Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The Mission Of Ark House

The Mission of Ark House is to provide low cost temporary housing for out of town patients and their families while undergoing extended medical treatment in the Dallas area.

After a battery of tests at your local hospital, your doctor informs you that you will need to travel to Dallas for additional tests and very likely a series of treatments lasting several months. There are dozens of decisions to be made…all under the duress of a life threatening illness. You and your spouse will need a place to stay. You cannot afford the daily rate for a Dallas area hotel not to mention the cost of meals at Dallas restaurants. Besides, the doctors have advised that a special diet may be in order.

You and your spouse take extended leaves from your jobs and travel the 200 miles to Dallas. The journey has just begun…..

Ark House was begun in December, 1985 by The Ark Sunday School class of First United Methodist Church of Richardson. The idea was born from the need of one of its members whose two-and-a-half year battle with Hodgkin’s disease meant staying near his treating hospital in Houston for much of his therapy. The vision of providing temporary housing for hospitalized and extended care patients and their families in Dallas became reality through the efforts of this class.

The members of the class maintained the project for several years but Ark House grew beyond their capabilities. The Ark House Board of Directors is now the administrative body. This diverse group of individuals runs the entire project. Ark House has no paid staff; all money collected goes directly into the project.

Although most Ark House occupants come from small towns across Texas, some have traveled from Europe, Canada and the Near East to receive treatment at Dallas area hospitals. Different religions, races, genders and ages are represented. Approximately 30 percent of the patients are children whose parents need to be by their side. Patients and their families are referred to Ark House by hospital social workers that are in a position to determine financial need. Baylor, Presbyterian, Parkland, UT Southwestern and Medical City routinely refer patients to Ark House.

In 1995 NAIFA-Dallas (then the Dallas Association of Life Underwriters) planned to sponsor a golf tournament but was in need of finding a charity to be the beneficiary. After interviewing several very worthwhile charities, we realized that Ark House was an ideal fit. As members of the life and health insurance industry we were quite aware of the fact that Ark House provided something crucial to the well-being of people with serious medical conditions and living in the bottom strata of economic security. Although in most cases the patients coming to Dallas have their most significant medical costs covered by health insurance (or in some cases charity) there is still the prospect of having to pay living expenses while in Dallas—not to mention that the mortgage, utilities and other expenses back home still have to be paid. We decided that what Ark House provided was something few traditional forms of health insurance provided. We could fill that need by raising money for Ark House. Several members of the insurance community have and continue to serve in various Ark House positions.

A few years later, recognizing that if Ark House were to establish a non-profit 501(c)(3) we would be able to open more doors and offer more opportunities for donors to give, as a result we could help Ark House expand by adding more apartments. At our encouragement Ark House established The Ark House Foundation and within a few years we had grown from nine apartments to 21. We had more than doubled our capacity to help people. About 10 years ago we were able to consolidate all Ark House apartments at one centrally located complex convenient to Dallas hospitals. These one bedroom apartments are each fully furnished including living room, dining and bedroom furniture, linens, cooking utensils, dishes, cable TV, high speed internet, etc. Pictures and wall hangings, along with a few magazines and books, give the apartments a homey atmosphere conducive to the healing process.

The all volunteer Ark House Board is made up of people from various walks of life, that in many cases do Ark House work unrelated to their career skills. We have to have somebody to answer the phone and engage with the prospective tenant to check availability. We have a “make ready” person to clean an apartment prior to the arrival of a new patient and “checkers” that at least weekly check on the resident. Apartment furnishings from furniture to bed sheets have to be updated and replaced.

In addition to providing a place to stay, Ark House also assigns a volunteer (a shepherd) to provide a liaison to the occupants by answering questions, advising of the locations of stores, etc., or just being someone to listen. This adds a personal touch while they are in Dallas and quite often relieves some of the anxiety of staying in a big city so far away from home.

Several years ago I served as a shepherd to an Ark House patient. Jerry was a retired Metropolitan Life agent from a small town outside of Houston. Having worked for Met in the early days of my career we had a lot to talk about. Jerry was needing to be nearby his treating hospital waiting for a double lung transplant. Over the course of several months we communicated regularly. Several times he would call all excited that a match had been found, only to be disappointed. He ultimately got his transplant but it didn’t go well. He called and left a voicemail to let me know that he was going home. I instinctively knew he didn’t mean to his home outside of Houston.

