Delaware North, one of the largest privately held hospitality companies in the world, has announced a $269,068 donation to the United Service Organizations (USO), a non-profit that supports service members and military families via programming, centers and airport locations around the world. The donation is the result of a fundraising campaign at the 200-plus Delaware North dining locations at 17 airports across the United States, with all proceeds going to benefit the USO.
The fundraising campaign, which began last Memorial Day and continues into 2019, involves the sale of the commemorative USO cups, as well as opportunities for guests to “round-up” their purchases at the register or donate in $1, $3 or $5 increments. Beyond this fundraising campaign, Delaware North’s travel division supports the USO at its various airport locations with frequent meal drops, and annual holiday meals during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“The USO is very grateful for its partnership with Delaware North,” said Lisa Anastasi, USO Chief Development and Marketing Officer. “This collaboration gives the public a unique and easy way to make a big impact in the lives of our men and women in uniform.”
Delaware North’s contributions directly support the USO’s mission to strengthen America's military service members by keeping them connected to family, home and country, throughout their service to the nation. In 2018, the USO recorded more than 12 million total service instances, entertained more than 83,000 military men and women through USO entertainment tours and served more than 3.9MM location-based program participants. The USO also provided 8,455 Action Plans for transitioning service members through its USO Pathfinder® program.
The fundraising efforts continue at Delaware North locations at the following airports: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Boise Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Charleston International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Denver International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Nashville International Airport, New York State Thruways; Ontario (CA) International Airport, Richmond International Airport, Tampa International Airport, Will Rogers World Airport.
