Jemma Bates, Military Child of the Year® for the Navy, Aims for a Career in Space Annapolis High School senior Jemma Bates, Operation Homefront’s 2023 Military Child of the Year® for the Navy, has her sights on the stars and beyond. An aspiring fighter pilot who hopes to one day work in space – possibly … Continued
Hayley Schreiner Selected as Military Child of the Year® for the Space Force Never give up. That’s the philosophy that has propelled 16-year-old Hayley Schreiner to become a successful volleyball player, a member of the debate team despite a fear of public speaking, and a mentor for incoming freshmen at her school, Discovery Canyon Campus … Continued
Adaptability Is Key for Mackenzie Hanna, Army Military Child of the Year® With back-to-back overseas deployments, dual-military parents who have been gone at the same time, and the changes of station most Army families endure, adaptability has become a keyword in the life of Mackenzie Hanna, Operation Homefront’s 2023 Army Military Child of the Year®. … Continued
Haydn Jones named 2023 Coast Guard Military Child of the Year® Moving from North Carolina to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, at the height of COVID-19 and just before his freshman year in high school was not easy for Haydn Jones. But Operation Homefront’s 2023 U.S. Coast Guard Military Child of the Year® rose to … Continued
Louis Geer named 2023 Air Force Military Child of the Year® Louis Geer knows how easy it is to fall behind in school — as a military child, frequent moves often meant time out of school. He used that experience to help low-income students throughout San Antonio by creating the San Antonio Book Pool to … Continued
Operation Homefront began humbly in February 2002 to help military spouses struggling with deployments after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Michelle Brown was there almost from the start. Then a Navy officer’s wife, she took a volunteer position in the fall of 2002 to build the Operation Homefront website, officially becoming employee 11. At … Continued
Operation Homefront’s Manager of Housing Operations is a Veteran who Understands Challenges As Operation Homefront’s manager of housing operations, Deborah Bunnell receives as many as 30 phone calls a week from military families facing housing insecurity. She relates to the money struggles of military families, remembering her own paychecks during her four years in the … Continued
When Mary Mahoney was working as a case manager for a Baltimore crisis center and would reach out to nonprofits, most were not responsive. Operation Homefront always called back. That responsiveness and eagerness to help—either directly or by recommending other services—left such an impression on her that when a job opening with Operation Homefront came … Continued
Soldier’s Creed Drives OH Caseworker to Serve Military Families Operation Homefront caseworker Sicily Opiana, a second-generation immigrant daughter of Italian and Dominican heritage, is the first of her family to graduate from college and join the military. During her second semester of college, Sicily enlisted in the Army National Guard at age 18. She served … Continued
Deep Military Roots Guide Manager of Housing Operations Meet Deb, Operation Homefront’s Manager of Housing Operations. She has a deep military connection having served for four years in the U.S. Navy, from 1986-1990, and experienced Navy life as a spouse and dependent while her husband served for more than 12 years. Deb’s father-in-law served 36 … Continued
