The Bob Woodruff Foundation Gives More Than $1 Million To Help Injured Veterans At Home

NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bob Woodruff Foundation today announced grants in the amount of more than $1 million to help injured veterans, family members and caregivers on the homefront. The grants will be distributed to 11 national and community-based nonprofits offering innovative solutions to deeply entrenched problems that can prevent post-9/11 injured service members from thriving once they return to civilian life.

"Americans understand that veterans with physical and hidden injuries struggle, even after they return to the love and support of their families and communities," said Bob Woodruff. "But there is good work being done to help them, and we want to put our money behind it." Woodruff co-founded the organization in 2006 with his family, whose own experiences inspired them to help ensure America's heroes have access to the high level of support and resources they deserve, for as long as they need it.

Anne Marie Dougherty, executive director of the Bob Woodruff Foundation, said the programs address a spectrum of challenges—education, employment, mental health, quality of life—confronting veterans. "The common denominator in the charitable investments we make is helping our injured service members rebuild their lives through meaningful activity."  

Program grants include:

Education
Student Veterans of America (SVA), Washington, D.C.
While many veterans are taking advantage of the GI Bill to further their education, their radically different life experiences can make a successful transition to campus life difficult. The Bob Woodruff Foundation is funding a pilot program to train upper-class veterans to assist newly arrived student veterans. The pilot, conducted by SVA in partnership with the University of Michigan, will help peer advisers on 10 college campuses identify veterans in need of intervention and recommend appropriate resources. Through this and other SVA initiatives, the Bob Woodruff Foundation is helping veterans make the transition from combat to college to careers.

Employment
100 Entrepreneurs Foundation, Stevensville, Md.
The 100 Entrepreneurs Foundation inspires, educates and mentors wounded warriors and family members who aspire to business ownership. The Bob Woodruff Foundation grant will allow 100 Entrepreneurs to expand its program beyond Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to Ft. Belvoir and, in partnership with SemperMax Support Fund, to service members with TBI.

Farmer-Veteran Coalition, Davis, Calif.
Many veterans hail from rural areas of America; others are drawn to rural locales to find a more serene and peaceful way of life. FVC introduces novice farmers to the fundamentals of farming practices and helps veterans with education costs and purchases of equipment and supplies for new and expanding farming operations. A grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation will be used to conduct retreats for post-9/11 veterans pursuing careers in agriculture. A second grant will fund a dozen Farmer-Veteran Coalition fellowships. The recipients will be known as the Bob Woodruff Foundation Farmer-Veteran Fellows.

Mental Health
Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence, New York, N.Y.
Founded in 2006, the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence seeks to improve healthcare through high-quality nursing. The Bob Woodruff Foundation will provide scholarships through a matching grant with the Jonas Center to 20 nurse doctoral candidates focusing on treatment protocols for traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress. The doctoral candidates will be known as the Bob Woodruff Foundation—Jonas Nursing Scholars.

American Council on Education (ACE), Washington, D.C.
The availability of mental health resources on college campuses can play a vital role in helping veterans achieve their education goals. The Bob Woodruff Foundation grant will help fund a program conducted by ACE in partnership with the Center for Deployment Psychology to train university, community college and trade school mental health counselors in military culture, post-traumatic stress and suicide prevention.

Meaningful Activity
Team Rubicon, Inglewood, Calif.
Team Rubicon harnesses skills veterans learn while serving their country—leadership, teamwork, setting priorities—to organize and lead disaster relief teams in the aftermath of natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy. A grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation will help support Team Rubicon chapters co-located in eight of the 10 FEMA regions.

Other Bob Woodruff Foundation grantees include USO Operation Enduring Care, Ft. Belvoir, Va., and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.; Team Red, White & Blue, Highland Falls, N.Y.; Hope for the Warriors, Annandale, Va.; SemperMax Support Fund, Montclair, Va.; and the Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis (IDEO) program at the Center for the Intrepid (CFI) in Sam Houston, Texas.

"The Bob Woodruff Foundation is helping us give veterans a new sense of mission and the satisfaction and self-worth that come from contributing to their communities in a meaningful way," said Jacob Wood, president and co-founder of Team Rubicon.

"We expect the programs we support, no matter the size, to have influence far beyond the initial funding we provide," added Dougherty. "Innovation and impact in solving tough problems is what our mission is all about."

About the Bob Woodruff Foundation

The Bob Woodruff Foundation is the nonprofit dedicated to ensuring injured service members, veterans and their families are thriving. A national organization with grassroots reach, it diligently navigates the maze of more than 40,000 nonprofits providing services to post-9/11 veterans, finds and funds the most innovative programs, and holds those programs accountable for measurable results. To date, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has invested approximately $13 million in 80 organizations, reaching more than a million service members, support personnel, veterans, their families and caregivers. 

For more information about the Bob Woodruff Foundation please visit www.ReMIND.org or email [email protected].

Media Contact:
Cindy Tanenbaum
917.538.1259
[email protected]

SOURCE The Bob Woodruff Foundation