Team Wright-Patt,USO Community Center celebrate first anniversary

  • Published
  • By Amy Rollins
  • Skywrighter Staff

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- The USO Community Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is celebrating a year of taking care of Airmen and other service members Feb. 24 with a private official function. The center, Bldg. 1222 in the Kitty-hawk Center of Area A, will be closed until 6 p.m., after which it will open as usual.

The United Service Organizations of Central and Southern Ohio and Team Wright-Patt joined together to refurbish the building in 2015. New Airmen to 80-plus-year-old veterans contributed thousands of hours cleaning, painting and landscaping; and sponsors and donors provided equipment and upgrades.

 

Intended for all branches of active-duty military, Guard, reservists and their families, the project serves as a “home away from home,” plus provides donated housekeeping and clothing items from its Airman’s Attic.

 

The number of troops who have gone through the doors is the USO’s No. 1 accomplishment during its first year, said Mia Walthers, USO Community Center manager.

 

“We had about 23,000 people come through the USO last year. Most of those were in the classrooms, auditorium, game room and café – that’s a lot of people who have come through our doors and utilized the center,” she said.

 

“We’re very proud of those numbers, and the fact that our visitors come over and over because they have an experience that is comfortable for them. It’s a home away from home – especially for the Airmen who live in the dorms. They have a place to go,” Walthers said.

 

Having been an Airman, a dependent wife and the mother of a Soldier, she said managing the center is an intensely personal endeavor for her.

 

“I am honored that I am able to be here as a USO director at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to watch it grow to the next level,” she added.

 

Walthers said she wished to express a deep appreciation for every organization on base that has supported the USO with donations and manpower, and in particular the 88th Air Base Wing and former Chief Master Sgt. Lisa Arnold, who did a great deal to bring the center online. Arnold continues to call the USO to check on it.

 

Volunteers are the lifeblood of the center.

 

“The only reason these doors are open is because these men and women give us their time and talents,” Walthers said. “Who we support is great, but it’s how we are able to keep the doors open that is amazing.”

 

The USO Community Center hosts events like a monthly “Serving Heroes” dinner sponsored by the Gary Sinese Foundation, quarterly “Awesome” dinners for up to 150 military families, and dinners for wounded warriors and deploying troops in the first-floor auditorium.

 

“I estimate we hosted more than 270 events in November and December,” she said. “We were here almost seven days a week with multiple events per day back to back. I already have people booking it for the holidays 2017.”

 

To reserve the auditorium, go online to www.usocso.org, Locations, Wright-Patterson AFB USO Center, View our calendar.

 

In addition to the dinners, the auditorium is used for promotion and retirement ceremonies, First Shirt breakfasts and the annual Holiday Cookie Drive for Airmen.

 

“The nicest thing about the USO and this space, particularly now that the club is undergoing renovations, is that we can hold up to 150 people. More than that, everybody knows where we are,” Walthers said.

 

The space also lends itself well to hosting meetings covering sensitive topics like Green Dot, she said.

 

Meeting rooms on the second floor also are available for smaller groups when discretion and confidentiality are needed.

 

Sharing the center on Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. is the Airmen Against Drunk Driving organization.

 

“If they get a call from an Airman or a troop who needs to be picked up, they will go get them. It’s a free service and we house them right here,” Walthers said.

 

Evenings are a busy time at the center. After Airmen finish their duty day and perform PT, they often come to the center to “hang out” and relax or work on their career development courses. Many don’t own a vehicle, so they come to the USO to take advantage of free Wi-Fi, free snacks and drinks in the Wright Café, a lounge equipped with chairs, ottomans, counters, tables and flat-screen TVs. Two CAC-enabled computers sit on one side of the door, while two private computer stations take up the other side.

 

Nearby is the game room, with a pool table, poker table, air hockey, electronic basketball game, pingpong table, three video game stations and a trio of overstuffed chairs donated by the Gary Sinise Foundation.

 

“Everything we do here is for the young kids,” Walthers commented. “100 percent of it is free. That’s what we’re here for.”

 

A consequence of that, though, is that more snacks and goods are being consumed.

 

“If the budget stays the same but the amount of foot traffic increases, then we’ll be struggling. It is more crucial than ever that the USO get financial donations so it can purchase what it needs,” she said. “That’s just reality.”

 

To dedicate a donation to the base-level USO center, any check should be designated “Wright-Patterson USO Center.” To contact Walthers, email her at mia@usocso.org or call 937-904-0537. The USO’s mailing address is Wright-Patterson AFB USO, Bldg. 1222, 2221 Birch St., WPAFB, OH 45433. To make a donation to the USO Community Center, go online to www.usocso.org.

 

 

AIRMAN’S ATTIC OFFERS THRIFTY SHOPPING

 

Open whenever the USO Community Center is open, the third-floor Airman’s Attic resembles a thrift store – except no money changes hands. Instead, enlisted personnel E1 through E6, active-duty, Reserve and Guard only, are welcome to browse through donated items for what they need to wear or furnish their homes.

 

The attic’s recently expanded hours mean Airmen can shop whenever they are not on duty.

 

“It is a lot more user-friendly now,” said Mia Walthers, USO Community Center manager.“If the USO is open, the Airman’s Attic is open.”

 

The result has been a marked increase in traffic, she said. “The Airmen are very appreciative of it. Ribbons, uniforms, boots, shoes – things like that, for a two-striper, those are hard to afford, clothing allowance or not,” she said. “That’s what we’re here for.”

 

Anything that touches the skin in a personal way, like undergarments, sheets, towels or stuffed animals, is not welcome because the center doesn’t have the capacity to wash such items. Uniforms, gently used clothing, books, housewares and children’s items like clothing and toys are needed because the turnover for them is rapid.

 

“Things like that are desperately needed by these young families, and it’s all free,” Walthers said.

 

Furniture donations cannot be accommodated due to space, but Walthers is more than willing to match donors with recipients if someone wishes to contact her via email with a photo of what they have to donate.

 

“I lived on a mattress on a floor for six months in my first apartment off-base,” the Air Force veteran recalled.