Showing posts with label Bob Woodruff Family Foundation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bob Woodruff Family Foundation. Show all posts

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Pepsi has A Night For Heroes

Pepsi sponsored event to raise funds for Bob Woodruff Foundation. The PepsiCo Foundation to Kickoff Super Bowl Weekend with $1 Million Donation to BWF "

"Seven years ago a movement was started helping post 9-11 injured service members returning home from combat. We're proud to say that over these seven years, we've invested over $20 million dollars in programs that have reached over 1 million heroes in need."

Jon Stewart "Welcome to Super Bowl weekend in New York City. Here's whats special about tonight. With all the people we have in town for the Super Bowl, pro-ball football players, super stars , film and television stars, whats special about tonight is with all those people here, the real heroes of the night are sitting up in front. Let's give a round of applauds to the men and women serving in fighting forces."

Ret. Admiral Mike Mullen "A thousand a day come home. We're hiring 100 a day."

Blake Shelton


Tuesday, October 8, 2013

ABC News' Bob Woodruff to Give a Keynote for Disney's Veterans Institute

ABC News' Bob Woodruff to Give a Keynote Address at Disney's 'Veterans Institute' Workshop

Free 'Veterans Institute' program is designed to encourage and support hiring of military veterans

BURBANK, Calif. and LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.
(BUSINESS WIRE)
Oct 07, 2013

Disney will share expertise from its 'Heroes Work Here' initiative with other companies to help them build their own veteran-hiring programs

ABC News Anchor Bob Woodruff will give a keynote address at Disney's first-ever 'Veterans Institute' workshop on November 14, 2013. Building on its successful Heroes Work Here initiative to hire, train and support military veterans, Disney will host the free Veterans Institute workshop at Walt Disney World Resort to inspire other companies to employ servicemen and women transitioning to the private sector.

On January 29, 2006, while reporting on U.S. and Iraqi security forces, Woodruff was seriously injured by a roadside bomb that struck his vehicle near Taji, Iraq. In February 2007, just 13 months after being wounded in Iraq, Woodruff returned to ABC News with his first on-air report, "To Iraq and Back: Bob Woodruff Reports." The hour-long, primetime documentary chronicled his traumatic brain injury (TBI), his painstaking recovery and the plight of thousands of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with similar injuries. Woodruff continues to cover traumatic brain injuries for all ABC News broadcasts and platforms and was honored with a Peabody Award in 2008 for his reporting on the subject.

In February 2007, Woodruff and his wife, Lee, co-wrote a bestselling memoir, In an Instant, chronicling his injuries in Iraq and how their family persevered through a time of intense trauma and uncertainty. The Woodruff family established the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) to raise money to assist injured service members, veterans and their families.

"Returning veterans need tools and opportunities in order to move onto the next chapter in their lives. I'm pleased to participate in an event that enables companies to reach out to these heroes so that they can thrive after they return home," said Mr. Woodruff.
About Disney's Heroes Work Here

Supporting the U.S. Armed Forces has long been a Disney tradition, and Disney's Heroes Work Here continues that proud legacy with a company-wide initiative to hire, train and support military veterans. Disney introduced the program in March, 2012 with a commitment to hire at least 1,000 veterans by 2015. Having exceeded that goal in the first year alone, with 1,300 veterans hired, the company announced in March, 2013 that it would create opportunities for another 1,000 former service members over the next two years.

Disney's Heroes Work Here initiative also features a public awareness campaign to encourage employers across the U.S. to hire former military service members. The campaign includes the free Veterans Institute workshop at Walt Disney World on November 14, 2013, as well as public service announcements highlighting the skills and experience of veterans who work at Disney. The PSAs direct viewers to the White House's Joining Forces initiative (www.joiningforces.gov) and have aired across Disney's media properties including ESPN, ABC and ABC Family, making more than 500 million impressions.

The third component of Disney's Heroes Work Here initiative is philanthropy. Disney's philanthropic support of veteran and military organizations has exceeded $1 million since the launch of Heroes Work Here, and through the Disney VoluntEARS program, employees have engaged in several service projects with veterans organizations in communities around the country.
read more here

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Stars standing up for wounded veterans

Jon Stewart, Ricky Gervais and More Crack Jokes for Veterans
By Jennifer Abbey
ABC News
Nov 9, 2012

A slew of stars came out for a good cause last night: New York’s Stand Up for Heroes Benefit.

Jon Stewart, Ricky Gervais, and Robin Williams cracked jokes to honor military veterans. Bruce Springsteen and John Mayer provided a musical interlude between the laughs. The event, which benefited the Bob Woodruff Foundation, raised money to support veterans and their families.