In the early days of Ark House we charged the residents five dollars per day. That amount has gone up to $28. Without the charity of organizations such as the NAILBA Charitable Foundation the rate would be much higher. NAILBA has made generous contributions to Ark House over the last several years, the most recent being in 2019. That contribution was not only significant in size but due to COVID-19 it was quite timely. Elective surgeries all but stopped in the early days of the pandemic, so our occupancy rate dropped from about 85 percent to less than 50 percent. As a result we reduced the number of apartments from 21 down to 16. The NAILBA contribution was a difference maker in our cash flow.

Ark House has more than survived over the last 35 years. Ark House has grown due to the efforts of many caring people and the generosity of donors that recognize the value in the Ark House mission. Our needs are quite simple: In order to continue to provide low-cost, safe, and convenient extended care housing, it is imperative that we raise sufficient funding to enable Ark House to charge only $28 per night. Charging a greater amount would be beyond the means of Ark House clientele.

To learn more about Ark House or hopefully to make a donation visit ArkHouseDallas.org. To learn more about the work of the NAILBA Charitable Foundation, or to make a donation, please visit nailbacharitablefoundation.org.

Our Mother’s Home Of Southwest Florida

Where children are cherished and futures are fostered

At Our Mother’s Home, we have had the privilege of receiving grant funds from the NAILBA Charitable Foundation for the past six years for our Mentored Living program.

As with any nonprofit, it can be a struggle to maintain, or increase, funding each year. We receive donations from a variety of sources and without the help of grants such as this one, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.

We have helped more than 400 teen mothers and their children get the basic life skills they need to have a productive life and help break the cycle of poverty, abuse and human-trafficking.

Our Mother’s Home of Southwest Florida, Inc., provides a safe and nurturing environment for teen moms ages 12-21 in foster care and their babies. Prior to the launch of Our Mother’s Home in 2000, teenage mothers in foster care were often separated from their child at birth. This unique home is the only one in Southwest Florida to provide this service to break the cycle one teen at a time.

The Mentored Living program promotes education, health, happiness and integration into the community with home-based support services for teen mothers. We provide parenting classes, therapy and life skills education, counseling and tutoring, personal care and housekeeping, and independent living training.

Adolescent mothers continue their high school education and receive the tutoring classes they need. The girls participate in our “Nurturing Parenting Program,” which introduces positive family values which were foreign to them as children living in long-term multiple foster placements.

Just as importantly, each young mother and her child receive proper medical care, including pre/post-natal care, well-child visits, vision, dental, physical and mental care. The children are able to get a healthy, positive start in life and many of the mothers receive the care they had been denied in the past.

This grant has helped us help so many moms and their children. Specifically, the grant in 2019 changed the lives of three teen moms and two former residents and participants of the Mentored Living Program at Our Mother’s Home.

Three teen moms graduated with high school diplomas and two former moms graduated from local colleges. The college graduates both obtained professional jobs in their field of study. One became a second grade teacher and the other a dental hygienist.

More importantly, each mother has retained custody of her child while working and continuing her education. They would not have been able to see this achievement as a possibility without having the love, guidance, empowerment and support of Our Mother’s Home.

Not only are these mothers a success story for our community, but they also are great role models for their children who they are now raising in a happy, healthy environment.
These are just a few of our recent success stories that show the impact this grant can make in the Southwest Florida community. We have been able to preserve the families of about 90 percent of our Mentored Living participants.

We have been able to help Dorothy, who arrived just before turning 17. She had been placed in foster care at age eight and had been sexually abused by a family member. She and her child were able to stay together while she received a high school diploma and enrolled in college. She now has her own apartment and is attending school.

Another success story is Sean, who arrived at Our Mother’s Home as an infant diagnosed with “failure to thrive” syndrome from lack of nurturing. Sean and his mother, a victim of Human Trafficking, had been separated for 11 months; she was forced to work in the fields while baby Sean lay swaddled on a wooden palette. When they were reunited at Our Mother’s Home Sean was 21 months old but functioned only at the level of a six-month-old. Sean began to thrive at Our Mother’s Home, receiving the physical and speech therapy he so desperately needed to save his life. Today, Sean is a healthy and happy child and his mother received the love and support she had been lacking so she could build her confidence and become a good parent.
These lives were changed because grants such as this one help us provide a service no one else is providing. It gives mothers hope and it gives their child a chance at a good life. Without grants and our dedicated supporters we wouldn’t have these success stories to share.
Local NAILBA member Bob Lombardo, president of Lombardo Brokerage Services, nominated Our Mother’s Home, Mentored Living Program. We are proud to have Mr. Lombardo’s support as well as overwhelming support from the community.

