Throughout my high-risk pregnancy of my twin boys, my husband was on overseas deployment and I volunteered for the Army National Guard’s FRG (Family Readiness Group). Part of the FRG’s mission was to help keep the families of the deployed soldiers connected with information, assistance and resources. We had set up a phone and email list to keep family members engaged especially for those that could not make it to the monthly meetings. We would visit family members and loved ones to ensure they were connected, including families of injured soldiers belonging to the unit.
We went to various hospitals, i.e. Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, etc. were injured soldiers were being treated. We saw firsthand the physical, emotional, spiritual and financial difficulties that were being experienced by the service members and their families. Besides their physical ailments, soldiers often struggled with feelings of depression and a sense that they had not completed their duty and let down their fellow comrades by not being with them overseas. Despite the fact that the soldiers returning home were gravely injured (many with life-threating injuries) or had even lost physical body parts due to their injuries, the sense of brotherhood had most of their thoughts wanting to return back to active duty and be with their fellow soldiers.
Family members, were experiencing their worst nightmares of having their loved one be injured in the line of duty. Though they understood their soldiers’ sense of patriotic duty, it sometimes hurt family members to hear their solider talk about wanting to return to active duty (instead of wanting to stay with the family). Often family members would have to arrive from various states to be near their injured solider, take time off of work, (even if it meant without pay), arrange for childcare, try to manage their household finances (sometimes from far away), try to coordinate where they were going to reside or stay locally while with their injured solider etc. The toll on family members was just as great as the pain and struggles being endured by the injured solider.
Military resources and organizations, like Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), are vital to the care and support needed by injured soldiers and their families. The purpose of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is to…
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To raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members.
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To help injured service members aid and assist each other.
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To provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members.
I am so pleased to once again partner with Brawny Towel Papers to share the news about their partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP).
HOW YOU CAN EASILY SUPPORT
Tough is so much more than physical strength. For some, it’s about being resilient. For others, it means showing compassion.
Tell Brawny what “tough” means to you and the Brawny brand will donate $1 to WWP for every text or photo submission, and for $5 for every video (up to $350,000).
You can share your definition and donate using the hashtag “#ToughIs” on Facebook, Instagram or visit www.brawny.com/wounded-warrior-project
Learn More and Connect
Want to know more about the Wounded Warrior Project? Visit their website at http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wwpinc.fans
Twitter: @WWPINC
To learn more on the partnership, go to www.brawny.com/wounded-warrior-project
Brawny Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brawnytowels
Twitter: @BrawnyTowels
#ToughIs…Soldiers and Their Families!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post based on a partnership with Brawny Paper Towels, however, thoughts and opinions expressed here are clearly our own.
