The Wounded Warrior Project thread had me, and I am sure others, wondering what groups out there deserve my money. When I make a donation, I want to make sure that the organization shares my values and is doing what they say with the money.
Please list any groups or organizations dedicated to helping our heroes in this thread. Let's see if we can open some eyes and perhaps bring some attention to some of the smaller charities that don't get all the national attention that the big ones do!
I have personal experience and can recommend Combat Marine Outdoors. My dad and I have catered for one of their events every year for the last several years. They are a great organization in my opinion. http://www.combatmarineoutdoors.org/
I had a chance to meet the current Chairman of the Board, Tim Abell. He hosts the TV show "A Grateful Nation", is a former Ranger and is a dang good guy to boot. I have, and will continue to support them, even though I am a former Navy bubblehead.
HAVA was conceived and organized in 2007 by a Committee of shooting sports industry executives to help the healing and re-integration of disabled combat veterans back into normal American life through participation in outdoor events. Seven companies committed funds and personnel to organize and sponsor initial HAVA sanctioned activities, and will serve on the Board of Directors, along with new Sustaining Sponsors for a period of three years to insure that the organization is launched in the proper manner.
If anybody in Wisconsin is seeing this...there is a Lewis class trap shoot going on in cascade on June 22nd. 100% of the proceeds from the shoot and the raffle ticket sales will go to the new fisher house in Milwaukee.
The United Service Organizations (USO) has helped many service members as they make their travels throughout the US and other countries. You can find a USO lounge in almost every major airports. They give you a place to get free drinks, most important of course is coffee, snacks, entertainment through TV and internet (Wifi) and most of the time free use of the phone. All you need is a military ID to sign in. I've use the USO in Germany (Ramstein terminal/435 CASF) and Afghanistan.
Operation Gratitude annually sends 100,000+ care packages filled with snacks, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation addressed to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile regions, to their children left behind and to Veterans, First Responders, Wounded Warriors and their Care Givers. Our mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member's face and express to our Armed Forces the appreciation and support of the American people. Each package contains donated product valued at $75-100 and costs the organization $15 to assemble and ship. For safety and security, assembling of packages occurs at the Army National Guard armory in Van Nuys, California. Since its inception in 2003, Operation Gratitude volunteers have shipped more than 915,000 packages to American Military members.
The inaugural Honor Flight Tour took place in May of 2005. Six small planes flew out of Springfield, Ohio taking twelve World War II veterans on a visit to the memorial in Washington, DC. In August of 2005, an ever-expanding waiting list of veterans led our transition to commercial airline carriers with the goal of accommodating as many veterans as possible. Partnering with HonorAir in Hendersonville, North Carolina, we formed the "Honor Flight Network." Today, we continue working aggressively to expand our programs to other cities across the nation.
The heroes project is a good one. I build custom 1911's and auction them off and donate all proceeds to wounded veterans foundations. This one was formally FITCO cares that Chris Kyle founded. I worked with them on one of my builds. http://heroesproject.org
I am currently working with Fisher house on my next build.
Wounded warriors project turned down my money due to it involving a firearm.
The Independence Fund who do the track chairs. 100% volunteer organization and I love the chairs to allow the vets to go hunting or along the beach with their family.
Bump for the season. Can anyone recommend an organization that will direct mail to deployed service members, or toys to family of the deployed or fallen?
Check out sheepdogia.org. I'm not affiliated but have been on several hunts with guys from this organization. All the guys have been great to share time with and learn from there experiences.
"Hope For the Warriors" is really a great cause for US Vets, and they have recently teamed up with OpticsPlanet for a terrific partnership.
Just a quick excerpt from the campaign:
"You can help by making a purchase, no matter how big or small, and trigger a donation to support our nation's heroes and their families. As part of this campaign, OpticsPlanet.com will make a minimum donation of $20,000. "
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