Page 16 - MRN MayJune2017

Military Reunion Network | MAY/JUNE 2017 | #militaryreunionsmatter
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families and veterans. A favorite is
the Oratorical Contest during which
high school students recite an eight
to 10-minute speech on the United
States Constitution. Competition
starts at the post level and concludes
at the national conference with
one representative from each state.
First place winners are awarded
scholarships of over $15,000.
These kids are bright, articulate and
passionate about this country. (Our
donation to an American Legion Post
in Albuquerque, was used to purchase holiday gifts
for children of the fallen that would have otherwise
gone without.)
A donation this year went to Camp4Heroes. Their
mission is to create a place of tranquility, relaxation, Heroes comes in. Their mission is to help severely-
learning, and rebuilding; a retreat for life, love, and
respect to promote healing. Executive Director,
Woody Woodall shared that transitioning veterans
often deal with physical and emotional scars of
service. Camp4Heroes is a place for them to
rediscover and rebuild their lives. A chilling statistic can be in the form of emergency financial aid,
in the veteran community is 20 a day. Twenty
veterans commit suicide every day. Camp4Heroes
provides an environment and outlet to keep
our transitioning veterans off that path. Shanda
Taylor-Boyd said, “After sustaining a TBI and the
emotionally crippling effects of PTSD, loss of my
marriage, physical ability to perform my professional
responsibilities and inability to function as a mother,
the best therapy was to be in an environment
that was brimming over with “Grandma-like love!”
Never had I imagined that Thanksgiving 2016 at
Camp4Heroes and during my 12th Alive year, that
I would experience something so surreal that it
would be the beginning of a New Hope! A hope
filled with the gifts of support, encouragement,
enthusiastic empowerment and enrichment.
Camp4Heroes is a sanctuary, a respite and escape.
It has given me the opportunity to expand the
opportunity of recovery, healing and stepping up
my journey of happiness in a tremendous way.
“Veteran, Ian McClanahan felt the same way. “When
you walk-in (or, more likely, “wheel-in”), you find the
huge Christmas tree and fire place surrounded by
comfortable, homey places to sit. The seating to the
bedrooms are set-up for comfort. While some other
“retreats” have been specifically organized for you to
not really be comfortable but to make you engage
in conversation with people who, after a long day
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of doing one of the countless activities
available to you, you might not want to
talk to. More than likely, you just want
to take a shower and relax, which, you
can do. REALLY. You don’t have to do
anything. No pressure. Which is hard to
believe. But, you can. If you want to be
helpful by doing something, well guess
what, you can. You can be like me,
and help build a stable for a whole day.
Or you can go fish by yourself at the
awesome, handicap friendly, pond. The
camp, I find, is a lot like life. It is what
YOU make it. And sometimes, a short, weekend-
long, simple reminder of that is just what you need
to bring you back to a well-grounded (no pun
intended for our “legless” warriors out there) reality.”
There is a need for financia l support as well.
This is where The Coalition to Salute America’s
wounded veterans and families of Operation
Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and
Operation New Dawn recover from their injuries
and illnesses, and to inspire other organizations
and the public to participate in this effort. Support
conferences and events as well as resources. We
had a chance to talk to David Walker CEO last
month on the MRN radiocast. “Our mission is to
provide direct financial aid, emergency financial
aid to veterans that call in every day and use
words like repossess, foreclose, and evict. We pay
$1,500 to $1,600 to keep the lights on and keep
food on the table. We do that so they don’t use
another set of words like, homeless, abuse divorce,
or suicide.” Unfortunately, the rate of calls to the
Coalition has increased 25% in the last few years.
This is due in part to the limitations of the Veterans
Administration. A government entity can only do so
much and is influenced by the sitting administration.
Founded in 2004, they have experienced the ebb
and flow of administrative policy over the years.
In addition to financial support, The Coalition offers
health and career support as well as their annual
Road to Recovery (R2R) Conference. R2R is a multi-
day all expenses paid educational and motivational
event for wounded veterans and their families to
enable them to approach the future with hope and
to be better prepared for the challenges that lie
ahead. It features seminars, workshops and panel
discussions where attendees learn about resources
and services available.