There are many organizations, clubs, churches and other groups that hold fundraisers for Our Mother’s Home because they believe in our mission and they see the results. Our sponsors and donors know their commitment will do more than save the life of a child. It will preserve our community’s future. These mothers become successful, productive members of our community. These children grow up becoming active members of society—our teachers and leaders. In addition, we have designed our Mentored Living Program as a prototype home and model program that, with your help, could be duplicated all across the country.

By simultaneously mentoring foster mothers to care for their children, counseling them to overcome histories of childhood abuse and keeping them together with their baby throughout, Our Mother’s Home is breaking the cycle of foster care for this forgotten special population of youth.

Because of supporters with huge hearts, we are able to continue breaking the cycle of abuse, neglect and generational poverty that afflicts teen mothers. We are grateful to be awarded the grant from the NAILBA Charitable Foundation.

To help with the great work of Our Mother’s Home, please visit http://OurMothersHome.com and make a donation. To learn more about the efforts of the NAILBA Charitable Foundation to improve lives in communities throughout our country and make a donation please visit http://nailbacharitablefoundation.org.

The Delta Gamma Center For Children With Visual Impairments

We’re so grateful for the difference the NAILBA Charitable Foundation makes for our children and families. What happens as the result of your support is life-changing. We know this because we see it every day in our kids and our families. You help babies and toddlers reach developmental milestones. And your grants help their families get the support they need to cope with the challenges on their journey to raise their little ones.

Vision is crucial to bonding with parents and drives development that typically happens naturally for most children (like turning over, crawling, walking, and talking).

When vision is a problem, we have to intervene.

The good news is that with the right support, delays can be overcome. A child will bond with his parents and will be motivated to sit, crawl, and eventually walk. And he will make the connections needed to find meaning in words and learn to talk. To achieve this, parents need help in learning how to provide for the special needs of their baby with a visual impairment.

One example of the difference your support makes is Ruthie. After a rough start in life, Ruthie is growing and thriving. Ruthie was born with a rare condition that causes a continuous buildup of bone that can damage soft tissue, blood flow, and nerves. “It was a diagnosis that, when I first heard the words, was absolutely devastating,” says Ruthie’s mom Lindsey.

Ruthie had to endure four surgeries and two bone marrow transplants in her first two years. And with that diagnosis, a new source of strength came into their lives in the form of the Delta Gamma Center. Made possible by the generosity of supporters like NAILBA members.

“They immediately jumped in and helped us see the hope we weren’t able to see in the beginning,” Lindsey explains. Ruthie’s DGC teacher “has shown me so much that she will be capable of. She has so much that she can do and live for.”

Lindsey relates: “It’s one of the hardest things when you first get a diagnosis like this or hear that your child is blind. It can be very lonely. The more you surround yourself with people who are going through it, or who are educated in it, there’s a level of comfort. You begin to see things clearer than when you are alone dealing with and grieving the loss of your child’s vision.”

For Lindsey and Jim, the best part about the progress they’ve seen has been getting to see Ruthie’s sweet personality shine through. “She’s a healthy and rambunctious two-year old, the only difference is she can’t see,” says Lindsey.

The support you provide makes such an incredible impact on the lives of so many children.
With Gratitude,
Jan K Huneke
Executive Director

Opportunity On Deck

Three million dollars in grants have been awarded by the NAILBA Foundation since its inception. This past year there were several wonderful charities that were the recipients of grants due to the generosity of others and one of those organizations, Opportunity on Deck, is making a huge impact yet relies solely on grants provided to children’s charities.

While other teens were playing video games, Dylan DeClerck conceptualized the need for Opportunity on Deck and founded the organization when he was 16. Now in his twenties, Dylan is passing it forward, building up Central Iowa communities by getting kids off the couches and on to fields and courts with a variety of sports-based youth programs including athletic leagues, camps, college visits and leadership development programs.

