Hope For The Warriors®

Monday, February 29, 2016

Team Hope For The Warriors Newsletter: February

Team Hope For The Warriors has added many exciting events to the 2016 calendar! Guarantee your spot in these popular events.

2016 Schedule:

March

3/20: United Airlines NYC Half

April

4/2-8: Team EVA Suffolk County, Long Island, Various locations

4/23: Inaugural Charlotte Run For The Warriors®, Charlotte, NC*

May

5/1: Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon & Half Marathon

5/14: 11th Annual Run for the Warriors®, Jacksonville, NC*

5/21: Run of Valor, Murphysboro, IL, More dates and locations to come!

5/29: 2nd Annual Memorial Day Run For The Warriors®, Oldsmar, FL*

June

6/5: 7th Annual Big Apple Run For The Warriors®, NYC*

July

7/4: 5th Annual New Bern Run For The Warriors®, New Bern, NC*

7/24: Panasonic NYC Tri, New York City

August

8/21: 7th Annual Sunset Run For The Warriors®, Shelton, CT*

September

9/25: 6th Annual Harmon Meadows Run For The Warriors®, Secaucus, NJ*

October

10/16: 3rd Annual DMV Run For The Warriors®, Fairfax Station, VA*

10/23: 7th Annual ASA Sponsored Run For The Warriors®, Chicago, IL*

10/31: Marine Corps Marathon, Washington, DC*

November

11/6: TCS NYC Marathon, New York City

11/12: 9th Annual Long Island Run For The Warriors ®, Lindenhurst, NY*

*Event is handcycle friendly

Registration sites to come for each event!

Training Tip:

Here is a story that gives a great perspective on training and meeting goals for endurance events:

Daily a clock ran and ran, until one day it became overwhelmed by the number of times it would have to tick throughout the year, 31,536,000 times! The clock decided it would just stop ticking because the number of ticks was too large. However, the clock was reminded that it didn’t have to tick all 31,536,000 seconds at once, but only one at a time. With a new perspective the clock continued to consistently tick—one second at a time.

Remember that training for endurance events happens one tick at a time—you cannot reach your goals in a single day. Achieving your goals is the culmination of putting in the work little by little each day, making your goals attainable!

Fundraising Tip:

Share with your supporters how Hope For The Warriors is an exceptional investment in the future of our military families and responsibly uses contributions to provide comprehensive case management and programs.

Team EVA: Every Veteran Appreciated

Since 2006 Eva Casale, has run 54 full marathons and 32 ultramarathons, raising over $100,000 for several organizations. Now Team EVA (Every Veteran Appreciated) is taking on a new challenge, running 7 marathons in 7 days to raise funds and awareness for Hope For The Warriors®! Eva will complete 184 miles, running in honor of a different service member for each mile. She is starting and finishing each marathon at different Suffolk Federal Credit Union locations and is asking the community to donate to military families and join her in her run.

You can register to run with Eva today! You do not have to participate in all 7 of her 26.2-mile runs, but you can pick a day to join her for the last 7 miles of her run. Be part of the Team and encourage Eva along as you support military families.

Program Information:

Charity Navigator:

For the 5^th year in a row, Hope For The Warriors® has received a four-star rating on Charity Navigator. This exceptional rating, achieved by only 5% of the nonprofits they evaluate, highlights Hope For The Warriors® financial responsibility to the service members, military families, and families of the fallen we support. Team members can continue to ask people to donate towards fundraising goals with confidence! We invite you to view their latest evaluation of our efforts on the Charity Navigator website.

A Warrior’s Wish:

This year, Hope For The Warriors will grant 9 wishes to support service members, veterans, and military families. The nature of these Wishes will vary in scope from business, fitness, financial, and outdoor-related. The enrichment process will continue long after the Wish is granted to promote stability within the lives of these heroes and their families. As the Wishes are granted we will share the stories in the upcoming newsletters. Learn more about A Warriors Wish

For more information please contact Steve Barto at sbarto@hopeforthewarriors.org.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Series:

The Rock ‘n’ Roll race series has teamed up with everydayhero as their official fundraising platform. You can now run in any Rock ‘n’ Roll event and raise funds for Hope For The Warriors! Every race participant will be asked if they want to fundraise on behalf of their favorite cause during the race registration process. When you register and are asked to choose your charity, pick Hope For The Warriors® and you will automatically be given a Rock ‘n’ Roll everydayhero fundraising page!

