Welcome to the AW2 Community Support Network

Filed under Community Support Network, Non-profit, Resources by on September 14, 2011 at 11:37 am {no comments}

By SSG Emily Anderson, WTC Stratcom

Join me in welcoming the newest organizations in the AW2 Community Support Network. These organizations are part of the 252 AW2 Community Support Network organizations that help better the lives of AW2 Soldiers, Veterans, and their Families. Click on the links below to get to know them.

The AW2 Community Support Network was created based on direct requests from severely wounded, ill, and injured Soldiers, Veterans, and Families. Wounded Soldiers stated that connection with their local community and community leaders was essential for their success and reintegration. For more information, please visit the AW2 Community Support Network webpage.

Do you know of a caring organization that wants to assist wounded, injured, and ill Soldiers, Veterans and their Families? If so, please email the AW2 Community Support Network at the below email address. I welcome your recommendations and referrals.

Send organization referrals to AW2CommunitySupportNetwork@conus.army.mil

It is From the Heart

Filed under 2011 Symposium, Community Support Network, Non-profit, Resources by on July 19, 2011 at 5:24 pm {no comments}

By Patricia C. Sands, WTC Stratcom

Twenty-five organizations convened at the Community Support Exhibit Hall at the 2011 AW2 Symposium to share information about their local support to wounded warriors and their Families.

Twenty-five organizations stood up to be part of the Community Support Exhibit Hall at the 2011 Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2) Symposium, and more wanted to attend. It’s a very heartfelt gesture when one considers the commitment in time and resources it takes to attend. However, this was not business as usual.

When companies and organizations attend events they have a goal in mind, usually to make money and expand their market. However, these 25 organizations are not at the 2011 AW2 Symposium to make money. Their goal is to see how they can serve our wounded warriors and their Families more effectively. They want to meet the community and the leaders of the Warrior Transition Command and AW2. They want to get the word out that they are here to help and support wounded, ill, and injured Soldiers, Veterans, and their Families.

When reviewing the list of participating organizations below, please remember that their services and products are either free or are covered by insurance. Their efforts are from the heart.

Who are these generous organizations? They are as varied as the individual needs of the Soldiers, Veterans, and Families they support. They also run the gambit of expertise that cover each of the lifecycles that a wounded warrior works through. In addition, many are members of the AW2 Community Support Network, a group of organizations that are needed and vital to the AW2 Soldier, Veteran, and Family as they recover and assimilate back into the community.

I encourage wounded warriors and their Families to click the links below and get to know them.

It doesn’t end with giving wounded warriors and their Families a link to each organization’s website. They will know more about each of these organizations as we follow them through the next year. We will detail their stories through articles and blogs. The more wounded warriors and their Families know, the more they can help. It is all about networking and communicating.

Maybe you, as a wounded warrior or Family member, will be the vital link to refer a resource to the AW2 Community Support Network. Maybe you will be the one to connect another wounded warrior to a much needed resource. The Army cannot do it all. It takes the whole community to work together to make a difference.

Stand Up For Heroes

Filed under Non-profit, Staff Story by on November 4, 2010 at 5:05 pm {no comments}

By Emily Oehler, WTC Stratcom

Last night I was at dinner at Walter Reed with about 50 wounded Soldiers and their Families to watch the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s 4th Annual “Stand Up for Heroes” entertainment/comedy event. The event was live in New York, NY, and was broadcasted via satellite to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and six areas of operation in Iraq. The event celebrated Soldiers, honored those who are wounded, and raised funds for programs that support wounded warriors around the country. Based on the laughter at Walter Reed–the event was a hit. 

As hosts, Lee and Bob Woodruff brought a personal perspective to the challenges wounded warriors and their Families face, they also shared an understanding of the importance of humor during the recovery process. Lee joked with the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army GEN George Casey in the audience, “I want to run my fingers through your medals.”  

Bob also demonstrated to the audience how rare servicemembers are within American society by stating that less than 1% of the country currently wears a military uniform compared to the 11% during Vietnam. Several wounded servicemembers and their kids were featured in a foundation video that stressed “it’s not about the war, it’s about the warrior.”        

The Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army GEN Peter Chiarelli welcomed participants and political comedian Jon Stewart emceed, opening with, “We’re here tonight for a fundraiser for wounded warriors–or rather, to get money for the Democratic party.” On a more serious note, he added, “I spout for a living, and I know that it’s a privilege that is defended at every single level by those we’re honoring.” 

Tony Bennett, a World War II infantryman, kicked off the show stating, “I know what everyone here has been through.” Bruce Springsteen followed up with several songs, including a moving duet with his wife, “If I Should Fall Behind (wait for me),” and then auctioned off his acoustic guitar for $145,000.  Other performers included Joel McHale and Jerry Seinfeld. 

