In furtherance of Bob Hope’s unwavering passion for and commitment to our military, the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation announced today they will award an additional $250,000 challenge grant to Operation Homefront to serve military families impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Through this “challenge grant,” the Hope Foundation hopes to encourage others to join them in serving military families during this unprecedented national crisis. To accept this challenge and make a donation, please click here.
This challenge grant builds on the Bob Hope Military Families Emergency Assistance Fund, which they established with Operation Homefront in 2016, to serve military families who are struggling to make ends meet in locations where Bob Hope lived and worked. It reflects Bob Hope’s lasting legacy of service to our nation’s military and the Hope’s desire to bring comfort to military families in times of great stress. We all know how Bob Hope changed the world through laughter, but he and his wife, Dolores, knew that there isn’t much to laugh about when you’re struggling to make ends meet.
Dolores once said, “If you’re shivering in the cold, you can’t do a good job. We need to provide food, shelter and clothing, in that order.”
While they may not have imagined a world engulfed in a pandemic, this support is consistent with their extraordinary legacy.
“Given the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, our focus on our mission and commitment to serving our military families in their time of need will not waver,” said Brig. Gen. (ret.) John I. Pray Jr., president and CEO of Operation Homefront. “We are grateful to the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation for quickly recognizing the dangers our military families will face and reaching out to help us try to meet what all expect will be a significant surge in urgent requests for assistance.”
Operation Homefront's highly-regarded and highly-valued Critical Financial Assistance program is specifically designed to help our military families overcome their short-term financial challenges that have the potential to completely derail any hope of a better or brighter future. The program helps military families pay for the basics Bob & Dolores Hope identified as primary considerations years ago…rent, mortgages, grocery/utility bills and car/home repairs. They encourage eligible beneficiaries to visit Operation Homefront to apply.
