Bob Hope legacy Reading Program

For more than six decades - from World War II through Vietnam to the Gulf War – Bob Hope traveled the world, visiting remote outposts and isolated battleships to put on USO shows to support our nation’s service members and their families. His passion and commitment for helping keep troops and families stay connected from halfway around the globe lives on today.

The Bob Hope Legacy is proud to partner with the USO to create the Bob Hope Legacy Reading Program. In the spirit of Bob Hope and his dedication to bringing military families together, the program is largely driven by virtual, on-demand story time offerings that help the USO extend its reach.

The program connected more than 39,000 military families around the world through reading in 2019. The Bob Hope Legacy Reading Program focuses on:

Bringing story time on demand around the globe.

Thanks to the generous support of the Bob Hope Legacy, the USO is able to help service members read to their children from around the world. When a service member stationed in the deserts of Kuwait misses the birth of his child, the USO is there to provide that powerful connection back home. Through the Bob Hope Legacy Reading Program, that service member is able to read his newborn daughter a bed-time story from halfway around the globe. Service members can walk into participating USO locations, record themselves reading their child’s favorite story and have that recording shipped home.

Helping military kids stay connected through reading.

Recognizing the challenges military children often face when dealing with separation, the Bob Hope Legacy Reading Program makes it possible for military kids to add a new book to their own library and share story time with someone they love by recording themselves reading. The USO sends the recording to the child’s special loved one, helping bring families together no matter the miles that may separate them.

Supporting local reading programs in many USO locations around the world.

Local reading programs are designed to serve the unique needs of each military community. For some locations, the Bob Hope Legacy Reading Program gives military spouses dealing with a loved one’s deployment a chance to spend some time with other families in similar situations. Other program events encourage kids to use their creativity and complete a craft that complements a story’s theme. No matter where service may take our nation’s military families, the Bob Hope Legacy Reading Program is dedicated to helping bridge that distance.