United in Freedom
United in Service. United in Gratitude. United in Freedom.
Yellow Ribbons United brings together professional sports, corporate partners, communities, and individuals to honor, support, and create meaningful experiences for America’s military families and veterans.
Those who serve never serve alone
Behind every service member is a family whose sacrifice, resilience, and commitment often go unseen. Yellow Ribbons United was created to help change that.
We connect military families with the power of community, professional sports, corporate partnerships, and meaningful experiences—creating opportunities to honor service, strengthen connections, and turn gratitude into action. Because supporting those who serve also means supporting the families who stand beside them.
Learn more about YRU →Connect. Serve. Support.
Connect
We bring together military families, veterans, professional athletes, sports organizations, businesses, volunteers, and communities through shared experiences and a common purpose.
Serve
We create programs and events that recognize the unique sacrifices of military families while providing opportunities for connection, celebration, healing, and support.
Support
We engage partners and communities to transform appreciation for our military into meaningful action that strengthens the families behind those who serve.
Our impact
Gratitude becomes more powerful when it becomes action.
For more than a decade, Yellow Ribbons United has created experiences and partnerships designed to bring military and civilian communities closer together.
Behind every number is a person, a family, and a story worth honoring.
Explore our impactOur programs
Creating connection. Building community. Honoring sacrifice.
Kid2Kid
Military children serve in their own way.
Kid2Kid helps bridge the military-civilian divide by giving children an opportunity to learn about the experiences and sacrifices of their military-connected peers—and discover ways to show their appreciation.
Discover Kid2Kid →Mission to Unite
Young leaders. Shared purpose. Lasting impact.
Mission to Unite was established in 2022 by high school students from Briar Woods High School, Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, and Langley High School who shared a common goal: to support children and families through service, education, and community connection.
What began as a student-led effort to provide children with essential school supplies quickly grew into a literacy initiative designed to encourage reading and ensure children have access to books of their own, including annual Winter Wonderland book drives.
The mission seeks to:
Provide children with essential school supplies and educational resources;
Increase access to books and encourage literacy;
Engage high school students in meaningful community service;
Strengthen connections between civilian students and military families; and
Inspire the next generation of leaders to serve with empathy, gratitude, and purpose.
United in Play
Sports have a unique ability to bring people together. United in Play creates shared experiences where military-connected and civilian children can meet, play, and build friendships.
Learn more →Signature family experiences
From holiday celebrations to special events, YRU creates moments that recognize military families and remind them that their sacrifices are seen and appreciated.
View our programs →Our story
Born from a military family. Built through sports. Driven by purpose.
For founders Derrick and Emma Dockery, the mission of Yellow Ribbons United is deeply personal. Emma grew up in a military family, watching her father devote thirty years of his life to serving our country in the United States Army, experiencing firsthand the uncertainty and sacrifice placed upon an entire family—a sacrifice made even more profound following the loss of her brother while serving in Afghanistan.
Derrick’s ten-year NFL career provided the Dockery family with another extraordinary community—the world of professional sports. Together, they saw an opportunity to connect the passion and reach of sports with a deeply personal mission to ensure military families know their service and sacrifice are recognized and supported.
Read our storyThe power of partnership
Together, we can do more.
Throughout its history, Yellow Ribbons United has worked alongside professional sports organizations, corporations, nonprofit organizations, community leaders, volunteers, and supporters to create meaningful experiences for military families. Today, we continue to build a community of partners committed not simply to saying “thank you,” but to putting gratitude into action.
Become a YRU partnerPartners
Supporters
Interested in becoming a Yellow Ribbons United partner or supporter? Contact us here
Join us
Gratitude is something we can all give.
Whether you are an individual, company, professional sports organization, volunteer, donor, or community partner, there is a place for you at Yellow Ribbons United. Together, we can honor those who serve by standing beside the families who serve with them.