“We don’t want to confuse anyone. Opportunity on Deck presents itself as a free sports league where all participants from kindergarten to eighth grade enjoy free programming, free sports equipment and where families are fed at every practice and game. However, it’s much more than that—we’re building up communities, teaching life-long values, embracing diversity, and preparing youth for their educational and employment future. The mentors and coaches who they get to hear from share their success stories and they inspire the kids in our programs to set goals and to reach higher,” stated DeClerck. “Iowa schools and parents are reporting on the difference our programs make and we are so proud of our kids.”

Opportunity on Deck also relies on financial and insurance companies to get involved with their own matching donations programs and by hosting the volunteers for two nights during any given clinic. Many also host equipment drives through RePlay—DeClerck’s other charitable venture that outfits kids with needed shoes, equipment and attire. All programming is always at no charge to every participant.

“Without the NAILBA grant we would not be in a position to provide our spring soccer programming, positive role models, life-long value instruction and community development to almost 500 youths in five different low-income communities. Look for our kids to make a difference themselves someday (and perhaps work for your financial company) and as for the volunteers, they get back as much as they give,” stated DeClerck.

To learn more about Opportunity on Deck or make a donation, visit www.opportunityondeck.org. Phone: 515-422-4123. Email: communication@opportunityon deck.org.

Letter To Say Thank You To NAILBA From Caring For Kids

When was the last time you had a pillow fight? Do you remember? Was it with your brothers…your sisters…at a pajama party? Did your parents come break it up and tell you kids to cut it out and get in your beds and go to sleep? Probably so. The children we serve at Caring for kids have never had a pillow fight for just one reason—they’ve never had a pillow. Think about that for a moment. No pillow, no sheets, no blanket and no bed. How can a kid get a good night’s rest without these basic needs? The answer is really simple—he can’t.

Picture one of our families with six kids—only one is old enough to go to school. The older kids are all forced to sleep on the floor of their home because mom cannot afford to buy beds. Wooden pallets with old, dirty blankets thrown over them make their beds at night. The two little ones co-sleep with mom, subjecting them to the dangers of suffocation. If mom has another adult in her bed, the children just may see and be drawn into drug, sexual and alcohol use and abuse. None of this is safe for any of these children. Caring for Kids funded this family for three sets of bunk beds and one crib, ensuring safe sleep for all 6 youngsters. In addition, we provided bedding for the kids for comfortable nights and mornings.

This was a very expensive request for our agency. With the assistance of you—NAILBA—Caring for Kids was able to buy beds for these kids with brand new bedding. In addition to that, we were able to keep these children in their home. Had we not given them beds, the court may possibly have separated them, sending them to various foster homes. Keeping the kids in an intact family is a dream come true for children in these situations. They need so much; they have so little; they crave being with their siblings and the parents that they have. If we are able to maintain stability for them, it is a blessing beyond what we can say. We can keep them with their friends, in their neighborhoods and in their school districts as well. With your generous help, we were able to assist this family.

Envision another family—this one is a young lady who was expecting a baby but had no idea it was coming so soon. She and the baby’s father were more than surprised when they had to deliver the little baby girl at home—a 7½ month baby. The child was in good condition other that being minor drug exposed. Since they were not prepared, they had no clothing and no crib for the baby when she came home from the hospital. Because Caring for Kids had funds available from NAILBA, we were able to purchase a brand new crib for this baby girl, ensuring safe sleep for her. We also gave the mom and dad newborn clothing to get them started on the road to a new life.

Caring for Kids mission is to immediately provide essential resources to meet the urgent needs of abused, neglected or at-risk children in St. Louis County. With the generous assistance of NAILBA, we were able to purchase beds, cribs and bedding for our kids to ensure safe sleeping. You are wonderful indeed and we send appreciation to each and every one of your members.

