsay Ruszczyk, Communications Director. “We love that our guests can easily contribute in our Cafes and that we can financially support Operation Homefront as well contribute in a meaningful way through volunteerism.”
