OPERATION DEPLOY YOUR DRESS

Operation Deploy Your Dress is an ALL volunteer non-profit run by military spouses. It all began in 2015 at Ft. Bliss, Texas. Like many other spouses on various military bases, ODYD’s five cofounders were trying to boost attendance at several upcoming balls. In particular they wanted to encourage more people from the junior ranks attend these functions. Their idea was to host and organize a traditional dress swap. And as a base wide event, they hoped to outfit a lot of spouses. A friend of one of the founders was an “on-screen personality” with a National news program who suggested that they come up with a name for the event and then she’d mention it on air and hopefully they would have lots of participation.

ODYD’s cute little hanger logo was created and so was the name Operation Deploy Your Dress. The response was overwhelming and Within 1 month we had 3,000 dresses mailed to us from all over the country. Many of the boxes included heartfelt letters thanking us for OUR service and sharing the story of their dress. It was obvious that these dresses were a tangible way for the American public to show their support of our Military service members and specifically their families. That was when we came up with the tagline “Deploying America’s Patriotism One Dress at a Time.” With the abundance of dresses being delivered almost daily it was not long before a permanent shop was established at Ft Bliss, Texas.

With that seed of an idea, ODYD continues to grow!! Over the last 8 years our mission has expanded to include all members of the military, All Ranks, All Branches, Active, Retired, Reserve and National Guard. We have launched new ODYD shops at Ft Drum, NY, Ft Hood, TX, Landstuhl, Germany, Ft Rucker, AL ,Ft Bragg, NC and Ft Polk, LA, Ft Leonard Wood, MO. . Many of these opened during the pandemic. We currently have 14 shops and a new one to be announced soon. Some of these military installations are in remote areas. Our shops offer a unique as well as a convenient way for people to find a beautiful dress to wear to a ball or a special occasion. Today, with several world events taking service men and women away from their families, it is more important than ever to do something for the families left behind. We are hearing that many bases and posts are getting back to normal, post-Covid, and are planning welcome home events, annual military balls and other functions where our beautiful dresses and gowns will be worn. ODYD strives to support those soldiers and their families. However, for many military families going to a ball isn’t in their budget. The cost of tickets, babysitting, mani-pedi, hairdresser and all the extras, let alone buying a new dress is just too much. In many cases the soldier goes alone, leaving a spouse at home feeling more disconnected than ever to the military community. Taking part in military traditions and feeling good about yourself is just one step in building stronger military families.