“It’s not just working with the service members. It’s working with the families who have been through so much stress. We do so many things with the caregivers,” Elaine Rogers, CEO of USO Metropolitan Washington, told Aileen Black and Gigi Schumm, hosts of the Women of Washington radio show.

“It’s about helping their morale also. So there’s a whole huge component there,” she said.

Rogers sat down with Aileen and Gigi to talk about the often-inspiring work the USO has been able to complete since Rogers became president in 1976.

On mentors, Rogers remembers what Bob Hope, famous for his USO performances, told her at an area hospital. “He said, ‘Whatever you do, when you walk into that hospital room, you never show tears or show that you are upset. You are here to cheer them up, not to show what your personal feelings are.'”

Rogers said she still gives this advice to celebrities and other volunteers who come to visit wounded soldiers.

Rogers also talked about another celebrity who made a difference — Robin Williams.

“Robin used to come in a lot for us,” she said. “And we went into the ICU; this young man was there. And Robin has a very distinctive voice, so we walked in and we talked the best we could. Then we walked out and the doctor and the mother followed us. And the doctor says, ‘We know this kid is going to make it.’ He had had no eye contact, no communication with anybody, nothing. The doctor said, ‘As soon as Robin Williams came in, his eyes moved to the door and followed the whole way.’ So we knew there were motor skills left in his brain. And you think ‘Oh my gosh. We had an impact.'”

Also in this week’s episode, Rogers discussed how she came to be president of the USO at age 24, her networking advice for young women, and a heartwarming story of how the USO made one military family’s Christmas.

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