Brian Williams, NBC Nightly News anchor, worked the crowd for immediate donations of $50,000, $25,000, $10,000, and $5,000–more than 100 people made donations. The money will support the mission of the Bob Woodruff Foundation to help ensure that our nation’s injured servicemembers, Veterans, and their Families return to a home front ready to support them. 

Jon Stewart closed the night stating, “These Soldiers–this is the best our country has to offer.”

The Bob Woodruff Foundation is a member of the Army Wounded Warrior Program Community Support Network

Tempered Steel: A Way to Breakdown Burn Stigma

Filed under Community Support Network, Non-profit, Resources by on September 7, 2010 at 12:02 pm {no comments}

By Luana Schneider, AW2 Mother

For Luana Schneider (center) creating an opportunity for the public to interact with Tempered Steel wounded warriors will help break burn stigma

Editor’s Note: CaringBridge is a participant in the AW2 Community Support Network.

While at the AW2 Symposium, everyone was very interested in our brand new non-profit that we were starting: Tempered Steel, The Stories Behind the Scars.

We decided to co-found Tempered Steel after my son Scott was seriously wounded and disfigured in Iraq in November 2006. Our first hand experience in handling the responses to Scott’s injuries from civilians and military alike, compelled us to break down the barriers between wounded and disfigured Veterans and those who only see their scars. Tempered Steel’s goal is to exchange fear for enlightenment by exposing the very real human stories behind the wounds of war.

In deciding to co-found Tempered Steel, we contacted other severely wounded military members and asked for their participation and involvement. The response was overwhelmingly, “YES.” Our severely injured military members have had to learn how to deal with the public’s perception on who they are on nothing more than a glance from a stranger. As these wounded explained, “they are in essence, still the person they were before the injuries… on the inside.” Each of them feel they had not fundamentally changed. The only difference was the way they looked and how the public now viewed them.

Each disfigured hero, in their own way, has had to learn how to function in a society that in many ways has shunned them or are even outright horrified at the mere sight of these wonderful heroic men and women. Through the photo introspective and videography of these wounded warriors, Tempered Steel will reintroduce society to the stories behind the scars. These wounded warriors from the Iraq/Afghanistan Wars allowed the photographer and videographer to share in their vulnerability, strength, humor, and adaptability. The very personal glimpses into the eyes of these military heroes will bring about a greater compassion and empathy that these injured heroes greatly desire from their communities. By exposing their wounds with great humility, they desire to open a dialogue between the disfigured and disabled world and the communities they live in.

Our wounded warriors will be talking to schools, community groups and at public functions. They will talk not only about their injuries and how the perceptions of others make them feel, but also will also teach individuals to treat others with disabilities and disfigurements the same as they would like to be treated. We plan on working diligently to have our seriously wounded military members play a vital role in their communities.

If you  would like to learn more, please visit: http://www.TemperedSteelInc.org

New Organizations in the AW2 Community Support Network

Filed under Community Support Network, Non-profit, Resources by on June 3, 2010 at 3:46 pm {one comment}

By Sarah Greer, WTC Stratcom

There are now 144 registered organizations in the AW2 Community Support Network to demonstrate their support for AW2 Soldiers, Veterans, and Families.

In May, the AW2 Community Support Network hosted its second quarterly conference call to discuss the benefits of adaptive sports and recreation. BG Gary Cheek, Commander of the Warrior Transition Command, discussed the ways adaptive sports and recreation boost confidence as wounded warriors set goals and transition to life post-injury. I personally really enjoyed hearing from AW2 Veteran Kortney Clemons, who spoke about the ways training as a Paralympic-level athlete helped him move forward with his life and recovery. Many of the AW2 Community Support Network organizations discussed best practices in hosting adaptive sports programs for wounded warriors, and I hope they each learned something from their peers.

The list of newly registered organizations is below. AW2 has posted most of these organizations to the AW2 website and is working to post the others.

Federal Organizations: (registered between March 9 and May 31)

Non-Federal Organizations: (registered between March 9 and May 31)

AW2 encourages all AW2 Soldiers, Veterans, and Family members to nominate organizations for the AW2 Community Support Network. To nominate an organization that has made a difference in your life, contact me at AW2CommunitySupportNetwork@conus.army.mil.

The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the United States Department of Defense of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) sites, the United States Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations.

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AW2 Soldiers, Veterans, and Families can submit a blog for AW2 by emailing WarriorCareCommunications [at] conus.army.mil.