Looking for a worthy organization to write down as your CFC beneficiary?  Look no further than the local United Services Organization, USO Northwest.

While the national USO does great things too, the Pacific Northwest team directly affects Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Naval Base Kitsap, Naval Station Everett and more.

As a congressionally chartered nonprofit organization, the USO is not part of the government and therefore does not receive any government funding.

USO Northwest relies entirely on the generosity of individuals, organizations, foundations, corporations, and fundraisers like the CFC to fund its work.

The USO Northwest supports military service members and their families throughout Washington state and Oregon.

And this next year, USO Northwest will celebrate 80 years serving local troops and their families.

Retired Naval Commander Don Leingang, director of USO Northwest said not even COVID-19 has stopped them from supporting you.

"We've had to do many things differently; however, we are still out there every day serving troops and their families," Leingang explained.

That includes a virtual gala and auction next week rather than the big in-person event they've thrown in the past. In fact, you can attend by clicking to usogala.maxgiving.bid/register.

Among the other ways that USO Northwest serves military members and their families is the group's Helping Hands program. Offered by no other USO nationwide, Helping Hands was established to support the need for military families to spend valuable time together.

Since military units have limited funding available to provide for morale building and family strengthening activities, to say nothing of the regulations prohibiting the military from fundraising or soliciting support, USO Northwest created the Helping Hands program to fund these critical activities.

Welcome home celebrations, pre-deployment parties, family day picnics, teen events, and holiday parties are just a few examples of the family-focused activities that the Helping Hands program makes possible.

The program serves over 99,000 local military members and their families.

Donations to the Combined Federal Campaign, or CFC, play a vital role in allowing the USO Northwest to continue this work.

"One hundred percent of all contributions made through the CFC campaign goes directly to our Helping Hands program," Leingang said.

Support our military by supporting USO-NW through CFC number 15348.

To serve Joint Base Lewis-McChord's service members and their families, USO Northwest operates the Shali Center on McChord Field, the Camp Lewis USO Center on Main Post, and three Mobile USO Canteens. USO Northwest also operates the USO center at the Sea-Tac International Airport and Portland International Airport.

USO Northwest also holds No Dough Dinners around the region as well. These are free meals right before payday which are held throughout the region including on JBLM.