Run For The Warriors:

Save the date for the 2016 Run For The Warriors Race Series:

April 23: Inaugural Charlotte Run For The Warriors®, Charlotte, NC
May 14: 11th Annual Run for the Warriors®, Jacksonville, NC
May 29: 2nd Annual Memorial Day Run For The Warriors, Oldsmar, FL
June 5: 7th Annual Big Apple Run For The Warriors, New York, NY
July 4: 5th Annual New Bern Run For The Warriors, New Bern, NC
August 21: 7th Annual Sunset Run For The Warriors, Shelton, CT
September 25: 6th Annual Harmon Meadow Run For The Warriors, Secaucus, NJ
October 16: 3rd Annual DMV Run For The Warriors, Washington, DC
October 23: 7th Annual ASA Sponsored Run For The Warriors, Chicago, IL
November 12: 9th Annual Long Island Run For The Warriors, Lindenhurst, NY

Stay tuned for the 2016 Run For The Warriors® Race Series Registration sites, www.runforthewarriors.org.

Representing the Team:

Be sure to shoot us an email with your race schedule and where you will be wearing your Team jersey. Each time you wear your jersey, you help our mission to restore self, family, and hope. Feel free to share photos and special stories too!

sbarto@hopeforthewarriors.org

Important Links For Social Media:

Hope For The Warriors Facebook

Twitter When you tweet be sure to use #TeamH4W

NYCHalf Marathon Team Facebook Group

NYC Full Marathon Team Facebook Group

MarineCorps Marathon Team Facebook Group

Friday, January 22, 2016

Team Hope For The Warriors Newsletter: January

Team Hope For The Warriors® has a lot of exciting events planned for the 2016 season! Guarantee your spot in these popular events:

Current 2016 Team Hope For The Warriors® Schedule

March 20, 2016— United Airlines NYC Half

May 1, 2016— Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon, Half Marathon, & 5K

July 24, 2016— Panasonic NYC Tri

Stay tuned as more races get added to our 2016 schedule.

Fundraising Tip

Let your supporters know what their contribution can do for service members, veterans, their families, and families of the fallen:

$10 Provides a meal to a service member at a hunting or fishing trip
$25 Covers meals for a spouse visiting a wounded service member in the hospital
$100 Provides childcare for a service member attending standing Dr. appointments
$500 Covers books/supplies for a scholarship recipient
$1,000 Travel/lodging to a brain treatment facility
$5,500 Provides a new handcycle for a wounded service member to help in his or her recovery process

Training Tip

Great article from Runners World on stretches and exercises to do before and after running to improve form and efficiency!

Team Member Corner: Eva Casale

Since 2006 Eva Casale, has run 54 full marathons and 32 ultramarathons, raising over $100,000 for several organizations. Now Team EVA (Every Veteran Appreciated) is taking on a new challenge, running 7 marathons in 7 days to raise funds and awareness for Hope For The Warriors®! Eva will complete 184 miles, running in honor of a different service member for each mile. She is starting and finishing each marathon at different Suffolk Federal Credit Union locations, in Long Island, NY, and is asking the community to donate to military families and join her in her run.

You can register to run with Eva today! You do not have to participate in all 7 of her 26.2-mile runs, but you can pick a day to join her for the last 7 miles of her run. Be part of the Team and encourage Eva along as you support military families.

Program Information

Charity Navigator:

A Warrior’s Wish®:

This year, Hope For The Warriors® will grant 11 wishes to support service members, veterans, and military families. The nature of these Wishes will vary in scope from business, fitness, financial, and outdoor-related. The enrichment process will continue long after the Wish is granted to promote stability within the lives of these heroes and their families. As the Wishes are granted we will share the stories in the upcoming newsletters. Learn more about A Warriors Wish

For more information please contact Steve Barto at sbarto@hopeforthewarriors.org.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Series:

The Rock ‘n’ Roll race series has teamed up with everydayhero as their official fundraising platform. You can now run in any Rock ‘n’ Roll event and raise funds for Hope For The Warriors! Beginning March 1^st, every race participant will be asked if they want to fundraise on behalf of their favorite cause during the race registration process. When you register and are asked to choose your charity, pick Hope For The Warriors® and you will automatically be given a Rock ‘n’ Roll everydayhero fundraising page!

