There are many different organizations that have been created since the beginning of the War on Terror to support our troops and their families. I have done my best to tell you about organizations that I have discovered that offer a legitimate and valuable service to our troops. It has always been my hope that you will find an organization that sparks your interest, speaks to your talents, or touches your heart so that you may be inspired to get involved. You can offer your time, your skills or even your money to support those who support our troops.

Recently I was introduced to an organization that addresses a need that quite frankly, I hadn’t thought of before. Operation Special Delivery is a non-profit organization that was started after September 11th to provide free labor support to wives of deployed service members. Even when husbands answer the call to serve and deploy overseas, babies are still being born. Wives who spend their days worrying about their husbands and whether they will ever come home to meet their child, also face the daunting and often frightening prospect of going through childbirth with no one there to hold their hand or offer them support. Operation Special Delivery is there to make sure no one has to go through childbirth alone. Their motto is “a hand to hold, until they all come home.” And these women are true to their word.

Operation Special Delivery is an entirely volunteer organization. It is run by volunteers and the women who attend the births and support the military wives provide their services free of charge. Volunteering to support a military mom during childbirth entails long hours and little sleep. These women have stepped up because they want to support our troops and they believe that one of the best ways to do that is by taking care of the families left behind. The women of Operation Special Delivery come from different walks of life and backgrounds. Some of them are childbirth professionals, some are other military wives who want to help their communities, and some are simply women who have seen a need and want to help. No one should go through childbirth alone, but many military wives are asked to do just that when their husbands are deployed. Operation Special Delivery cannot bring their husbands home, but they can give these mothers a hand to hold until they all come home.