Stewart wasted no time skewering the presidential election during his time on stage, saying, “Poor Mitt Romney, how do you mess that up?”

He continued, “You have a president who is $16 trillion in debt with 80-percent unemployment,” and took a jab at the similarity between President Obama and Osama Bin Ladens’ names.
read more here

'Standing Up for Heros' Benefit Raises Money for Wounded Veterans Bob Woodruff has latest on veterans' fundraiser held at Empire State Building. 11/08/2012

Friday, November 9, 2012

Roger Waters cares about burdens veterans have

Roger Waters plays with wounded veterans, rules out Pink Floyd reunion
CBS/AP
November 9, 2012

Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters honored wounded veterans in New York by performing with them at the annual Stand Up for Heroes benefit, Thursday night.

Waters took to the stage of the Beacon Theater with 14 wounded soldiers he met recently at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He rehearsed with them at the hospital, and for the past few days in New York.

The event benefited the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which helps returning veterans and their families, and featured Waters, Bruce Springsteen, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, and others.

Before the show, Waters chatted with veterans and called the experience "fantastic." He says he's "looking forward to pulling for the rest of these guys with their comrades" during the healing process.

He says that he shares "enormous empathy with the men."

"I lost my grandfather in 1916 and my father in 1944, so I've been around the sense of loss and what loss from war can do to people," Waters said.

"I never talk about the politics because it's not relevant to me. I'm not interested in it," he said. "What I am interested in is the burdens these guys bear and would never question motive or even dream of talking about any of the politics."
read more here

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Traumatic brain injuries are signature wound of the war

Traumatic brain injuries are signature wound of the war
Sunday, October 16, 2011
By G. Wayne Miller

PROVIDENCE — Improved armor and advances in battlefield medicine have increased survivability for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, but for some, living has come with the burden of traumatic brain injury — often described, together with posttraumatic stress disorder, as the “signature” wound of the War on Terror.

According to specialists at the Providence VA Medical Center, explosions are the most common cause of combat-related brain injuries — and the majority of these blasts are produced by the signature enemy weapon of the war, the improvised explosive device (IED).

A blast generates a wave of intense pressure that can violently churn the brain without necessarily damaging the outside of the head. Penetrating shrapnel can also injure the brain, as can violent contact of a helmet-protected head with a hard surface, such as the inside of a Humvee.

“The brain sits inside the skull and it’s surrounded by fluid,” says Stephen Correia, the VA Center’s Neuropsychology Section chief. “If you have a sudden acceleration of your head, you can have sloshing of the brain inside there. You can get contact of the brain on the inside of the skull.”

The injury causes an acute period of altered or lost consciousness, which the injured soldier typically does not remember when coming to. Some victims will recover quickly and experience no long-term effects, the brain having spontaneously healed. But for those less lucky, traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause headaches, memory loss, fatigue, attention deficits, disorientation, dizziness and other difficulties that can persist for months or years.

“It’s not unique to this war,” Correia says. “What’s unique to this war is people surviving them.”
read more here

Friday, June 17, 2011

Let's stand up for our heroes

Op-ed: Bob Woodruff - Let's stand up for our heroes

By Christie Garton, USA TODAY
By Bob Woodruff, Special to USA TODAY - Kindness
I know that most of us during this time of economic difficulties don't think everyday about the men and women serving in our military. But we have to remember that we are approaching a decade of being at war. It is almost 10 years since the attacks of September 11th thrust us into conflict.

In this decade roughly 2.2 million Americans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Less than 1% of our population has served there, compared to 12 percent in WWII. I remember during the days of the Vietnam war, our neighborhood was filled with teenagers who were heading to the battlefields of southeast Asia. The families with loved ones overseas were on almost every street.
read more here
Let's stand up for our heroes

Monday, May 11, 2009

Support our troops is no longer a slogan. It's an action

While I have, or had, a Twitter account, I've never found the time to use it. That is why I'm posting this here. I hope readers of this blog will feel compelled to participate in this.

