Giving Tuesday

Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving...Friday was Black...Monday is spent in Cyperspace buying.

Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday.

Each year, no matter how hard we might try, we spend money on gifts that are not needed.  We buy too much, spend too much, and in January, the bill is often too high. 

On Giving Tuesday, if you donate to Hope For The Warriors®, we can guarantee that your donation is needed and will be used to restore self, family and hope to our military families.  This blog is filled with stories of wounded service members we have helped, families that have been reunited, hope that have been restored through our programs. 

But in case you are still not sure how your donation will help, here is a very short list that provides you with concrete examples.

Hope For The Warriors® uses your $10 donation to:

• Pay for meals at the hospital cafeteria
• Cover the expense of laundry service
• Provide basic necessities, toiletries and more
• Supply our athletes with gels/drinks while competing in marathons and other races
• Covers the expense of shipping key supplies to military families throughout the country
• Contribute towards a larger expense that will support our military families

 

 

Hope For The Warriors® uses your $25 donation to:

• Race registration fee for a wounded service member returning to sports for rehabilitation
• School supplies for a spouse returning to college, preparing to take on the role of “breadwinner”
• Groceries to stock a small kitchen near a military medical hospital
• An association membership to support networking opportunities in a new career field
• A Team jersey for a service member on Team Hope For The Warriors®
• Hope For The Warriors® golf shirt for a warrior learning this rehabilitative sport
• Contribute towards a larger expense that will support our military families

 

Hope For The Warriors® uses your $50 donation to:

• A cell phone to use while in an inpatient program
• A cycling helmet for a handcyclist
• Gas cards to travel to hospital visits, events and races
• A text book for a spouse returning to school
• Holiday gifts for children living temporarily near a medical center
• Contribute towards a larger expense that will support our military families

 

Hope For The Warriors® uses your $100 donation to:

• Keep the electricity turned on for a military family
• Professional clothing for a service member transitioning to a civilian career
• New pair of running or cycling shoes
• Household supplies for a temporary home near a medical center
• Groceries for a wounded service member and his/her family
• Contribute towards a larger expense that will support our military families

We hope that you will consider a donation to Hope For The Warriors® during this busy time of year.  If you have any questions, visit our website or e-mail info@hopeforthewarriors.org.

Donate Today!

What Are You Thankful For?

Each year at Thanksgiving, millions of Americans take a moment to reflect on what they are thankful for.  Sometimes it is personal—a new job, baby, or relationship.  Sometimes it is more expansive—such as being thankful for one’s health or security. This Thanksgiving, it is our hope that each of you are able to spend time with family and friends.

Hope For The Warriors® is thankful too.  We are thankful to the thousands of service members who serve and sacrifice for our freedoms.  We are thankful to family members for their love and support, often during difficult deployments and years of recovery.  We are thankful to each of you—supporters and volunteers who make our work possible.  In the past six years, so many have stepped forward to serve on the battlefield, on the home front, and throughout recovery. 

 

In light of the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, we are also thankful for the basic necessities.  We are thankful that our staff is safe in spite of losing two offices in the storm.  We are thankful for volunteers who have put aside their own needs to care for the needs of our military families.  In the past few weeks, Hope For The Warriors® has become actively involved in the relief effort by supporting the needs of wounded service members and military families impacted by the storm.  We will continue to help wounded with the unique problems that this storm has presented.

We call on each of you to give thanks this holiday, to show your support for our service members and military families during these trying times. Together, we can make a difference. Please donate today.

Thank you for the support that you have given us this year.  Have a wonderful holiday!

 

 

Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts: Update

This past weekend, Hope For The Warriors® staff and volunteers joined the BBQ Brethren from Long Island in Long Beach, NY.  The goal was to feed first responders and families in need in the Long Beach area.  The group estimates that they fed between 12,000 to 14,000 people this weekend!  Thank you to all of the volunteers that joined us in these efforts.

Staff then went to Far Rockaway and Staten Island to help with relief efforts in these two devastated areas.

Virginia group with FEMA workers.

In addition to staff, the group that drove up from Stafford, VA joined our efforts in all of these areas.  They had several trailers full of supplies and returned to Virginia empty.  Mainstreet Grill and Bar continues to collect donations so if you are in the Stafford area, please consider donating. 

With the hard work of these volunteers and the volunteers from the fire fighters in North Carolina, Hope For The Warriors® has been able to reach out to wounded service members and military families in these regions.  The needs of our wounded are unique and most other organizations can not solve these issues as quickly.  Thank you to all of these volunteers for making our work possible.

Finally, besides the work that Hope For The Warriors® is doing for the relief efforts, our own staff is personally volunteering their time and efforts.  Jordyn, pictured above with friends, is from Connecticut but was living on Staten Island.  After the hurricane, she raised funds in her hometown to purchase cleaning supplies.  Then she and friends returned to Staten Island to do their part in the clean up work through her neighborhood. 

Other staff members have driven many miles to provide help and support to military families in need and to friends who have supported our organization for so many years.

Thank you to all that have made these efforts possible.

Donate today.

A Warrior's Wish®: Sometimes, the Grass is Greener

Master Sgt. Jessey Baca has served his country since 1977. Throughout his many years in the United Sates Navy and the National Guard, he has accumulated combat related illnesses. Just as he has served his country for so many years, he wishes to continue to serve and care for his family. Jessey knows firsthand how important it is to spend time with his wife of 34 years, their children and grandchildren.  And sometimes caring for them means taking care of something as simple as mowing the lawn. While mowing the lawn may not seem like a big task to most people, Jessey is not most people.

