Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) began in 2003 as a small, grassroots effort providing simple care and comfort items to the hospital bedsides of the first wounded service members returning home from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. As their post-service needs evolved, so have our programs and services. Today, through our direct programs in mental health, career counseling, and long-term rehabilitative care, along with our advocacy efforts, we improve the lives of millions of warriors and their families.
This effort requires the passion and commitment of friends, supporters, and like-minded organizations that enable us to fulfill our mission. With their collaboration and support, we strive to ensure that when those who serve come home, they’re afforded every opportunity to be as successful as a civilian as they were in the military. For more information visit support.woundedwarriorproject.com
This effort requires the passion and commitment of friends, supporters, and like-minded organizations that enable us to fulfill our mission. With their collaboration and support, we strive to ensure that when those who serve come home, they’re afforded every opportunity to be as successful as a civilian as they were in the military. For more information visit support.woundedwarriorproject.com
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Our Hometown Heroes toy drive is the catalyst
00:02 for putting smiles on the faces of various military families.
00:05 One of our sponsors knows just how meaningful that is
00:08 and he's here to tell us all about it.
00:09 Please welcome Andrew from the Wounded Warriors Project.
00:12 Andrew, thanks for being here.
00:13 - Thank you for having me.
00:14 - So tell everybody a little bit about Wounded Warriors
00:17 and what you guys do.
00:18 - Yeah, so Wounded Warrior Project's mission
00:19 is to honor and empower wounded warriors.
00:22 And we do that by providing programs at no cost
00:25 to the veteran and their family,
00:26 focus on mental health, economic empowerment,
00:28 connections, connections, the program that I help manage,
00:32 really just getting warriors and families out of their house,
00:34 getting them together.
00:36 A lot of warriors miss that camaraderie
00:38 after they leave the service, so that's a big part of it.
00:41 - Absolutely, yeah, getting them all together, I love that,
00:43 that you come from this brotherhood
00:47 and brother and sisterhood,
00:49 and then you come kind of back into civilian life as it is.
00:52 And that's a big transition.
00:53 We were talking earlier about mental health
00:56 and how much you guys do for the wounded warriors
00:59 through mental health,
01:00 'cause it's not just about anything physical,
01:02 it's the mental thing too.
01:03 Tell us about those programs that you guys have.
01:05 - Yeah, so mental health has been kind of like
01:09 the signature wound of the war, if you will.
01:13 A lot of veterans struggle with PTSD,
01:16 another mental health diagnosis,
01:18 and that has been a focus for Wounded Warrior Project
01:22 for probably close to a decade now.
01:24 And it's not an easy topic to handle,
01:28 but we provide those free counseling sessions,
01:31 intensive outpatient programs,
01:33 and then really those peer-to-peer connections
01:36 can do wonders as well.
01:37 - Absolutely, when you get to talk to somebody
01:39 who really knows what you've gone through,
01:41 they truly understand, they've been there themselves,
01:44 that makes a world of difference,
01:45 and I'm sure it helps the wounded warriors come back
01:48 and be there for their families,
01:50 'cause that's what you guys are all about,
01:51 is helping not just the warrior themselves,
01:53 but the family as well.
01:54 - Correct, correct, yeah.
01:55 So we serve over 200,000 wounded warriors
01:59 across the country, and then a lot of those warriors,
02:02 they're married, have kids.
02:04 Some of the family dynamics too,
02:06 it's not a traditional family, spouse, kids.
02:10 We also wanna include, if your support system
02:13 is your next-door neighbor, bring them out as well.
02:16 - Oh, I love that, that's really cool
02:18 that you are trying to include
02:21 everyone's sense of family here,
02:23 if that family is, like you said, your wife and kids,
02:25 if it's your immediate family, your parents,
02:28 your brothers and sisters, your next-door neighbor,
02:30 that's really, really great, it's super inclusive.
02:33 And so something that is really awesome
02:35 when you help those families is the toy drive.
02:38 So what we do with you guys is that we basically say,
02:41 "Hey, here's a check, go shopping."
02:45 So tell us how that works.
02:47 - Yeah, so one of the challenges
02:48 that a lot of warriors have is isolation.
02:51 They don't like going out in crowds.
02:53 So the way we set it up is we take them on a shopping spree.
02:56 We're gonna take them to Desert Ridge or Tempe Marketplace,
02:59 and we're gonna almost force them to go to busy stores.
03:03 I'm with them, or another Wounded Warrior Project teammate
03:06 is with them, you know?
03:07 We reassure them that it's gonna be all right,
03:09 but it's almost kinda like, "Hey, you can do this, right?"
03:12 Like, we don't want you sitting on the couch,
03:14 we want you out into a busy area and live your life.
03:19 - Yeah, get back to life.
03:20 And they have you there with them
03:21 to make sure that they feel comfortable,
03:23 they feel excited about this holiday season,
03:25 about what they get to go do,
03:26 and then they get to pick out toys for their families,
03:29 gifts for their families.
03:30 - Yeah, yeah.
03:31 So last week, we took a veteran
03:35 who served our country for 30 years,
03:37 him and his wife came out,
03:38 and we're able to provide them Christmas.
03:40 And this Friday, we'll do a handful more families.
03:43 - Wow, that's so special.
03:45 And like you said, you're providing them Christmas.
03:47 You're literally giving them the holiday season.
03:50 That's really beautiful.
03:51 Well, tell everybody where they can find you guys
03:53 to get more information and get involved.
03:54 - Yep, so our website's WoundedWarriorProject.org,
03:58 and then on all the social media,
04:00 if you just put in Wounded Warrior Project, it'll come up.
04:02 - Yep, I know, I love what you guys do.
04:04 You guys have been around for a long time,
04:05 and you've helped countless warriors
04:08 get back on their feet and feel great in civilian life.
04:10 So thank you for everything you guys do,
04:12 and for being our partner in Hometown Heroes.
04:13 It's really great.
04:14 - Thank you. - Awesome, thanks, Andrew.
04:16 (upbeat music)
04:19 (upbeat music)
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