Run For The Warriors®:

Save the date for the 2016 Run For The Warriors® Race Series:

April 23, Charlotte, NC

Inaugural Charlotte Run For The Warriors

May 14, Jacksonville, NC

11th Annual Run For The Warriors

May 29, Oldsmar, FL

2nd Annual Memorial Day Run For The Warriors

June 5, New York, NY

7th Annual Big Apple Run For The Warriors

July 4, New Bern, NC

5th Annual New Bern Run For The Warriors

August 21, Shelton, CT

7th Annual Sunset Run For The Warriors

September 25, Secaucus, NJ

6th Annual Harmon Meadow Run For The Warriors

October 16, Washington, DC

3rd Annual DMV Run For The Warriors

October 23, Chicago, IL

7th Annual ASA Sponsored Run For The Warriors

November 12, Lindenhurst, NY

9th Annual Long Island Run For The Warriors

Stay tuned for the 2016 Run For The Warriors® Race Series Registration sites, www.runforthewarriors.org.

Representing the Team:

sbarto@hopeforthewarriors.org

Important Links For Social Media:

Hope For The Warriors®Facebook

Twitter When you tweet be sure to use #TeamH4W

NYCHalf Marathon Team Facebook Group

NYC Full Marathon Team Facebook Group

MarineCorps Marathon Team Facebook Group

Thursday, January 7, 2016

A Warrior's Wish: Wounded Marine finds HOPE and healing in Music

Cpl Nathan Jakubisin with his new drum set

While conducting a foot patrol in Kajaki, Afghanistan on June 5, 2012, Cpl Nathan Jakubisin stepped on an IED. As a result of the blast, he lost his right leg and obtained an open compound fracture to his left leg. Other injuries include multiple fractures to his hand and wrist, partially amputated fifth digit, chemical burns, lung trauma, PTSD, and mTBI.

He arrived at Walter Reed Naval hospital on June 10, 2012. It was not until two weeks after his arrival that he woke up from a drug induced coma. Over the past two and a half years, he has undergone many surgeries and rigorous therapy sessions.

Cpl Jakubisin joined Musicorps, a band of wounded service members at Walter Reed hospital. As a band member he has learned to play with his prosthetic and finds that music is beneficial to his overall rehabilitation. By asking for a drum set, he and his wife hope that he can continue his therapeutic hobby once Nathan has medically separated from the USMC and is able to move home.

He is currently enrolled in online classes to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Cyber Security. He and his wife welcomed their first child in January 2014. The family is originally from Cambridge, OH but is excited to move into their newly built wheelchair accessible home in NC.

Hope’s MSW intern, Paula Valles out of the NC office on Camp Lejeune found an article that specifically highlights how the use of drums are used as part of music interventions and has provided a generous synopsis below:

Bensimon, Amir and Wolf’s (2012) article discusses the benefits of using music as a therapeutic intervention to cope with PTSD symptoms. Studies have shown that traumatic events and music are both learned and absorbed in the brain through sensory meditation. Bensimon et al.’s (2012) research demonstrates how music might serve as an inviting and unintimidating alternative to explore traumatic memories. Music therapy can therefore, be an alternative form of shock/exposure therapy or “talk therapy” such that service members are not forced to logically and explicitly revisit painful memories directly in an uncomfortable situation. Music therapy allows military personnel the ability to express themselves and confront emotional difficulties through art therapy on their own terms and with their own creativity. The terms of the study included soldiers ages 20-23 with PTSD and placed them in a music group to play the drums for a 16 week period; after 10 weeks with the interventions the group expressed feeling a “reduction of symptoms” (Bensimon et al., 2012). In addition, the participants felt a sense of “belongingness, closeness, togetherness and sharing”; they were able to relate to and connect with one another again without explicitly sharing wartime experiences (Bensimon et al., 2012). Finally, the study revealed an overall improvement in well-being and sense of self. Music, such as the drumming interventions, facilitated an outlet for anger, rage, solace and promoted self-control for service members.

