Yesterday I posted a diary about a fundraiser organized by the Bob Woodruff foundation. My original title was cheesy. I posted it at just about the slowest time of the weekend. And whether it was my writing, not having presence in this community or having submitted it right before two very well-written diaries about Memorial Day, it just didn't get the publicity that I think this campaign deserves.
So if everyone can bear with me, I'd like to repeat my request for help from this community. Because I know I can do better publicizing this deserving cause. And I know more of us here can afford $5.25 to support our returning veterans, while those that can't can help spread the word.
Again, Kossacks, can you spare $5.25 to support the Bob Woodruff Foundations Tweet to Remind fundraiser to raise $1 for every one of our returning veterans? And will you help promote this worth-while cause?
This weekend while many Americans will be eating hot dogs and burgers and enjoying an extra day off, many of us will stop and reflect on the sacrifices of our military men and women and their families. We might thank those we know who served or are still serving, we might visit a grave of a loved one or we might still be looking for ways to honor our soldiers and veterans. Thanks to Lee and Bob Woodruff, we can also join together to help fund over 30 different charitable organizations who support veterans.
This Memorial Day weekend, please help support the Bob Woodruff foundation's Tweet to Remind fundraising drive to raise $1.65 million help serve the needs of our returning troops.
Bob Woodruff's story is familiar to most of us. While embedded with the troops in Iraq, he suffered a tramatic brain injury from an IED. In order to save his life, doctor's had to remove part of his skull and keep him in a medically-induced coma for 36 days. Bob's injuries came at a time when the public opinion about the war had started to dramatically shift and undermined efforts by Bush supporters to downplay the violence as evidence that Bush was winning his war (See Lieberman's 12-15-05 comment that they had "turned a corner" in Iraq).
With Woodruff and his cameraman injured, the media couldn't ignore the escalating cycle of violence. As the nation followed his recovery, the Woodruff's used the opportunity to champion the cause of our troops who were also suffering from injuries. And that is what the Bob Woodruff Foundation is doing with the Tweet to Remind campaign.
Updated to add information about the Foundation and their cause, Remind.org
The mission of the Bob Woodruff Foundation is to provide resources and support to injured service members, veterans and their families -- building a movement to empower communities nationwide to take action to successfully reintegrate our nation’s injured heroes—especially those who have sustained the Hidden Injuries of War—back into their communities so they may thrive physically, psychologically, socially and economically.
BWF is a national nonprofit that helps ensure our nation’s service members return to a homefront ready to support them. This is accomplished in three key ways:
1.
Through a movement called ReMIND.org — we help educate the public about the needs of service members returning from war... and our nation’s greater responsibility to ensure our heroes and their families receive the support necessary to successfully reintegrate into their communities.
2.
We collaborate with other experts and organizations, at the federal state and local level, to identify and solve issues related to the return of service members from combat to civilian life.
3.
We invest in national and community-based programs that connect our troops to the help they need — from individual needs like physical accommodations, medical care and counseling, to larger social issues like homelessness and suicide.
Together with our partners, supporters, and communities, the Bob Woodruff Foundation is helping heal the physical and psychological wounds of war.
We are ensuring that "Support Our Troops" is no longer a slogan. It’s an action. It is time to return the tremendous loyalty our brave men and women have shown to this country.
The Bob Woodruff Foundation has raised over $6 million for injured service members.
In 2008, BWF funded $3.4 million in program spending which is estimated to impact approximately 516,000 service members, veterans, family members, and support personnel.
Through 52 grants to charitable organizations around the country, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has funded programs to reintegrate injured service members and assist their families with the transition.
It's no secret that this community goes above and beyond to support our military and their families, from the IGTNT diaries, to amazing diaries and efforts by Kossacks like ilona and so many others to promote PTSD and other veterans issues, and to efforts like Ninepatch's care packages or Jon Powers War Kids Relief. So let's put our considerable muscle behind this campaign and support our veterans.
$5.25 to support our troops. $1.65 million, $1 for each one of our military men and women who has served in Iraq. Let's make it happen.