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| The start of the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon Photo provided courtesy of Paul Oberle |
Friday, March 9, 2012
Friday's Photo
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Giving the Gift of Camaraderie
ca·ma·ra·der·ie n. Goodwill and lighthearted rapport between or among friends; comradeship. |
The strength of our military depends on many factors--training, physical strength, discipline and camaraderie. And each of these factors also help the individual service member.
It is not surprising that when a service member is physically wounded, it also impacts them emotionally. They are medically retired from the military and have lost not only the career they loved but also miss the discipline, routine and close friendships that they have built and thrive on.
Many of the programs supported by Hope For The Warriors® focus on building camaraderie within the wounded community for these service members. Our Outdoor Adventures Program and the hunting trips that we help to facilitate are a perfect example. Not only are service members invited to return to the outdoor sport they love, they have the opportunity to reconnect with veterans and service members.
As one participant shared:
"We got to hunt a lot and we had a lot of fun doing it...thanks for helping me meet more wounded veterans."
A thank you goes to the hosts of our hunting trips--landowners throughout the country who invite and host our wounded for these weekend trips. If you are interested in learning more, please contact outdooradventures@hopeforthewarriors.org.
Monday, March 5, 2012
March is Social Work Month!
March is National Social Work month, and for us at Hope For The Warriors® it’s a month worth celebrating! We work day in and day out to assist the lives of our brave men and women and their families, and most importantly to reignite and restore hope in their time of recovery.
Not only is social work an integral part of assisting our service members and their families, but we also have the distinct privilege of supporting many on their path to becoming professional social workers. As part of our full cycle of care for wounded service members, the organization manages a Spouse/Caregiver Scholarship program. Among scholarship applicants, more have enrolled in social work programs than any other field of study. These resilient spouses want to take the support they received and use it to help families in the similar situations; a theme echoed in almost every essay written.
A two-time scholarship recipient shared:
“Over the past twenty months, the amount of support that we have received from various agencies has been abundant. I can’t think of anything else I would rather dedicate my professional life to than to emulate their support for other wounded service members. Completing a social work program will give me the skills and resources to help our veterans and their families.”
This year, the National Association of Social Workers 2012, National Hope conference echoes our own mission: restoring hope and the power of social work. As future social work professionals, they will have opportunities to attend such conferences, network with future professionals and receive more in depth guidance on how to work with military and veteran populations. In particular, Hope For The Warriors® has partnered and will continue to partner with organizations such as the Woodruff Foundation and programs such as the Family Reintegration Program at Holliswood Hospital in New York, who also have a common focus and dedication to our service members.
Tina Atherall, Hope For The Warriors® Executive Vice President and licensed Social Worker:
“Social Workers are critical professionals in the growing need for services of those that serve. In line with the NASW 2012 National Conference theme, ‘Restoring Hope’, Social Workers embrace a variety of skills to approach the entire system and complexity of supporting the military service member, their family and integrating the community in their care.”
As Hope For The Warriors® grows, opportunities for interns to develop social work skills allow for a glimpse into what it is like to work in an up-and-coming area of care.
I am lucky enough to have been the recipient of an internship position at the Hope For The Warriors® office in Jacksonville, NC during the summer of 2011. The experience seasoned me professionally and broadened my understanding of service members, their trials and above all has bolstered my desire to pursue a Masters in Social Work. The ideals of social work are mirrored in the mission of this organization, and I look forward to continue working with and learning from them.
Additionally, new internship opportunities are being added to our organization and include the opportunity to have direct clinical practice as well as practice with administrative tasks that are common in the profession.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
Website Maintenance
Website Update: Our site is still down and we are working to resolve quickly. Thank you for your patience.
Friday's Photo
A picture is worth a thousand words.
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| Finish line of the ASA Run For The Warriors® 5K Photo provided courtesy of Paul Oberle |
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Got Bibs?
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| Photo provided courtesy of Paul Oberle |
Team Hope For The Warriors® is comprised of two groups of people. First, the Team is a program that supports our wounded service members and helps them get back into competitive athletic pursuits. Often, this requires special adaptive equipment, such as a handcycle. Once they have their adaptive equipment, we continue our support by providing race bibs, travel and lodging so that our wounded Team members can compete with their fellow military brother and sisters.
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| Robin, our president, on the scenic route of the American Odyssey Relay. Photo by Paul Oberle. |
This program is supported by community Team members, many who obtain bibs from Hope For The Warriors® for key, sold out races. Didn't sign up in time for the Marine Corps Marathon? No problem, we have bibs. NYC Marathon lottery didn't go your way? We got it!
Links to register to any of our Team races can be found on our Team Web Page.
We have bibs for the following races:
American Odyssey Relay--April 27-28
Hope For The Warriors® is forming two teams for this amazing relay race. Each team will combine our wounded heroes with community athletes.
TD Five Boro Bike Tour--May 6
Registration is closed for this event but we still have a few race bibs left.
Marine Corps Historic Half--May 20
Run the streets of historic Fredericksburg, VA.
Rock 'n' Roll, Virginia Beach Half--September 2
First time Team Hope For The Warriors will be in this sold out race!
Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half--September 16
Another new race this year for our Team.
Army Ten-Miler--October 21
Hooah! We are excited to add this race to our Team schedule.
Marine Corps Marathon--October 28
Last year's marathon sold out in 28 hours. We are already selling our bibs now. Sign up today!
The ING New York City Marathon--November 6
We have already sold half of our bibs for this race. We are not sure if we will have any left when the lottery is announced. Why wait?!
To keep up with all of this information, I encourage you to "Like" the Team Facebook page and read the Team Blog.
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| Michael Cuomo, actor, "Happy New Year" and ROTC student Jack Rosenhammer complete the NYC Marathon together in perfect "No man left behind" style! |
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