During all of his years in the military, Jessey has deployed overseas four times.  Twice for Operation Southern Watch, in 1996 to Kuwait and to Turkey in 1997.  He also deployed to Iraq twice, in 2004 and then again in 2007-2008.  In all four deployments, Jessey was exposed to toxic fumes from oil and burn pit fires.

Due to this exposure, he has been diagnosed with emphysema, chronic bronchitis, chemically-induced asthma, mesothelial hyperplasia, PTSD, fibrosis, hearing loss, memory loss and skin cancer. And with that diagnosis, not only does he continue to serve his family, he is still also serving in the military. Our thought was that there could be no one more deserving of a gift, than this man.

Five years ago, he was given 7-10 years to live.

 

 

Since his diagnosis, life has changed for Jessey. For years, his yard was a source of pride. He enjoyed all the duties that went in to taking care of his yard, his home, and his family. But due to his illness, what once took a few hours, now takes days to complete. Jessey and his family submitted a Wish to the A Warrior’s Wish® Program, so that he could help make the home duties he loves, a little easier.

Through the A Warrior’s Wish® Program, the Baca family Wish has been granted. The Wish included a Craftsman Riding Lawn Mower, along with accessories to help him care for the lawn. Due to his skin cancer, the accessories also included a sunshade to protect him in the sun.

It is a privilege to be able to serve members of the military who have served our nation for so long. Thank you to Jessey and his family for their years of service to this nation.  Thank you to supporters of Hope For The Warriors® for allowing us to grant this Wish, and many more.

Visit the A Warrior’s Wish® webpage to learn more about the Wish program and to read other Wishes.

Sometimes Hope is a Knock on the Door

Today, two large trailers left Mainstreet Grill and Bar in Stafford, VA to make their way north to areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy.  The trailers were loaded with supplies donated by individuals, companies and organizations in the Stafford area.  Supplies included cases of bottled water, cleaning supplies, diapers, clothing, tools and more. 

Our staff met the volunteers just north at a gas station to make sure that their tanks were full and handed over gas cards to pay for the rest of their trip.  We also handed them the names and addresses of wounded service members who need assistance. 

Hope For The Warriors® staff has contacted service members and military families in the New York/New Jersey area to check on their safety and needs.  As a nonprofit that works with wounded service members, we are better equipped than other organizations to meet the unique needs of our military families.  In addition to the service members that we already know, we also receive phone calls daily from VA caseworkers.  The need among wounded service members is great right now.

Thank you to Crissy and Christopher, owners of Mainstreet Grill and Bar and Adaptive Consulting & Training Services for answering the call from Hope For The Warriors® to help.  They have given time, money and energy to help others.  Christopher, a member of the Bull Run Chapter of the Rough Riders, has been joined by other members of the motorcycle club to make this work possible.  We thank all of the volunteers who have helped to organize and deliver donations.  Finally, thank you to all in the Stafford area who purchased and donated.

And in case we are unsure if this help is needed, many staff members started their morning with an email from the spouse of a wounded service member.  The family lives along the New Jersey coast and this morning, she shared:

"We finally got power back after nine days...One day last week, I had a knock on the door from a group of firefighters from North Carolina who were here on behalf of Hope For The Warriors®.  They were so nice!  They left us water, cookies, towels...it was so thoughtful and we are so grateful!"

We try to provide hope in many ways.  Thank you to so many volunteers who are helping us provide hope to these families.

Mainstreet Grill and Bar will continue to collect donations so people in the Stafford area should continue to bring bottled water, cleaning supplies, diapers, tools, "D" batteries, work gloves, waterproof boots and clothing.  (Other clothing is not needed.)

If you would like to help our military families, please text "Warriors" to 20222 to donate $10 to Hope For The Warriors®.  Donations can also be made online.

Relief Efforts Continue--Northern VA

Two days ago, we asked everyone in the Jacksonville, NC area to donate supplies to help people devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

Now, we call out to those in the area of Stafford, VA. 

Local business owners, Chrissy and Christopher Sharon, are collecting donations and supplies that will be delivered to the areas most devastated by Hurricane Sandy.  The Sharons are asking all residents to bring supplies.  They are also looking for volunteers who can help organize the donations or make the trip north next week.  They expect to begin their trip on Wednesday, November 6, 2012.

Chrissy Sharon owns the MainStreet Grill & Bar (www.mainstreetstaffordva.com).  Donations should be dropped off at the restaurant, located at 315 GarrisonRoad, Suite 108; Stafford, VA.  For more information, call the restaurant at 540.288.9277.

 

Donations to drop off:

Blankets

Flashlights

Batteries

Non-Perishable Food

Bottled Water

Gas Cards

Home Depot/Lowe’s Gift Cards

Hygiene Items

Baby Formula

Diapers

Winter Clothing

Hope For The Warriors® is supporting this effort by paying for gasoline and other expenses that will be incurred on the road.  If you are not in the Northern Virginia area but still want to help, text “WARRIORS” to 20222 to donate $10 to Hope For The Warriors® or visit www.hopeforthewarriors.org to donate online.

If you know a family in need, please contact Jordan Murray (jmurray@hopeforthewarriors.org) with their name, address and the best means to communicate with the family.