Pleasanton Military Families nonprofit dissolving at end of year

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Pleasanton Military Families, a nonprofit known for organizing homecoming events for local soldiers and sending care packages to those deployed abroad, plans to formally disband by the end of 2025.

Announced “with both a heavy heart and immense gratitude”, the news was shared among PMF members before Memorial Day weekend and ahead of the organization’s latest welcome-home celebration and its final packout this month. 

“As we wind down our organization through the end of 2025, it feels like losing an old friend. This is all very bittersweet to us,” PMF co-founder and former president Pat Frizzell told the Pleasanton Weekly.  

“Through the most challenging and fearful time of our lives, with our sons and daughters and husbands in combat zones, we shared our concerns, tears, hugs and became the best of friends. Friendships that will last forever,” she added. “And we are proud of all the work we did for our troops and their families for the past 22 years.”

Choosing to dissolve “did not come easily” for the leaders of the nonprofit that originally formed amid the U.S. military operations in the Middle East after Sept. 11, according to current president Sydne Benson Roth.

“Thankfully, today our local active duty troops are no longer in combat zones,” Roth told the Weekly. “With that change, it felt like the right time to recognize that we have fulfilled our mission. This was not a decision made lightly or by one person — it was thoughtfully discussed among us, and ultimately agreed upon almost unanimously.”

“And we should not be sad, but proud, of a job well done,” Frizzell added. 

PMF was founded by Frizzell, a military mom at the time, and the late Chris Miller at the height of the Global War on Terror in February 2003  with a mission “to provide care, comfort, and support to military service members — active duty and reserve — and their families living in Pleasanton and the surrounding communities”.

“Parents and spouses found support and comfort in being able to call one another at any time day or night to share their joy and their worries,” Pleasanton veteran Doug Miller (no relation) told the Weekly in reflection of PMF’s impact. 

“But Chris, a Vietnam War veteran, also knew that service members needed support when they came home from deployment. Chris knew that these veterans needed to be welcomed home and supported during their transition back to normal life,” said Doug Miller, who emceed the recent retirement homecoming ceremony in downtown Pleasanton.

“Starting with a motorcycle escort from the airport to the servicemember’s front yard where 50 to 100 neighbors and friends were waiting, to proclamations from local elected officials to surprise guests like a favorite teacher, these homecomings absolutely had a positive impact on each servicemember,” he added. 

The celebration on June 1 had special meaning for Pleasanton native Roth – it was her husband Matt, whose time in the Army is ending, that PMF, the Patriot Guard Riders and others surprised while the family was out to lunch downtown. A procession led the Roths and their kids down Main Street to their house nearby.

“With his retirement and having the opportunity to make his return a Homecoming, I was excited — but wanted to stay hands-off. I wanted to be surprised, to experience it alongside him. And I was blown away,” Roth said. 

“The time, energy, love, and thoughtfulness this group pours into welcoming our troops and families home is beyond words. Matt, who typically avoids any kind of fanfare, was deeply touched. He felt humbled, honored, and genuinely seen,” she told the Weekly. “Exactly what a Homecoming should be.”

Sending support to local military members deployed abroad has also been a central focus for the nonprofit. Its recurring packout events, where volunteers assemble and box donated goods for shipment, served to spread some love from home to troops in combat zones while also building community among their family members, friends and fellow residents back in Pleasanton. 

But the need has changed in recent years, Frizzell acknowledged.

“The current troops are all, except for some special forces, on bases or ships that have everything they need. We all surely hope it will remain this way,” she said. “They really are not in need of care packages. In fact the last several pack-outs we have had, only two, perhaps three, of the names on the deployed lists were from PMF families or friends.”

“Some of these troops are actually living in apartments overseas, certainly not in need of baby wipes and foot powder!” Frizzell added. “Other groups we have worked with over the years have completed their missions as well, such as Operation Sam in Livermore and the Concord Blue Star Moms, and have now disbanded.”

PMF’s final packout event is scheduled for this weekend, around a summer and Fourth of July theme. The pre-pack is Friday at 3:15 p.m. and the packout is Saturday at 8:45 a.m. – both at the Veterans Memorial Building on Main Street in Pleasanton. 

The nonprofit said online that it is “very low in donations” while promoting its Amazon wishlist of items at pleasantonmilitaryfamilies.org ahead of its last packout.

Another homecoming celebration is expected in the coming months, according to Frizzell.

It is unclear what is happening with other community events still listed on PMF’s online calendar for the year, but Roth told members in her dissolution announcement email, “We will continue fulfilling our existing commitments through the end of 2025.”

“We want to extend our deepest thank you to every volunteer, donor, supporter, and family who stood with us. Your kindness and commitment made every success possible,” she added. “Though our organization is closing its chapter, the legacy of compassion and community lives on in every life touched and every connection made.”

Most Popular

Livermore school board, superintendent abruptly part waysFebruary 7, 2026 9:53 am

Clementine's new owner is ready to serve good food and good timesFebruary 5, 2026 6:22 pm

‘Then and Now’ recalls historic schools of eastern Alameda County10 hours ago