Requests come to Caring for Kids from the St. Louis County Family Court every day, asking us for beds and bedding for kids in need. These children need safe and comfortable places to sleep in their homes, away from the dangers of sexual exploration, drug, alcohol and sexual abuse. Just like all of us, we want our kids to sleep well and wake happy. They cannot do so if they aren’t in their own beds. Think about that when you go to sleep tonight. It’s a basic need—for all of us—it’s what we want for our kids, for our grandkids and what our parents wanted for us, even if they told us to stop the pillow fight. If we give a kid a pillow, he gets more than a chance at a pillow fight; she gets a chance to put her head down, have sweet dreams and know we cared enough to send her into slumber like we would our own kids. It just makes sense. Thanks for helping us do this for so many kids!!!

Jan Abrams
Executive Director

For more information about Caring for Kids, or to donate to this worthwhile cause, visit https://caringforkids-stl.org.

The NAILBA Charitable Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA). Since 2002, more than $3 million in grants have helped more than 200 charitable organizations in the communities in which NAILBA members and their corporate partners live and work, ultimately helping the Foundation achieve its mission of making dreams come true for those less fortunate.

The mission of the NAILBA Charitable Foundation is to encourage volunteerism among NAILBA members and provide grant funds to worthy charitable organizations that serve to enhance the quality of life for those less fortunate, with a special emphasis on children. Every charitable organization applying for grant funding must be sponsored by a NAILBA member agency, exhibitor, sponsor, or advertiser.

The NAILBA Charitable Foundation is dedicated to providing funds to small, well-run charities that may not otherwise have access to additional funding, helping worthwhile philanthropic organizations plant seeds of change in their communities. Visit https://www.nailbacharitablefoundation.org/grants for complete details on how to help a charity in your community receive a grant from the NAILBA Charitable Foundation.

For more information about the NAILBA Charitable Foundation or to donate, visit www.nailbacharitablefoundation.org.

Thanks For Helping Rainbows For Kids Families Choose Happy!

When I was in my twenties I worked as a sports reporter/producer for KMOX Radio and part of my duties included writing sportscasts for Bob Costas, who got his start there. It was that Bob Costas who rose to fame as a network baseball and football announcer, then the Kentucky Derby, and the platform most everyone, even non-sports fans, know him from: The Olympics. He was a friend and mentor.

Several years after my time at KMOX I was a young mother with three nieces and our family received the terrible news that my youngest niece, Annie, had cancer. It was so devastating we could not even say the word; we used phrases like “they found a spot on her brain” or “she has a brain tumor.” Annie was so amazing at what she had to endure at age six, and we would accompany her to her treatments. The first day I went I looked up at the door on the cancer center and it said, “Bob Costas Center.”

I felt both a sickening sense of “Wow, we’re really here at the Bob Costas Center” and at the same time the more positive feeling of “Bob will help us!” I remember calling him up and asking if he could connect me with someone who had a niece with this rare cancer who had lived through it. I needed inspiration. I needed motivation. Though up until then his involvement had been raising the funds for the hospital, he was kind enough to call the person in charge of the center at the time who then called me.

The words the head of a cancer center (who is no longer there) gave me were less than inspirational.

“Well the type of cancer your niece has is so rare, no one survives.”

To hear something that negative when I just wanted a little sliver of something to hold on to was unbearable. That was the day I decided I would do all I could to help families of children with cancer so they would have hope and never hear that type of reasoning. All that guy had to do was find an aunt of a curly headed kid who had survived any type of cancer at all and let me know she overcame it. He didn’t have to zoom in on the negatives.

Unless we have specifically had a child in that situation we cannot know the horror they face on a daily basis, but we can imagine part of it and do all we can to help and support them.

So we put on a party at the hospital and invited several local celebrities including Costas to come. The party was so successful we incorporated into a 501 (c)(3) charity and have been helping families—for no pay—for 20 years. The all-volunteer-run Rainbows for Kids is celebrating our 20th Anniversary this year; 20 years of fun events and parties for the families as well as positive resources. The resources are as important as the events because they offer that hope to those families. If hope is gone, all is lost.

This year with a grant from NAILBA we will be holding a special party, September 15, with the theme of “Be Your Own Hero.” There will be two rooms—a Mom’s Spa Room where the mothers of children with cancer will be having a nice lunch and then they can get massages, manicures, and new hairstyles. The kids will be down the hall having a party with our volunteers.

The Mom’s will be treated to an inspirational talk and presented with the book, Choose Happy: Finding Contentment in Any Situation—the book that NAILBA granted funds for us to produce. Having a Journalism degree and background affords me the credentials to write this book—my 13th—and have it published. It’s full of beautiful color photographs and stories of amazing people who have endured tough times but were able to live their lives, such as they were at the time—and actually have some happiness.

