The dates of the event are April 9 (concert) and April 10 (festival).
History -- The organization started as a one-off charity event to help Katrina survivors and has evolved into something much larger. We're thrilled with the money we've raised for worthy causes, but we've had an even larger impact via character education, inculcating the spirit of service in hundreds of students (and faculty and staff).
The Issue -- American veterans wounded in action.
Concert -- A repeat of the success of last year with a good NJ band as headliner and students, alumni and faculty performers throughout the show.
Education -- Gary Keck's subcommittee will prepare a set of lesson plans and materials for teachers to use. It will be distributed after midterms, probably the first week in February. Tracey Jameson suggested we put a copy of each packet in common rooms (work rooms, mail rooms) for easy reference. We'll also email a computer copy to everyone and send one packet to each department, hopefully to be introduced at the respective department meetings.
T-shirt order has been placed. We should have them to sell starting first or second week in January. Sizes range from Small to XXL.
Outreach/Speakers -- Julia Libeskind and Gil Pilarte detailed a group of guest speakers that have been booked and are going to be booked. We've decided to forego the assembly approach and instead have the speakers visit classrooms. Bob Fenster raised the idea of contacting alumni who have served in the military to see if they would want to talk about their experiences, either direct or indirect, regarding wounded soldiers. Tom Masnica, John Conroy and Ryan Sealsky (sp?) were suggested as possible speakers. Julia indicated that a neuro-psychologist and a brain injury expert (among others) will be visiting during Shelter week (the first week of April).
Book drive -- Shawn Layton is providing space for storage and we're getting a steady supply of donations from teachers and students, in addition to some from the community. We don't have anyone officially organizing this yet, but Gary said he'd talk to Rich Bencivenga and Writers' Circle, as they are a natural fit. The auxiliary gym will be an excellent location for the book sale, though we are going to have to make sure we reserve it the night before for setting up the sale. Elisabeth said she'd handle that.
Blog -- Jeff Kampf suggested the creation of a Shelter blog to provide updates and encourage involvement by students. He will be spearheading that project (we always reward good ideas). Here it is!
Food -- Lynne Biegel reported that Sodexo has agreed to cater the festival, though we haven't fleshed out the details. Elisabeth urged Lynne to make sure that the food would be carnival-style food and not the same as the food that they regularly serve. Lynne said that Sodexo has no problem with our conducting a concurrent bake sale and selling drinks. As Sodexo will be able to use their kitchen and serving area it will free up space and basically take a huge load off of the festival organizers, not having to deal with an outside caterer or handle the food ourselves. The consensus among the Shelter Committee is that we don't have to make any profit from the food, just have plenty of options to keep the kids happy (and at the event!).
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I'm afraid they don't make Youth Large in the color we wanted, so we just bought a ton of smalls.
ReplyDeleteSupport Legislation for Family Caregivers
ReplyDeleteFamily Caregiver-Assistance Legislation: Next Steps
Take Action!
With great support from warriors across the country, the Senate on November 19th unanimously passed S.1963, the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009. The next days and weeks will be critical in determining whether the strong caregiver-assistance provisions of this Senate-passed bill are enacted into law, or whether most caregivers will be left out in the cold under a much weaker House-passed bill. Your voices will be critical in shaping that outcome! You can make the difference!
Senate and House veterans’ leaders must come to agreement on caregiver-assistance legislation. Members of the House of Representatives must hear from constituents that the House-passed bill is unacceptably weak. How weak is it? Only about 200 caregivers of OEF-OIF-era wounded warriors would get real help under the House caregiver bill, HR 3155. That is only about one in ten of those who would get that help under the Senate bill.
Please send an email to your Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives and urge the House to accept the stronger Senate position. Take action now!
Eric's Story
ReplyDeleteFour years ago, my son Eric was severely injured by an IED attack in Iraq. Today he lives with a traumatic brain injury. Eric requires full-time assistance, so I chose to quit my job to care for Eric. Doctors said Eric’s only future was nursing home care. But our family could not bear the thought of institutionalizing Eric, so he came home.
Eric and I are a team now. Eric requires assistance with all of his daily activities, but as a 28-year-old man, Eric also needs personal fulfillment. I also work to care for Eric’s spirit by helping him reach his goals, creating new memories, and focusing on future dreams and adventures.
It has been rough for our family recently. I am recovering from pneumonia. My wife fell last week and fractured one ankle and sprained the other. She has gone from being a caregiver to needing a caregiver. Yesterday we learned that the hospital bill is going to be about $36,000.
You may think I’m complaining, but I’m not. My son is alive. He has a special relationship with his wife and young daughter that is full of love and compassion. We recently completed a bike ride with Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride. Fittingly I rode the adaptive bike, but Eric’s spirit moved us.
The in-home, loving care that Eric receives has profoundly impacted his recovery. As a family, we accepted this endeavor with all our heart as any family would. But it comes with a cost. The retirement my wife and I worked so hard for is gone. We have no health insurance and live in a state of fear and uncertainty. We deal daily with a system that seems to want us to fail—a system that told us Eric would be in a vegetative state for the remainder of his life.
But we have Eric.
I have shared our family’s story not for sympathy, but to speak for the many other wounded warriors whose futures will be brighter if they can quickly get the assistance they, and we, desperately need.
Our Shelter 5 shirts are in and they look awesome. You can pick them up at the high school in room 212 for the time being, so if you'd like one, please see Bob Fenster or Jeff Kampf in room 226! Shirts are $10 apiece and are available in S, M, L or XL (sorry the XXL already sold out, I'll order more next year). This year's cause are America's wounded veterans. Please buy a shirt and wear it on any given Friday to promote Shelter.
ReplyDeletePeer Mentoring
ReplyDeleteDuring a wounded warrior’s initial recovery, often the most positive influence is the friendship and understanding of a peer mentor, a fellow wounded warrior. It is critically important for the newly injured to know someone who has traveled before them on the same rocky road. Our staff and alumni are excellent resources, listeners and “hospital buddies” who can share their understanding and perspective from their own real-life successes.
Our peer mentors are also available to visit with the wounded warrior’s family, if requested. Peer mentors can help family members visualize the achievements possible through rehabilitation and hard work.
In addition to our peer mentoring program, WWP provides and fosters opportunities for informal peer interaction, where WWP Alumni can meet, support, and inspire newly injured warriors.