On a Friday night while serving overseas in Japan, US Navy IT2 Joshua T. Kostick found out that his grandfather had passed away. Since his grandfather had not raised him for the majority of his childhood, neither the Navy nor his command could pay for the flight home to Maryland from Japan. Knowing this, Joshua turned to a CFC-O-funded charity. Within eight hours of receiving word of his grandfather’s passing, the charity booked and paid for a flight for Joshua to return to his hometown in Maryland to pay his respects to his grandfather.

As a U.S. Navy patrol boat specialist, Petty Officer Gabriel Perez’s job was to take the fight to the enemy aboard fast, agile small boats. And that’s just what he did in Iraq, Kuwait and on anti-pirate missions in the Horn of Africa. While on patrol in 2010, Gabriel’s boat hit a wave, throwing him from his gun mount to the deck. Gabriel fractured three ribs and two vertebrae, and suffered a significant spinal cord injury. That ended Gabriel’s Navy career, and in the maze of veterans’ and other medical programs, he had trouble getting his pay.

Three years ago Marine Sergeant Adam Van Hoozer volunteered to help a CFC-O supported organization dedicated to supporting needy families by providing new toys during the holiday season to children who otherwise would not receive any gifts. During that time, Sergeant Van Hoozer was lower-ranking and could not afford Christmas presents for his own son, Kayleb.