NAILBA is the greatest organization ever, because you all care so much about people. You cared enough about a misfit bunch of kids in middle America to bestow us this wonderful grant and we did everything we could to turn that money into the best thing we could give these families: Hope.

The book is filled with stories about regular people—and famous people. These stories can give the reader something to look forward to. Something to hold on to. One of those mentioned in the book was Olympic star Gail Devers who overcame an extreme medical situation, so imagine the happiness when I saw a quote from our old friend Bob Costas about her: “We’re used to comeback stories in the world of sports, but the Gail Devers story is remarkable. This is a comeback from an illness which almost killed her.”

All of our kids are remarkable comeback stories no matter what stage they are in, and their parents’ bravery is beyond comprehension. Thank you for believing that Choose Happy was worthy of being in this world and specifically in the hands of these families. The world just got a little happier, and these families have a tangible thing to hold in their hands in the waiting room, the hospital room, at home or wherever they are, when they need that little dose of encouragement.

Camp One Step

When I was seven, I sat on the floor in my friend Marin’s basement. I was listening as she described a place called Camp One Step. It was an exclusive place for children with the misfortune of having cancer. Both Marin and I are cancer survivors, and she was trying to convince me to go to this cancer camp. I remember sitting there quietly thinking, “Why would I want to spend two weeks surrounded by a bunch of bald kids who would be throwing up into buckets all day?” However, after hearing many stories, Marin finally convinced me to go.

The following summer I clung to my mother’s arm as we walked up the steep steps to the camp check-in office; I was scared out of my mind. Before I went to Camp One Step I was a quiet child who never spoke of my cancer because I was almost embarrassed by it. I never showed my surgical scars or talked about the many hospital visits because I knew that the other kids would label me as the girl with cancer. My close friends knew the gist of my story but they still never could understand what it was like. Camp One Step changed all of that.

Back when my mother Pamela was pregnant, the doctors noticed something wrong with me during an ultrasound. My mom was induced into labor three weeks early so they could assess the problems I was facing. Unsure of what was wrong, doctors performed exploratory surgery when I was three weeks old. They found a tumor the size of a softball in my left adrenal gland. With a few tests, they discovered that I had Neuroblastoma stage 4s. Neuroblastoma is a very rare type of childhood cancer that develops in nervous tissue outside of the central nervous system. My amazing doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin were able to remove the tumor in my adrenal gland. However, when I was thirteen months old, they discovered that I had hundreds of tumors in my liver. I had another surgery, and the doctors removed half of my liver. Thankfully, my liver grew back. After my second surgery, I was tumor free.

Seven years after my surgeries I came to Camp One Step. I remember almost crying when my parents left after dropping me off. On the first day, I was too shy and scared to talk to anyone. This was partly because two of my counselors had prosthetic legs and I thought they were robots. By the second day I accepted the fact that no one was a robot, they were simply just kids who had gone through similar experiences as my own. Camp One Step has not only helped me come out of my shell, but it has helped me realize that my cancer is not something that I should be ashamed of. Camp has allowed me to make the greatest memories and find my best friends. I can not be more thankful for what camp has given me over the years.

I have been a camper for twelve years and it is still my favorite place on earth. Truly, I cannot imagine what my life would be like without this place. This camp is a second family for everyone that comes. We can all relate to one another in a way that is strange to most. But that is what makes our friendships so unique and special. Every child is able to open up to someone and not be judged for what they have gone through. Even if we have not seen our friends in a month, six months, or even a year, we all know that we are always there for each other. The bonds made at camp are unbreakable. Camp One Step has truly given the world to every child that comes through their doors. Camp One Step has given me a chance to experience things that I never thought I would—whitewater rafting, horseback riding, rock climbing, skiing in Park City, UT, and even talking to Congress in Washington, D.C.

While camp offers us a tremendous amount of fun and good times, we are also forced to face some difficulties. Since this is a program for not only cancer survivors but children still going through treatment as well, problems can occur. Relapses, depression, and even friends passing away sadly sometimes happens. For some campers, Camp One Step is the only place that they feel unashamed of their scars, baldness, prosthetics, and ports. No matter what someone is going through or what has happened we will always be by each other’s side.

