The Coca-Cola Foundation announced it has awarded a grant for $200,000 to Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit serving America’s military families.
The grant will provide rent-free transitional housing to wounded, ill, and injured veterans and offer support to service members and their families at Operation Homefront’s three Transitional Housing Villages across the country as they are medically discharged from the military and settling back into civilian communities. Operation Homefront’s Transitional Housing Villages provide temporary rent- and utilities-free housing to military families as they receive medical treatment or rehabilitation services, transition out of the military, or await approval of veterans’ benefits. The veterans also receive financial counseling, and the veterans and their families should have VA benefits in place, significantly reduced their debt, and built emergency savings at the completion of the program.
Since 2008, Operation Homefront has provided over 7,000 months of housing to more than 760 families, saving them nearly $8.5 million in rent and utilities. Operation Homefront currently operates Transitional Housing Villages in San Diego (serving those primarily being treated at Balboa Hospital and Camp Pendleton); Gaithersburg, Maryland (serving Bethesda Naval Medical Center/Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Fort Belvoir); and San Antonio (serving Joint Base San Antonio and Audie Murphy VA Hospital).
“Thanks to The Coca-Cola Foundation’s unwavering support, we will have the ability to help our veterans find a solid path to a stronger, more stable, and more secure future,” said Rear Admiral (ret.) Alan Reyes, CEO of Operation Homefront.
Carlos Pagoaga, president of the Coca-Cola Foundation, added that his organization “is pleased to contribute towards the work that Operation Homefront does, in supporting our nation’s veterans’ transition back into civilian life. Through this grant, we aim to provide critical resources and a stable environment that will empower these heroes and their families to build a brighter, more secure future.”
