Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation awards $250,000 challenge grant to Operation Homefront

SAN ANTONIO, March 25, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In furtherance of Bob Hope's unwavering passion for and commitment to our military, the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation announced today they will award an additional $250,000 challenge grant to Operation Homefront to serve military families impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Through this "challenge grant," the Hope Foundation hopes to encourage others to join them in serving military families during this unprecedented national crisis. To accept this challenge and make a donation, please visit https://www.operationhomefront.org/challenge.

This challenge grant builds on the Bob Hope Military Families Emergency Assistance Fund, which they established with Operation Homefront in 2016, to serve military families who are struggling to make ends meet in locations where Bob Hope lived and worked. It reflects Bob Hope's lasting legacy of service to our nation's military and the Hope's desire to bring comfort to military families in times of great stress. We all know how Bob Hope changed the world through laughter, but he and his wife, Dolores, knew that there isn't much to laugh about when you're struggling to make ends meet.

Dolores once said, "If you're shivering in the cold, you can't do a good job. We need to provide food, shelter and clothing, in that order."

While they may not have imagined a world engulfed in a pandemic, this support is consistent with their extraordinary legacy.

"Given the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, our focus on our mission and commitment to serving our military families in their time of need will not waver," said Brig. Gen. (ret.) John I. Pray Jr., president and CEO of Operation Homefront. "We are grateful to the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation for quickly recognizing the dangers our military families will face and reaching out to help us try to meet what all expect will be a significant surge in urgent requests for assistance."

Operation Homefront's highly-regarded and highly-valued Critical Financial Assistance program is specifically designed to help our military families overcome their short-term financial challenges that have the potential to completely derail any hope of a better or brighter future. The program helps military families pay for the basics Bob & Dolores Hope identified as primary considerations years ago…rent, mortgages, grocery/utility bills and car/home repairs. They encourage eligible beneficiaries to visit http://www.operationhomefront.org to apply.

About the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation:

Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation (BobHope.org) supports organizations that bring "HOPE" to those in need and those who served to protect our nation. The Foundation also supports charitable organizations that preserve and honor the legacy of Bob Hope as an American entertainer, humanitarian, patriot, sportsman and supporter of military personnel and their families.

About Operation Homefront:

Founded in 2002, Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive - not simply struggle to get by - in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefront expenditures go directly to programs that support tens of thousands of military families each year. Operation Homefront provides critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing and family support services to prevent short-term needs from turning into chronic, long-term struggles. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the support from thousands of volunteers, Operation Homefront proudly serves America's military families. For more information, visit OperationHomefront.org.

SOURCE Operation Homefront