Commitment to the Community
At WoodSpring Suites, we’re proud to support America’s veterans and military families through our partnership with Operation Homefront. Over the next year, WoodSpring Suites will donate stays to provide short-term housing solutions for military families. Our hotels feature fully furnished apartment-style suites with in-room kitchens, free Wi-Fi and on-site laundry facilities. Select properties also include fitness centers. We offer over 200 locations across the U.S., with many conveniently close to military bases.
Supporting America's Military Families
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. 90% of Operation Homefront expenditures go toward delivering life-changing programs, like critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing and family support services that help prevent short-term needs from turning into chronic, long-term struggles.
Meet Naval Petty Officer 2nd Class Kenneth Heard
In early 2020, an autoimmune disease diagnosis sent Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Kenneth Heard into unknown territory.
A seaman for more than six years, Kenneth had always wanted to join the military and signed up in 2013. He was assigned to the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and the U.S.S. Carl Vinson as an aviation rescue swimmer.
But the disease causes severe deterioration of the spine, resulting in a lack of mobility and severe pain. With the diagnosis came an early medical retirement.
He was unsure what he would do once he left military life. All of his family and his wife’s family were from the same town in Florida, while Kenneth and his family were stationed in San Diego. Plus, the COVID-19 pandemic was shutting down the country.
A resource officer told him about Operation Homefront’s Transitional Housing (Villages) program. In May, Kenneth, wife Katelynn, son, Koa, and daughter, Mila, moved into an apartment in the Village in San Diego. The program offers wounded, ill, or injured veterans and their families a place to transition into civilian life, while living in rent-free, fully furnished apartments.
While only at the Village for about five months, Kenneth was able to save nearly $9,000 and pay down debt. Kenneth said the program helped his family when they had little support, especially with their own families being across the country. Kenneth wants donors to know how much transitional housing helps veterans and their families.
“I would have to start off with ‘thank you’ and just appreciation for everything you have done,” he said about the donors. “Myself and my family are forever grateful for the opportunity that helped dampen the impact of our abrupt transition and to allow us to better position ourselves for our financial future.”
Thank You to Our Partners
To thank our veterans for their service, our friends at HD Supply and Lodging Kit Company have crafted a welcome kit for each Operation Homefront guest, stocked with the essentials they'll need to feel at home during their WoodSpring Suites stay, like cookware, plates, glassware, and silverware.
