SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – August 4, 2023 – For the fifth year, CSX is joining forces with national nonprofit Operation Homefront to support America’s military families at a time of year when their finances are already strained by assembling and distributing more than 1,200 backpacks and essential school supplies to military children in Clarksville, Tennessee; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Baltimore, Maryland as a part of Operation Homefront’s annual Back-to-School Brigade®. Operation Homefront will distribute backpacks to 30,000 military children across the country this year, aiming to reach an historic milestone, distributing its 550,000th backpack since the program launched in 2008, saving families more than $60 million to date.
As part of Operation Homefront’s mission to build strong, stable, and secure military families, the nationwide Back-to-School Brigade® program is supported by CSX, through their Pride in Service community investment initiative, providing an opportunity to express gratitude to military families for all they do to protect the freedoms we, as Americans, enjoy daily.
For many of our nation’s military families, summer months are a time of uncertainty as they face deployments, relocations to new duty stations and the challenges associated with adjusting to new communities and new schools. This, paired with the disproportionate impact of inflation being felt by military families as noted in reports including this one by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, is taking a huge toll on this deserving group of our fellow citizens. That is why it is even more important to help them alleviate the financial burden of buying school supplies for their children, which in turn can help unlock funds for other critical needs.
“We are incredibly grateful to CSX and their dedicated employees for their unwavering support of our nation’s military families,” said Margi Kirst, Chief Revenue Officer of Operation Homefront. “As part of its transformational Pride in Service initiative, CSX continues to provide valuable resources and volunteer hours to our Back-to-School Brigade program and other key initiatives, ensuring we can support military families where and when they need us most.”
CSX is a longtime advocate of military families. Through its Pride in Service initiative the company aims to deliver support and resources to service members and their families, when and where they need it. Earlier this month, 60 CSX employees located at their Jacksonville headquarters took time out of their workday to pack school supplies for the upcoming events in communities around the country.
In addition to supporting the Back-to-School Brigade®, CSX provides much-needed funding for Operation Homefront’s Critical Financial Assistance program for military families in need. The nonprofit has fulfilled more than 54,000 requests through that program, providing more than $38 million in critical financial assistance to military families. CSX is also a lead investor in the United We Stand campaign aimed at generating the resources the organization will need to secure the futures of our nation’s military families for years to come.
“We are honored to once again support Operation Homefront’s Back to School Brigade through our Pride in Service program and extend our support to the children of military families,” said Bryan Tucker, vice president of Corporate Communications at CSX. “As a company deeply committed to the communities we serve, we recognize the importance of empowering our military families, and providing them with the resources they need to thrive. We hope our collective efforts can alleviate some stress and make the summer more enjoyable for all of the families involved.”
The Back-to-School Brigade® is Operation Homefront’s nationwide collection and distribution of backpacks filled with school supplies for the children of military families as well as to all ranks of wounded, ill or injured veterans and their families. This annual program is sponsored by national partners Southern New Hampshire University, Dollar Tree, CSX, and Kellogg’s. For more information, visit http://www.operationhomefront.org.