A good start: Operation Homefront’s ‘Back-to-School Brigade’ supports military kids, families
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- Military kids and their families were given free backpacks and other school supplies during Operation Homefront’s Back-to-School Brigade event at Hill Aerospace Museum on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025.
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- Military kids and their families were given free backpacks and other school supplies during Operation Homefront’s Back-to-School Brigade event at Hill Aerospace Museum on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025.
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- Military kids and their families were given free backpacks and other school supplies during Operation Homefront’s Back-to-School Brigade event at Hill Aerospace Museum on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025.
HILL AIR FORCE BASE — As military families — including those stationed at Hill Air Force Base — prepare for the new school year, a national nonprofit is continuing its effort to send their kids to school with everything they need to make the most of their educational experience.
Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit, hosted its annual Back-to-School Brigade event at the Hill Aerospace Museum on Monday, where 350 children received backpacks filled with free school supplies.
Several partner organizations packed into the museum’s L.S. Skaggs Gallery to deliver supplies and provide access to additional resources during the event. Among them were Kent’s Market, Syracuse Arts Academy, Utah Military Academy, Wallace Stegner Academy, Ascent Academies, Waterford, Davis and Weber school districts, the Major Brent Taylor Foundation and others.
Amber Myszka, Operation Homefront’s public relations director, told the Standard-Examiner that the program aims to support military families and students through difficult transitions while showing gratitude for their service and sacrifice.
“For military families, the back to school shopping season comes right on the heels of a move to a new duty location. So, there are costs associated with that. We try to just step in during those pricier times of the year and relieve some of the financial burden for families where we can,” Myszka said. “Then, when you’re talking about families relocating, it’s a new community, it’s a new school — that can be really nerve-wracking. So, we set up these events. It’s an opportunity for families to just come in and meet others from the community, whether that’s other military families, whether that’s community resources, whatever it may be, just to ease that transition.”
According to Operation Homefront promotional material, the Back-to-School Brigade has provided nearly 600,000 backpacks to military children, saving families more than $60 million in back-to-school expenses since 2008.
Kelsey Terry — a retired military spouse and mother — was at Monday’s event to get supplies for her daughter. She told the Standard-Examiner that she and her children are at the “tail end” of their journey as a service family. However, they continue to navigate change.
“We don’t have to move with the kiddos or change schools, but a lot of our friends do. So, we’re the ones who are left behind, if you will, and we have to explain why they left and where they’re going and deal with that,” Terry said. “But, it’s just the constant change for them; we don’t change, but their friends do.”
Terry said the Back-to-School Brigade and other Operation Homefront events have made a difference for her and her family over the years.
“It’s our second year coming and it’s awesome,” Terry said. “It sets them up with all the equipment that they need and all the tools. Crayons and binders and all the school supplies that they might need. And it’s super cool to see all the resources that are out for the community, especially for us as military families.”
In addition to the Back-to-School Brigade, Operation Homefront manages programs including Holiday Meals for Military, Star-Spangled Babies (baby showers), in addition to critical financial assistance and transitional housing programs.
The nonprofit currently seeks donations and volunteers. For more information, go to https://operationhomefront.org/.
