Community giving benefits USO

Date: 2/1/2010

CHICOPEE Bay State Gas, a natural gas provider operating within 60 Massachusetts cities and towns, recently made a charitable donation of $2,000 to the USO of Pioneer Valley. The local USO office located at Westover Air Reserve Base (ARB) operates a food pantry and provides other moral and comfort services benefiting military troops and their families.

With nearly 300,000 homes serviced by Bay State Gas, the company's corporate giving program strives to meet community needs within the cities and towns it serves. Shelia Doiron, Bay State Gas Director of Communication and Community Relations, said, "It's about community giving and taking care of the folks at home. We focus charitable giving on those in need of food, clothing and shelter and target organizations that provide those services. We also understand the sacrifices of military families so donating to the USO was a double win."

The USO is a congressionally chartered, private, non-profit organization that relies on the generosity of individuals and corporations to support USO activities. Military personnel and family members visited USO centers around the world more than 5.3 million times last year. The USO mission is to improve the quality of life for service members, to boost their morale and to serve as the link between service members, their families and the American people.