Dear Friends,
We all have people in our lives we consider heroes.
All of us at the Bob Woodruff Foundation would appreciate your support and participation helping raise $1.65M for our heroes returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan by participating in our TweettoRemind campaign. Through the power of the social web, Tweet to Remind campaign aims to raise $1.65 million by Memorial Day, May 25, 2009 to ensure our service members get the help they need as they integrate back into society.
This is a call to action, requesting you write a short blog post or tweet telling us who your hero is on Tuesday, May 12.
After I was severely injured while reporting on location in Iraq, my family and I realized we had a unique opportunity to reach out and help many of our nation's injured heroes. In January 2008, my wife Lee and I started ReMIND.org, an organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for service members injured in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as their families. Our current project is the TweetToRemind campaign, which asks individuals and corporations to donate $5.25 or more in an effort to raise $1.65 million by the end of the Memorial Day weekend.
I have so many heroes in my life who have affected me in so many ways. But after what my family and I went through more than three years ago, my greatest heroes are the doctors, nurses, medics, soldiers, pilots and others who risk their lives on a daily basis to save injured soldiers and bring them back to their communities. They did it for me, and my family and I can never thank them enough.
This is what I ask of you: on Tuesday, May 12 post a simple blog or tweet answering, "Who is your hero?" and asking them to do the same. Please link to your blog post from your Twitter account, a link back to
http://www.tweettoremind.org/ , and the ChipIn widget which you can copy onto your blog.
I hope you find it in your heart to support this effort on May 12 and throughout the campaign which ends on Memorial Day, May 25th.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely,
Bob Woodruff

"SUPPORT OUR TROOPS" IS NO LONGER A SLOGAN. IT'S AN ACTION. info@tweettoremind.org

ReMINDers
OEF and OIF veterans are eligible for free VA health care for their combat injuries up to 5 years after separation from duty. (VA)


Nearly 20 percent of U.S. service members returning from combat will report symptoms of PTSD or major depression. (RAND)


Nearly 90% of today's seriously wounded U.S. military service members are surviving. (VA)


Over 320,000 U.S. service members have sustained a TBI during deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. (RAND)


More than 1.64 million U.S. service members have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since October, 2001. (DoD)


Costs resulting from PTSD and major depression for troops deployed since 2001 are expected to range from $4-$6 billion. (RAND)


As public concern over these injuries grows, policy changes and funding shifts are already occurring. (RAND)


Of those reporting a probable TBI, 57% have not been evaluated by a physician for brain injury. (RAND)


Processing times for veteran disability benefit claims has decreased from 230 days in 2001 to an estimated 145 days in 2009. (whitehouse.gov)


When combat stress exceeds the capacity of an individual to cope, literal injuries to the brain and mind can result. (RAND)


Symptoms and repercussions of combat stress include depression, anxiety, misuse of alcohol and drugs, strains in family functioning, separation and divorce. (RAND)


Nearly 5.3 million veterans will receive care at the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2009. (whitehouse.gov)


Medical science provides a better understanding than ever before of how to care for a new generation of service members suffering the psychological effects of warfare. (RAND)
Support our troops is no longer a slogan. It's an action.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Jericho Project to Prevent Homelessness Among Veterans

Preventing Homelessness in Veterans
Invisible injuries of war in Iraq and Afghanistan are showing up in returning troops, and a recent Pentagon surveys estimates that 20% will suffer from "temporary stress injuries" and 10% from "stress illnesses" that lead to pervasive social dislocations. PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injuries can lead to a cascade of problems interfering with a veteran's re-entry into society, employment and family. The Jericho Project, a 25-year old national leader in solving homelessness, is helping with its innovative Veterans Initiative including permanent supportive housing, comprehensive services and ongoing peer support. Two specially designed Veterans Residences will be in the Bronx, NY; and one is breaking ground this fall.

(PRWEB) July 2, 2008 -- Jericho Project to Prevent Homelessness Among Veterans

Invisible injuries of war in Iraq and Afghanistan are showing up in returning troops, so much so that recent Pentagon surveys estimate that 20% will suffer from "temporary stress injuries" and 10% from "stress illnesses" that lead to pervasive social dislocations. On top of that are the physical injuries like Traumatic Brain Injuries which likewise can prevent a veteran's re-entry into society, employment and family.

Stepping in to help is the Jericho Project, a 25-year old national leader in solving homelessness, whose holistic approach combines permanent supportive housing, comprehensive yet targeted counseling, and ongoing peer support and role modeling by its successful "graduates." Jericho will apply this model to the goal of preventing homelessness among our nation's veterans with its innovative Veterans Initiative.

In advance of breaking ground on the first of two Veterans Residences in the Bronx, New York, this fall, Jericho Executive Director Tori Lyon is already distilling the expertise of leading scientists, foundations and nonprofits into a comprehensive housing and counseling program specifically designed for vets.

