The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and four other nonprofits, have joined forces to create a fund that will raise money for war veterans.
Called the Veteran Support Fund, it will direct donations to IAVA and the four partner organizations, according to MSNBC. Those four organizations are Operation Mend, which gives medical support to critically injured veterans; Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, which provides coping and trauma resources; Operation Homefront, which offers emergency financial aid to wounded soldiers and their families; and the National Military Family Association, which advocates for benefits and programs for military families.
The goal of the fund is to raise $30 million, and it has already received founding gifts of $1.1 million.
IAVA executive director Paul Rieckhoff, who is himself a veteran of the Iraq War, said in a statement that "Supporting veterans isn’t charity, it’s an absolute necessity and an investment in our country’s future. After ten years of war, our nation’s military families are strained, nonprofit services are maxed out and our veterans’ community is severely under-resourced."
Jim Knotts, president and CEO of Operation Homefront, told MSNBC that the money from the Veteran Support Fund will help the organization provide more services than they would normally be able to. The nonprofit last year met more than 5,000 emergency requests and provided transitional housing for 80 families. He stressed the need to continue to help veterans even with the two wars seemingly winding down.
You can read the full story on MSNBC's website.
Showing posts with label veterans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label veterans. Show all posts
Friday, June 29, 2012
Monday, November 14, 2011
Veteran's Day
Hope that everybody had a great Veteran's Day Weekend! In honor of the just passed holiday, I would like to direct our readers to an article we recently posted about the number of unemployed veterans. Here is an excerpt from that piece:
As 39,500 Iraqi troops are scheduled to make their return this December, nonprofits have begun the charge of increasing service programs, while trying to fundraise more for the sudden influx of new clients.
“The key is getting to soldiers as soon as possible,” said Stephen Nardizzi, president and CEO of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) in Jacksonville, Fla.. “A lot are returning to isolated communities, which is different from what you’ve seen in past conflicts.”
The unemployment rate for veterans stands at 12 percent, 3 points higher than the national average. In October alone, 240,000 new veterans were looking for jobs. In addition, one in five soldiers is reportedly suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nardizzi estimated 300,000 to 600,000 soldiers are dealing with a traumatic brain injury. More than 1 million Americans have served in Iraq, and 39,500 troops will return by year’s end.
Nardizzi sees traumatic brain injuries and PTSD as the biggest issues veterans face, but realizes a full integration in today’s society means using a combination of therapies. “It’s a lot like the legs of a table. They all impact each other. We will have programs that will engage soldiers in team-building activities, but we also have counseling services,” he said.
For WWP, the expectation for increased services has been planned. The organization has experienced “incredible growth” during the past five years, from $40 million 2010 to $68 million this year, and a goal of reaching $90 million next year.
“We took that next step in fundraising about two years ago, when we saw depressed numbers coming back and invested in our direct response services,” said Nardizzi. “We’ve been trying to attract online donors, but this year we also heavily invested in direct response television. We had a very similar approach to television to what we’ve done in direct mail.”
As 39,500 Iraqi troops are scheduled to make their return this December, nonprofits have begun the charge of increasing service programs, while trying to fundraise more for the sudden influx of new clients.
“The key is getting to soldiers as soon as possible,” said Stephen Nardizzi, president and CEO of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) in Jacksonville, Fla.. “A lot are returning to isolated communities, which is different from what you’ve seen in past conflicts.”
The unemployment rate for veterans stands at 12 percent, 3 points higher than the national average. In October alone, 240,000 new veterans were looking for jobs. In addition, one in five soldiers is reportedly suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nardizzi estimated 300,000 to 600,000 soldiers are dealing with a traumatic brain injury. More than 1 million Americans have served in Iraq, and 39,500 troops will return by year’s end.
Nardizzi sees traumatic brain injuries and PTSD as the biggest issues veterans face, but realizes a full integration in today’s society means using a combination of therapies. “It’s a lot like the legs of a table. They all impact each other. We will have programs that will engage soldiers in team-building activities, but we also have counseling services,” he said.
For WWP, the expectation for increased services has been planned. The organization has experienced “incredible growth” during the past five years, from $40 million 2010 to $68 million this year, and a goal of reaching $90 million next year.
“We took that next step in fundraising about two years ago, when we saw depressed numbers coming back and invested in our direct response services,” said Nardizzi. “We’ve been trying to attract online donors, but this year we also heavily invested in direct response television. We had a very similar approach to television to what we’ve done in direct mail.”
Thursday, April 7, 2011
War Vets Visit DC Memorials, Thanks to Nonprofit
Triangle Flight of Honor, a North Carolina based nonprofit organization, gave veterans of World War II and other wars a day to remember. On Wednesday, the group took 100 war veterans to Washington DC to see memorials built in their honor.
Triangle Flight of Honor was created to sponsor trips like this for veterans at no cost to them, and this year's trip has to be considered a major success in fundraising. In total, the group raised $56,000 from listeners of the Raleigh radio station WRAL to sponsor the trip this year. For some of the veterans, like Charles Irving Jr. of Raleigh, this was their first trip to the memorial. Irving, who fought at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, said he was "overwhelmed" and "speechless" during his visit to the DC National WWII Memorial.
Two more Flights of Honor are being planned this year; one on April 19th and a second on May 4th. Read more about the Triangle Flight of Honor DC trip at WRAL.com.
Triangle Flight of Honor was created to sponsor trips like this for veterans at no cost to them, and this year's trip has to be considered a major success in fundraising. In total, the group raised $56,000 from listeners of the Raleigh radio station WRAL to sponsor the trip this year. For some of the veterans, like Charles Irving Jr. of Raleigh, this was their first trip to the memorial. Irving, who fought at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, said he was "overwhelmed" and "speechless" during his visit to the DC National WWII Memorial.
Two more Flights of Honor are being planned this year; one on April 19th and a second on May 4th. Read more about the Triangle Flight of Honor DC trip at WRAL.com.
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