"BIC Honors" The USO With $1M Donation For Warrior And Family Center In Bethesda, MD

SHELTON, Conn., April 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- BIC Consumer Products USA is pleased to announce that through its charitable giving and community care program, "BIC HONORS," it presented the USO with a $1M donation on Monday, March 31, 2014. The check was presented at a ceremony to dedicate the USO's Warrior and Family Center at Bethesda, in honor of Prescott S. Bush. The Center will open its doors today to active duty and wounded troops as well as their families and caregivers.   

BIC's $1M contribution is a result of a $0.09 donation from the sale of each of its Special Edition® "Support the Troops" series lighters. This series has been sold throughout the country since 2011 and is proudly manufactured in the USA at BIC's lighter manufacturing facility in Milford, Conn.  BIC's donation is a part of the USO's Operation Enduring Care initiative and will be applied towards the center's outdoor grilling area at the Bethesda-based USO Warrior and Family Center.

"We have tremendous pride in manufacturing lighters of the highest quality and safety in the industry right here in the USA, each and every day. To see that the sales of this Special Edition Series of BIC lighters, whose designs honor America's troops, have helped to provide an opportunity where our military personnel, who sacrifice so much for our freedom, can take a moment to relax and enjoy quality time barbequing with their loved ones, is incredibly moving," noted Chris Mills, President of BIC Consumer Products North America. "This donation is our way of saying Thank You!"

"This very generous gift from BIC is so much more than a financial donation. It is a heartfelt 'thank you' to the amazing men and women this special center will serve in deep appreciation for all that they have done to protect the freedoms we enjoy daily," said Brig Gen (ret) John I. Pray, Jr., USO President and CEO.  "Our troops, military families, and wounded, ill and injured and their caregivers need a warm and caring place away from the hospital environment that will strengthen the hope and confidence they need to sustain their individual healing journeys.  Resiliency building is what this Warrior and Family Center is all about and as a private, nonprofit, we are extraordinarily grateful for incredible partners, like BIC, who helped us make this dream a reality."

In addition to serving active duty troops, the USO Warrior and Family Center at Bethesda, located on Naval Support Activity, home of Walter Reed Military Medical Center, will provide a home away from home where wounded, ill and injured troops can heal with honor. Through its comforts, programs and services, the center will contribute significantly to each service man and woman's rehabilitation process and help their caregivers receive the support and comfort they so richly deserve.

ABOUT THE USO
The USO lifts the spirits of America's troops and their families millions of times each year at hundreds of places worldwide. We provide a touch of home through centers at airports and military bases in the U.S. and abroad, top quality entertainment and innovative programs and services. We also provide critical support to those who need us most, including forward-deployed troops, military families, wounded warriors, troops in transition and families of the fallen. The USO is a private, non-profit organization, not a government agency. Our programs and services are made possible by the American people, support of our corporate partners and the dedication of our volunteers and staff.

Operation Enduring Care is the USO's $100 million fundraising campaign to support construction of two USO Warrior and Family Centers, strategically located near Ft. Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia and Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., endow these two centers and fund USO programs to support troops, military families, wounded, ill and injured troops and families of the fallen.

ABOUT BIC HONORS
BIC HONORS, the charitable giving and community care program of BIC USA, strives to build stronger communities, help those in need and inspire positive change across a variety of causes. In conjunction with its non-profit partners, BIC HONORS recognizes and supports leading charitable organizations that align with BIC's values and demonstrate a strong track record of effectiveness, teamwork, responsibility and integrity.

ABOUT BIC CONSUMER PRODUCTS USA
Established in Connecticut in 1958, BIC Consumer Products USA (www.bicworldusa.com) is proud of its U.S. heritage as a leading manufacturer of stationery products, lighters and shavers. BIC employs more than 2,800 people throughout the U.S., at its manufacturing, distribution, sales, research and development and administration facilities.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140401/NY95390-a

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140401/NY95390-b

SOURCE BIC Consumer Products USA