For weeks now, I’ve been sharing how generous citizens, Walmart and Operation Homefront have worked together to make the holidays brighter for military families. I know that everyone who participated – both as givers and receivers – were deeply touched by the spirit of the season and our experience through this amazing partnership.

We have one more story to share from a special guest blogger, Rich Sommer.  Some of you may know Rich as an actor on the critically acclaimed AMC show, “Mad Men.” But I now know him as a thoughtful, loving brother who reached out to Operation Homefront to find out how he could give back. Here are his thoughts on the good work we do for our military families:

I first heard about Operation Homefront when my brother was stationed in Kuwait. He had signed up for the National Guard about a year-and-a-half before he decided to volunteer for deployment. Near the halfway mark of his second tour, back-to-back, I started going crazy.

Let me back up for a second. I’m an actor. I live in Los Angeles. Ryan is my younger and only brother. We fought a lot growing up. I left for college, and we realized we actually liked each other. Then he decided to go to Iraq. That’s pretty much the whole back story.

Anyway, back to where I started going crazy.

Anyone with loved ones stationed overseas understands how helpless it can feel to be here, waiting. You have no control over when you can speak to them, and when you do, the things you can talk about are limited. You’re constantly thinking about their safety, and it’s exhausting.

After more than a year of this, I started to get a little antsy. So I started researching ways that I could get involved with what Ryan was doing, without actually putting on a pair of boots and hopping on a plane. (I should mention here that I am far, far less courageous than Ryan. We are similar in a lot of ways, but this is not one of them.) That’s when I found Operation Homefront.

Operation Homefront is an incredible organization. I tried to summarize everything they do into a paragraph, but it was impossible. So here are three highlights, just to give you an idea:

1. Operation Homefront Villages. These are short-term housing units that help Wounded Warriors transition back into civilian life. There’s assistance with living expenses, career training, and computers specifically tailored to those warriors’ needs.

2. Much of the focus is on the waiting families. Career training, computer help and vehicle assistance for the spouses and children back at home.

3. My favorite, favorite part: 92 cents of every single dollar raised – did you hear that? 92% of ALL MONEY RAISED – goes right into these programs, directly supporting the warriors and their families.

I made a few phone calls, and was given the excellent opportunity to commit all that crazy energy I was feeling to a group that could directly impact my brother and the brave men and women serving alongside him.

I want to thank Operation Homefront for every single thing they do, and to give them special thanks for allowing me to be a part of it.

About Rich Sommer:  Rich Sommer is an actor in Los Angeles. He begins filming his fourth season of the AMC show, “ Mad Men”, in May of this year. He has also appeared on Law & Order, The Office, and in the film The Devil Wears Prada.

For our wounded warriors, Operation Homefront runs two Operation Homefront Villages, the first free, transitional housing where injured service members can live with their families for free as they recuperate and separate from their service branch.  We have one OH Village in San Antonio, convenient to Brook Army Medical Center, and one in Silver Spring here in the DC area for wounded warriors in treatment at Walter Reed or National Naval Medical Center-Bethesda.  This special group of people also benefited from Walmart’s generosity, with a special gift box delivered to Wounded Warrior Wives.

Let me tell you about one of the families in the village.  The arrival of the Tejada family’s newest member was more than just the blessing of a new life. James’ birth marked a new start for a family who’d spent two years struggling with the effects of Frank Tejada’s devastating combat injuries.

Frank suffered traumatic brain injury and major damage to his back, neck and shoulder in a rocket attack in Iraq. Jasmine Tejada says her husband wasn’t able to pick up their oldest son, Nicholas, then 3. Frank suffered bouts of debilitating pain. The TBI decimated his memory. 

Frank was eventually moved to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

The family struggled to live together in local hotel rooms. There was no playground or room to run for Nicholas.

Months later, the Tejadas moved into an apartment at Operation Homefront Village. They receive mental health support, financial and career counseling, and other free, expert guidance to help them navigate the VA and DoD medical systems. The families understand and lean on each other through the challenges of adapting to their new lives.

For the Tejadas, that meant much-needed space. Their Village living room is filled with Nicholas’ toy trains. There is room for a crib, a baby swing and a rocking chair. Jasmine tells us that if it weren’t for the apartment, they likely would’ve had to separate; the boys would’ve been sent to grandparents so Jasmine could stay by her husband’s side and learn how to help him continue his recovery.

Instead, the Tejadas have a new home, a new baby and the beginning of a new life together as Frank begins to heal and the family prepares for their next journey, together. 

They’re just one of dozens of families who are benefitting from our supporters’ generosity and our volunteers’ talents. Thanks so much to Walmart and everyone else who’s helped Operation Homefront provide a home for the Tejadas and other families like them.

When most people were settling into the Christmas spirit, Operation Homefront and the elves were busy at work.  Through Walmart’s generous sponsorship, Operation Homefront was able to give a surprise gift card valued at $1,000 to almost 120 families on Christmas Eve.  However, the ultimate gift was a reunion surprise to a military family at Ft. Hood when the father was brought home from Iraq the day before Christmas. The "Today" show captured all of the joy shared that day and you can watch the video here.