A Warrior’s Wish® received support from Theodora Yoga and the local Columbus, OH Guitar Center to grant Nathan’s Wish.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

#Invest4HOPE with a Tax-Smart, Year-End Gift

Today is New Year's Eve, which makes it the perfect time to #Invest4HOPE with a year-end gift to Hope For The Warriors®!

As a member of our HOPE Family, you know that we’ve earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for the fifth year in a row, putting us in the top 5% of rated nonprofits.

That’s because we keep our administrative costs to just 8.1%, which means most of our funding is invested in our programs for post-9/11 service members, veterans, caregivers, military families, and families of the fallen nationwide.

In other words, when you make a donation to Hope For the Warriors®, you’re not only investing in the future of our military community, you’re also investing in an organization that’s committed to using donor dollars wisely.

You’ve given the gift of HOPE before, and we’re thankful for your support. You know how much our programs mean to military families, so we’re writing to ask for your help again – by the end of December 31.

Your year-end contribution means a lot to us, but it means so much more to the thousands of U.S. military families we’ve helped over the past 10 years, like Sgt. Dan Casara and his family.

A Story of HOPE

On September 23, 2005, U.S. Army Sergeant Dan Casara’s M113 rolled over an anti-tank mine in Iraq.

After suffering multiple fractures, Dan underwent 24 surgeries, spent hours in physical therapy—and graduated from a wheelchair to a walker to crutches to a cane to a brace. He was awarded the Purple Heart and, today, he’s a student at the Golf Academy of America and a motivational speaker.

In 2010, Hope For The Warriors® flew Dan and his wife Basia to New York City so he could speak at the Tunnel to Towers 5K on September 23—their wedding anniversary and Dan’s Alive Day. They return each year to speak on behalf of Hope For The Warriors® at the 9/11 memorial run.

Dan continues to support Hope For The Warriors® because he believes in us. He appreciates that we put the majority of our funding toward programs. He knows we’ll always be there for him—and put service members, veterans, caregivers, and military families first. He hopes that we’ll continue to grow, so we can help everyone touched by military service.

With your support, we can. Please help us help our military community by making a tax-smart, year-end investment in HOPE today.

IRA Charitable Rollover: A Tax-Smart, Year-End Investment in HOPE

The IRA charitable rollover provision is now permanent and retroactive for 2015 – but you must act quickly to make this tax-smart, year-end investment* in Hope For The Warriors®. You can make an IRA charitable rollover gift to Hope For The Warriors® this year if:

You’re 70 ½ or older at the time of the distribution.

The funds are transferred directly from your IRA to Hope For The Warriors® (up to $100,000).

The distribution is made by December 31, 2015.

Charitable rollover funds won’t be recognized as gross income for federal tax purposes.

Charitable rollover funds may satisfy your required minimum distribution, in whole or in part.

Charitable rollover funds may be applied to pledges or new gifts to Hope For The Warriors®.

You can enjoy federal tax benefits even if you don’t itemize deductions.

Your benefits may include*:

Charitable rollover funds won’t be recognized as gross income for federal tax purposes.

Charitable rollover funds may satisfy your required minimum distribution, in whole or in part.

Charitable rollover funds may be applied to pledges or new gifts to Hope For The Warriors®.

You can enjoy federal tax benefits even if you don’t itemize deductions.

It’s easy to give HOPE: Gifts may be made online, by phone at 877-246-7349 or by mail to 5101C Backlick Road, Annandale, VA 22003. Text the word WARRIORS to 20222 to donate.

Thank you! We wish you peace, joy, love and HOPE during the holidays and into 2016.

*The information contained herein is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal, tax or other professional advice. Consult your tax advisor.

*To take advantage of a charitable contribution tax deduction in 2015, mailed donations must be dated and postmarked by December 31, 2015; credit card and text donations must be processed by 5 pm on December 31, 2015.

Hope For The Warriors® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Federal Tax ID 20-5182295). Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) #27800. Your gift is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Financial information and a copy of our license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at

1-888-830-4989 (within NC) or 919-807-2214 (outside of NC). The license is not an endorsement by the State.