SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the wake of the shooting tragedy at Fort Hood, the families of those affected are receiving much needed help through generous donations to Operation Homefront, a national non-profit organization that assists soldiers and their families. To date, corporate and individual contributions total $170,000.

"These donations are a blessing to these families," said Jim Knotts, President and CEO of Operation Homefront. "The money reflects the generosity of companies like Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, as well as very caring individuals. Operation Homefront is honored to be able to help facilitate getting the assistance to the families during this trying time."

"These donations are helping us provide gift cards to take care of immediate needs like food and gas," said Jennifer Cernoch, President of the Texas Chapter of Operation Homefront. "We're also helping to pay for travel arrangements for families to be with their injured service members, as well as for some of the expenses following the memorial services. We were at Ft. Hood last week and back again yesterday. We'll be there for as long as we're needed."

Corporate contributors include Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems, each with $50,000, Bank of America with $35,000, and Wells Fargo with $5,000. One anonymous donor contributed $25,000. More than a hundred smaller individual contributions topped $5,000.

"On behalf of all our team members I want to express our sympathy for the victims and their families of this tragic event," said Rick Moore, President of Wells Fargo Worldwide Military Banking. "We also want to extend our support through this donation to our customers, communities and team members with friends and family stationed at Fort Hood."

Families who need assistance can visit the Texas Chapter at http://www.operationhomefront.net/texas. Those who want to give assistance can do so online.

About Operation Homefront

Operation Homefront provides emergency assistance for our troops, the families they leave behind and for wounded warriors when they return home. A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront leads more than 4,500 volunteers in 30 chapters nationwide, and has met more than 105,000 needs since 2002. Operation Homefront is a four-star rated charity by watchdog Charity Navigator. Nationally, $.92 of every dollar donated to Operation Homefront goes to programs. For more information about Operation Homefront, please visit www.operationhomefront.net.

Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.

BAE Systems, Inc.

BAE Systems is the premier global defense, security and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions and customer support services. With approximately 105,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded £18.5 billion (US $34.4 billion) in 2008.

Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy

Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, Bank of America this year embarked on a new, ten-year goal to donate $2 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation gave more than $200 million in 2008, making the bank the most generous financial institution in the world and the second largest donor of all U.S. corporations in cash contributions. Bank of America approaches investing through a national strategy called "neighborhood excellence" under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Bank associate volunteers contributed more than 900,000 hours in 2008 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide. For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.

Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $1.2 trillion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 10,000 stores and 12,000 ATMs and the internet (wellsfargo.com ) across North America and internationally. The Company promotes economic growth and self-sufficiency, education, social services, the arts and the environment in thousands of communities across North America. In 2008, the Company gave $226 million in grants to 14,000 nonprofits. Team members contributed 1.4 million volunteer hours and served on 16,000 nonprofit boards. The merger of Wells Fargo and Wachovia makes our presence twice as strong in the communities we serve. For more about Wells Fargo's achievements in Social Responsibility: www.wellsfargo.com/about/csr.

SOURCE Operation Homefront

Back to top

RELATED LINKS
http://www.operationhomefront.net
http://www.bankofamerica.com/foundation
http://www.wellsfargo.com/about/csr