BJ’s sends food, electronics to Colin Powell USO Center

June 10, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BJ’s Wholesale Club made a large donation to the USO for the center located at Fort Hamilton. Photo courtesy BJ’s Wholesale Club

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The United Service Organizations (USO) has been entertaining troops and providing fun-filled activities for military service members and their families since World War II. The New York City chapter of the group recently received a helping hand that in turn benefitted the USO center at the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Hamilton.

Representatives of BJ’s Wholesale Club at 1752 Shore Parkway presented the USO of Metropolitan New York with $1,700 worth of food items and electronic devices to be donated to the USO General Colin L. Powell Center, a facility located at Fort Hamilton.

More than 5,000 people visit the USO General Colin L. Powell Center each month. The center is named for Gen. Colin L. Powell, the former U.S. secretary of state.

The donations included nonperishable food items to support the programs and activities hosted by the USO of Metropolitan New York during Fleet Week, the annual New York City celebration of the U.S. Navy which all branches of the military participate in. The food items included 1,000 individually wrapped snacks and 1,750 water bottles.

BJ’s Wholesale Club also donated a HP Touchscreen laptop computer, four 22-inch computer monitors and iHome speakers for the USO center to use year-round, officials said.

The donation was presented to Keliann Luley, of center operations for the USO of Metropolitan New York, by Jacqueline Marmol, senior human resources manager for BJ’s, and Bernard Garrison, general manager of the BJ’s in Brooklyn.

The USO is a non-profit organization whose mission is to assist military service members. It is not a government agency, but is recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense, according to the group’s website. The President of the United States is the honorary chairman of the USO.