These Christmas Eve gift card giveaways took place in Ohio, Oklahoma and North Carolina. As usual, the unexpected happened. Several people on a bus leaving Ft. Sill in Oklahoma were stopped when the garrison commander had to shut down the post due to the ice storm. In North Carolina, one registered mom had to cancel at the last minute because she had to go to the hospital to give birth. 

The Sotorius Family (pictured above), attended one of the surprise shopping events in North Carolina on Christmas Eve and shared their thoughts. “Thank you so much for the gift card, that was not expected! My family was able to have an awesome Christmas, I got the treadmill I wanted & a new dresser for my room. I was able to stock up on some diapers for my son & got him some toys. I was also able to send my husband a new fancy razor in Afghanistan that he wanted. We're going to stock up on some groceries with the rest of the gift card. Thank you so much for supporting the Military, it means a lot!”

We can’t say enough about Walmart and the joy that was brought to thousands of military families this holiday season. Well beyond their generous sponsorship, their associates came out in droves to help with toy shops, gift card shopping events, special displays, elf hats, a crane, and an indomitable commitment to helping our military families: from LATE night runs to the distribution center for toys to LATE night searches for scarves. Thank you Walmart for all of the priceless gifts you helped Operation Homefront give during this holiday season.

Through my work at Operation Homefront, I have had many opportunities to meet the families who work so hard to protect our freedom. It’s one of the perks of being a part of a national nonprofit that serves military families.

I was particularly touched by Operation Homefront’s Military Child award winner, Brittany Wallace, and her family, led by wounded warrior Robert Henline. Staff Sgt. Melissa Dion – winner of our annual Military Motherhood award – and her son Ryan are also examples of strength and sacrifice. Then there are the dozens of wounded warrior residents who make up our Operation Homefront Villages in Washington, D.C. and San Antonio. Those injured service members and their families continually remind me of the high price of peace, and the courage of those willing to pay it.

Two remarkable young daughters of a National Guardsman have also paid tribute to the sacrifices of our service members. Alyssa and Cassy Gaddis were just 13 and 16 when they wrote and recorded “The Price of Peace,” a song that poignantly describes the sacrifices of our military families. You can hear the song under the video posted here which shows Operation Homefront serving our families.

We are grateful to all of our supporters -- especially to Walmart -- for making so many dreams come true today, tomorrow and throughout the year.

We’re particularly grateful to include the families of Fort Hood in this outpouring of holiday giving. Operation Homefront is headquartered in San Antonio, not far from where the tragic shooting occurred. Like you, we watched in horror as the events played out. Like you, we wondered what we could do to help. So we did our part and set up a fund designated specifically for the families of Fort Hood. Then so many others did their part by answering the call to help.

We wish many blessings to the military families who are separated by time and distance over the holiday season. We hold you in our hearts and in our prayers.

Most of us here at Operation Homefront don’t know how to take “no” for an answer. One of those people is John McDonagh (pictured below), the president of Operation Homefront’s Washington State chapter. He told me a story about a family who came to Operation Homefront in need of a new engine for their van. The engine was blown out while the family was returning home after having a second wheelchair lift installed to accommodate one of their children. John knew this wasn’t a repair that Operation Homefront would be able to handle in house. But, instead of telling this client “no”, he started making phone calls to different agencies of retired service members. They called their friends and so on and so on. Well, here we are five weeks later and that family just picked up their fully repaired van, free of charge, paid for by many acts of kindness.

Operation Homefront’s Washington State chapter is one of several that hosted a wonderful shopping event in partnership with Walmart. On Dec. 6th, in Washington, five very grateful families with a total of 23 children among them were each given a Walmart gift card worth $1,000. The day began with a special Operation Homefront - designated parking area where Walmart employees guided them to a refreshment area filled with coffee and donuts. Each family was escorted throughout the store by a Walmart employee who could answer any questions about the different items. Walmart welcomed the Operation Homefront shoppers with open arms making a wonderful shopping experience for everyone.

Brenda Davis (pictured above) had an opportunity to select many needed items for her family of four. Her husband is on his second deployment and has been gone since May. The family tries to keep busy with activities such as wrestling, cub scouts, JROTC and church activities, but the holidays are hard. “All of those decorations and commercials with families, it makes me miss him that much more. It is definitely nice to have a big corporation like Walmart do something like this – my family and the other families were all very appreciative of it. It is not a small amount of money that’s for sure, and with several children and especially teenagers, it is nice to have (a chance to get) something for Christmas that they really want. Everyone thinks that when you are in the military you make a lot of money, but that just isn’t true.  If it hadn’t been for the Walmart gift card and Operation Homefront, my family would have had a slim Christmas – that’s for sure. I just want to thank Walmart and Operation Homefront for providing a service like that for us. It was a real blessing.”

Thank you, Walmart, for your generously donated gift cards to more than 1,500 military families in 30 cities across the United States. These gift cards ensure a better holiday for these military families who already give so much themselves.