Wounded Warrior Project Pledges $160 Million to Battle PTSD

[nitpicker]

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/10/23/wounded-warrior-project-pledges-160-million-battle-ptsd.html

Wounded Warrior Project Pledges $160 Million to Battle PTSD

23 Oct 2018

Military.com | By Richard Sisk

The Wounded Warrior Project pledged Tuesday to raise $160 million over the next five years that would be funneled to four institutions for two-and-three week courses of intensive treatment for veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injury.

The fundraising was aimed at veterans who "have the courage -- yes, the courage -- when they return home to seek help," retired Army Lt. Gen. Mike Linnington, chief executive officer of WWP, said in an announcement aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on Manhattan's West Side. "When they return home, they've earned our support, and that's really what today is all about."

According to plans, WWP's Warrior Care Network would distribute $65 million to the "Home Base" program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston; $45 million to the "Road Home" program at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago: $25 million to veterans programs at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta; and $20 million to "Operation Mend" at UCLA Health in Los Angeles.

The total adds up to $155 million. Rob Louis, a WWP spokesman, said an additional $5 million would go to pilot projects at Home Base in Boston and to other projects at "Road Home" in Chicago for a projected total of $160 million.

Louis said the Blue Angels Foundation had already committed $5 million to the fundraising plan, and the bulk of the $160 million was expected to come from continuing donations to WWP over the next five years.
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[Squinch]

1. Who has had experience with WWP? I once talked to a vet who said they take

a lot of money and all they do is refer vets to other organizations that are actually doing the work. He thought they were something of a sham.

Does anyone know if this is true?

[The Polack MSgt]

2. They raise a bunch of money and spend much of it

Raising more money

I always advise the Vets and well wishers who have asked me to donate locally.

A quick google search will usually show a local TBI support group, veteran's addiction treatment center or home renovation projects for disabled Vets .

These are things you can see and know - Local efforts and with local people who can be accountable to their community.

I won't go as far as calling the WWP frauds, but I do feel that there are much better options.

All of this is colored by my experiences as a Trustee and Junior Vice Commander at my VFW post - I dealt with several Veteran centric Charities.

Sometimes coordinating fundraisers sometimes donating to them outright with Post money.

IMHO, WWP has cool looking T-shirts and stickers and not much presence on the ground - at least in the St Louis area.

All that said, $160 million is a nice ass check and I appreciate their gift.

If you are interested, this facility and our post have a long relationship and the Lady who runs the facility is one of the finest people I've ever met:
https://www.thejosephcenter.org/about.html

They can always use a check

[Squinch]

3. Thank you very much for the info.

[GP6971]

6. There are much better options.

I personally don't like WWP. My former company (a defense contractor) donated $10,000 in memory of a deceased employee asking that it be used for PTSD. The company inquired numerous times as to how the money was spent and never received a satisfactory reply. Of course I still received a lot of requests for more donations as the donation was made on my corporate purchase card that was in my name.

[The River]

4. I Volunteer w/a Local Vet Charity

All we do is raise $ to pay local PTSD therapists to treat vets not
yet enrolled in the VA. Most all our volunteers are Vietnam vets
w/ PTSD, myself included.

WWP can go to hell.