U.S. Bank Supports Military Members, Their Families, Through Life-Changing Donations

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

This May, during Military Appreciation Month, U.S. Bank held several events to honor and recognize military and veteran customers, employees and community members.

A New Home 
U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Stuart Fuke was given the keys to a new mortgage-free home May 7 in West Fargo, North Dakota. Fuke, who said he was inspired to join the military by his mother and other dedicated family members, started his service in Great Lakes, Illinois. The Hawaii native, who currently resides in San Diego, California, will continue to pursue a career in culinary arts following his move to the Fargo area.

“This house will actually help me start living life again,” said Fuke. “It’s a good push toward trying to heal again. I’m just honored that Freedom Alliance, U.S. Bank and Thomsen Homes were able to give me that feeling I’ve never had before.” 

The life-changing gift is made possible through the bank’s Housing Opportunities after Military Engagement (H.O.M.E.) program, in conjunction with Freedom Alliance’s Heroes to Homeowners program. Including this donation, U.S. Bank has donated 31 homes valued over $8 million to military families in communities across the country since 2013.

Freedom Alliance provides mortgage-free homes to wounded combat veterans through its Heroes to Homeowners program.

Delivering care packages

Earlier this year, U.S. Bank employees in Minneapolis assembled care packages in partnership with the United Service Organizations (USO), a non-profit founded in 1941 to support members of the armed forces and their families, to be delivered to airmen at the Minot Air Force Base in Minot, North Dakota. The care packages were delivered to the Minot Air Force Base in May to honor and recognize the service and sacrifice these men and women make every day.

In addition to the care packages, U.S. Bank supported 50 expecting mothers by donating diapers and wipes during a baby shower event on base. U.S. Bank also supported military spouses by making paracord bracelets, which include a strong, durable cord that can be used for various purposes, that were gifted during a spouse appreciation event. The paracord bracelets were assembled by a group of U.S. Bank employees in Fargo.

A Gold Star moment

U.S. Bank recently donated new, payment-free vehicles to two Gold Star students at the Bluegrass Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky. Gold Star families are those who have lost an immediate family member in the line of duty while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Parker Madden, a Gold Star son, lost his father, U.S. Army Specialist Russell Madden, who was killed in action in Afghanistan from a rocket-propelled grenade attack on his convoy in 2010. Micaela Trimble, a Gold Star daughter, lost her father, U.S. Army Private First Class Chad Trimble, in 2008 also in Afghanistan. Parker Madden is a student at Western Kentucky University and Michaela Trimble is a recent graduate of Belmont University.

These donations are part of the Driven to Serve program, an initiative between Freedom Alliance and U.S. Bank that pairs available vehicles with military families and service members in need and demonstrates the commitment of each organization to support the nation’s heroes.

In addition to the vehicles, a group of U.S. Bank employees also partnered with the Freedom Alliance earlier this year to assemble care packages that will be given to other Gold Star students who, like Madden and Trimble, received scholarships from Freedom Alliance because of their parents’ sacrifice. The vehicles were donated May 13, which was also national Children of Fallen Patriots Day.

“I really feel like Freedom Alliance and U.S. Bank provided for me in a way that my dad wishes he could have provided for me,” said Trimble. 

A new vehicle

U.S. Bank also provided a payment free vehicle to U.S. Army Sergeant John Moore, who grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. While serving in the Army, Moore was an Artillery Forward Observer. Moore was severely injured during his second deployment in Baghdad. After two years of recovery at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Moore now lives in Charlotte, Tennessee, with his wife and children.

This is the bank’s 91st payment free vehicle donation since 2018 and the 57th in partnership with Freedom Alliance.

“We are honored to support John, a true American hero whose courage and sacrifice inspire us all,” said Freedom Alliance President Tom Kilgannon. “This donation is more than a gesture of gratitude—it’s a step toward restoring the independence and quality of life John fought to protect. Freedom Alliance is proud to support this remarkable family, and we are grateful to U.S. Bank for helping make this gift possible."