"We are learning that there are ways to manage and mitigate the effects of mental trauma like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder so that a person can regain his or her equilibrium, confidence and life," she says. Chronic grief and fatigue can be misdiagnosed as PTSD, for example; and PTSD unacknowledged and untreated can result in substance abuse and alienation.

"Our goal is to intervene when veterans are in crisis so that we can prevent homelessness and help them back to the road of recovery," she adds.

We invite you to speak to Ms. Lyon on how the Jericho model will be applied to veterans of all wars and eras. At the Veterans Residences, veterans will receive compassionate counseling by people who understand the particular conflicts that veterans face; for example among Iraq vets, receiving a hero's welcome while overcome with grief, fatigue and trauma; or concealing symptoms of PTSD for fear of losing jobs in law enforcement or security.

Jericho has a track record of success: among the "graduates" of Jericho's five locations housing 253 residents, 96% move to stable, independent living, two-thirds are employed at an average salary of over $10.00 per hour, with the remainder using government benefits; and only 5% experience relapse. What's more, Jericho accomplishes this for $12,000 per person per year, less than half of the $25,000 for a New York City shelter bed; and roughly a quarter of the $40,000 for the city jail.

For its Veterans Initiative, Jericho calls upon the expertise of people and organizations including:


Dr. Charles Figley, one of the nation's foremost experts on combat-related trauma and its ensuing psychological stress on veterans and their families. A Fulbright Fellow and Professor, College of Social Work at Florida State University, he founded the Consortium on Veteran Studies in 1975 to study and help Vietnam veterans returning from war. This effort led to the development of the diagnosis of PTSD and a national outreach program for Vietnam veterans within the Veterans Administration.


The Bob Woodruff Family Foundation, which awarded Jericho a $100,000 grant for use in serving veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who have sustained Traumatic Brain Injury and/or PTSD.


The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. With a mission is to end homelessness among America's veterans by shaping public policy, promoting collaboration, and increasing the capacity of service providers, NCHV is the resource and technical assistance center for a national network of community-based and government veteran assistance agencies representing 48 states and the District of Columbia.

For more information on the Jericho Project, please contact Lynthia Romney, RomneyCom L.L.C., (914) 238-2145.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/7/prweb1066564.htm

Monday, April 7, 2008

Bob Woodruff Wins a Peabody Award

Bob Woodruff Wins a Peabody Award

ABC News
April 2, 2008 - Award Recognizes Woodruff's Documentary "To Iraq and Back," as well as
Reports on "World News with Charles Gibson" and "Nightline"


ABC News' Bob Woodruff and team have won a Peabody Award, the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication announced today. The Peabody Board, who made the selections, said the winners represent "the best in electronic media for 2007."

Woodruff and team were honored for "Wounds of War - The Long Road Home for Our Nation's Veterans," which includes his hour-long documentary, "To Iraq and Back: Bob Woodruff Reports," and a series of reports on "World News with Charles Gibson" and "Nightline." These comprehensive reports examined traumatic brain injuries in Iraq war veterans -- a topic all too familiar to Woodruff. Less than a year after sustaining serious injuries in a roadside attack while reporting in Iraq, he returned to the air with "To Iraq and Back." This special documented his remarkable recovery and the experiences of other soldiers who have returned from war with traumatic brain injuries. Determined to keep the nation focused on this issue, Woodruff has followed up the special with a series of reports on wounded veterans, while also highlighting the struggles their families face as they adapt to life with a severely injured husband or father.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9751

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

GFI Sponsors 'Stand Up For Heroes'

GFI Sponsors 'Stand Up For Heroes'

October 31, 2007: 11:30 AM EST

NEW YORK, October 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GFI Group Inc. has taken 'Medal of Honor' sponsorship at next week's 'Stand Up For Heroes' - a benefit for the Bob Woodruff Family Fund.

The Bob Woodruff Family Fund helps injured members of the United States Armed Forces. Emphasis is placed on traumatic brain injury and combat stress injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder, sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan.

NBC's Conan O'Brien will host the 'Stand Up For Heroes' benefit, which will feature performances by Lewis Black, Bruce Springsteen and Robin Williams.

"The Bob Woodruff Fund does a marvelous job of helping injured American service men and women and GFI Group is proud to be supporting the Stand Up For Heroes benefit", said Colin Heffron, president of GFI.

The benefit is part of the New York Comedy Festival, which runs from November 6th to 11th.

Go to www.bobwoodrufffamilyfund.org for more on the Bob Woodruff Family Fund and nycomedyfestival.com for more on the New York Comedy Festival.

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