Military service personnel make a personal sacrifice and put the country before their own needs and those of their families. Serving the military has inherent risks to safety, but many still heed the call to serve.
Serving the nation seldom is an easy task, and sometimes acting military and veterans need some assistance. Many charities work to provide that assistance, and these organizations are worth supporting.
- Wounded Warrior Project®: This organization was founded in 2003 by a group of veterans and friends in Roanoke, Virginia, who wanted to take action to help injured service men and women. The mission of WWP is to honor and empower service personnel who incurred physical or mental injuries, illnesses or wounds related to military service on or after September 11, 2001. According to the organization, 100 percent of a person›s donation supports wounded warriors, with roughly 71 percent spent directly on programs and services, and the balance paid to support the delivery of this support.
- Homes For Our Troops: Homes For Our Troops builds and donates specially adapted and customized homes nationwide to help severely injured post-9/11 veterans. Since the nonprofit organization›s inception in 2004, nearly 90 cents out of every dollar spent has gone directly to program services to veterans. HFOT builds homes where veterans choose to live, and continues a relationship with the veterans after home delivery to assist with rebuilding their lives.
- Gary Sinise Foundation: Many people recognize Gary Sinise as a prominent and award-winning actor known predominantly for his roles as Lieutenant Dan in «Forrest Gump» and Detective Mac Taylor on «CSI: New York.» After the tragic attacks on September 11, 2001, Sinise began devoting much of his time to support the people who were deployed in response to those attacks. Sinise ultimately decided to found his own organization with the mission of expressing gratitude and giving support to the men and women who willingly fight for the country to keep the nation safe and free.
- K9s for Warriors: According to the K9s for Warriors organization, an average of 20 veterans take their own lives each day and roughly 1,000 dogs are euthanized. To change these stark statistics, K9s for Warriors was established to adopt and train shelter dogs as service animals, and pair them with mentally struggling veterans who could benefit from a four-legged friend. A study by Flagler College found 92 percent of the nonprofit›s veteran graduates reported a reduction in medication usage, and 82 percent reported reduced suicide ideation after being paired with a dog.
- Vets Canada: Vets Canada is a grassroots movement founded by veteran Jim Lowther in 2010. Lowther realized veterans were slipping through the cracks and living in high-risk situations. Together with his wife Debbie, Lowther formed a small team in Halifax to offer help to homeless and at-risk veterans with an end goal of reintegrating them into civilian life. The mission evolved into Vets Canada, which has helped 4,554 veterans to date.
Supporting military and veterans charities is a great way to show your appreciation for the individuals who served and sacrificed for their countries.
