DEPLOY YOUR DRESS OPERATION

By: Heidi Bredlow

Quietly tucked away at 14 military installations within the United States, and one in Germany, lies a treasure trove of philanthropic genius. In late 2015 on Fort Bliss, Texas five friends shared a vision of finding unique ways to defray costs associated with attending military formal functions: a simple dress swap began.

That event soon gained national media attention, and with it an incredible response from the American public, the likes of which were unprecedented and left a clear path for the way ahead. In the words of Yadin Porter de León, “From humble beginnings comes great things.” Operation Deploy Your Dress (ODYD) started in the basement of a few homes on Fort Bliss and is now a top rated non-profit organization with fifteen locations on military installations across the world and growing.

That event soon gained national media attention, and with it an incredible response from the American public, the likes of which were unprecedented and left a clear path for the way ahead. In the words of Yadin Porter de León, “From humble beginnings comes great things.” Operation Deploy Your Dress (ODYD) started in the basement of a few homes on Fort Bliss and is now a top rated non-profit organization with fifteen locations on military installations across the world and growing.

Deploy Your Dress’ primary goal is to improve the quality of life for military families by offsetting the high costs of attending military formal functions. All shops are operated by military spouse volunteers with the goals of deploying America’s patriotism one dress (or suit) at a time, fostering community through volunteerism, and upholding military traditions while cultivating camaraderie.

Find a location near you to donate at OperationDeployYourDress.org

Fort Irwin – California
Fort Novosel – Alabama
Fort Carson – Colorado
Fort Moore – Georgia
Fort Stewart – Georgia
Fort Johnson – Louisiana
Fort Drum – New York
Fort Liberty – North Carolina
Fort Bliss – Texas
Fort Cavazos – Texas
JBLM – Washington
Fort Eustis – Virginia
Fort Leonard Wood – Missouri
Landstuhl – Germany