This is why I am also extremely thankful for all those involved with the NAILBA Foundation. They have given so much to Children’s Oncology Services and Camp One Step. Over the last 40 years Camp One Step has been able to serve 16,500 campers. Every donation allows for more and more children to become part of the camp family. Much of the growth started seven or eight years ago when the NAILBA Foundation awarded Children’s Oncology Services a generous grant. Recognized by Charity Navigator as a 4-Star charity, Camp One Step has helped every camper in a different way and has truly found a special place in each of our hearts. Some of those campers were able to come to camp thanks to the donations of NAILBA members and the NAILBA foundation. This foundation has allowed kids with cancer to come to camp where they can just be a kid again.

Today I am nineteen years old and almost ten years cancer free. I just finished my freshman year at Northern Michigan University where I am majoring in multimedia journalism with a double minor in international studies and photography. Sadly, this upcoming summer will be my last year as a camper at Camp One Step. However, I have never been more excited to become a camp counselor and to give back to the place that has given me the world.

Wounded Warriors Family Support

“When America goes to war, our families go to war.” That’s the motto of Wounded Warriors Family Support, and that short sentence is the reason I support this fine organization and why I nominated Wounded Warriors Family Support for a NAILBA Foundation grant.

Wounded Warriors Family Support’s mission is to help “heal the wounds medicine cannot.” When a young soldier, husband, father is severely wounded, his family is “wounded” as well, and they need help, too, in many cases.

Unlike previous conflicts, 22 percent of the casualties returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which, in many instances, is moderate to severe. A young soldier with moderate TBI needs assistance with his daily living activities. Things we take for granted-driving, cooking, dressing-are challenging, if not impossible, for these veterans.

Whilst a traumatic brain injury is more likely to happen in soldiers who have faced combat, they can still happen to anyone who finds themselves in an accident through no fault of their own, like a car collision for example. This could also happen in cases of severe domestic abuse. That said, unfortunately, the consequences can be the same, and in the worst of circumstances, it could even result in death. So, if you know someone who has faced something similar, don’t be afraid to reach out to somewhere like this firm of lawyers to help with your claim. It won’t bring your loved one back, but it could help with the grieving process. For veterans, this can happen all too often.

The catastrophic effects of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) also severely maim our soldiers. Too many soldiers have lost all four limbs. More have lost three. IED blast effect also causes severe spinal injuries that make our once-athletic soldiers quadriplegics who require assistance in their daily activities.

If a young soldier is married, the responsibility becomes his wife’s. She must do all the driving. She must do all the cooking. She must help her husband bathe. She must help him get dressed. She must do it all and more if she is a mother with young children to look after.

A sad fact is that a few wives left their husbands because of “caregiver burnout.” The emotional and physical strain proved to be more than they could handle. They left because there was no one to back them up. They felt isolated and vulnerable without options.

She needs a break, or respite, from the daily emotional and physical strain of being caregiver, cook, chauffeur, maid and mother.

While the Department of Veterans Affairs has respite programs to help, they are limited to 240 hours each year and eight hours on any given day. That’s when Wounded Warriors Family Support comes in: It fills the gaps in coverage and provides the support a family needs, regardless of hours.

While the VA provides respite care for the caregiver, it won’t help care for children. Wounded Warriors Family Support will step in to find qualified caregivers to help look after young children when needed. A case in point was a caregiver wife and mother who needed an emergency hysterectomy. At home was her veteran husband, suffering the effects of TBI, and their young children, who all needed help during her medical emergency. One frantic phone call to one of our family case workers was all it took to get action. In only a few hours, a qualified Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) arrived to take care of the young soldier and their two children.

Respite care is not the only program under the mission of supporting families of combat wounded. This organization also provides handicapped-equipped Ford F-150s to veterans who have spinal injuries or whose legs have been amputated.

Wounded Warriors Family Support, in partnership with UAW-Ford, sponsors a welding program for combat wounded veterans four times a year. Every graduate from this program has a high-paying job waiting.

The support Wounded Warriors Family Support received from NAILBA and its generous members made our support of two wonderful families possible:

In one family, Minnie has to care for Anson, a quadriplegic as a result of a horrific IED blast when he was deployed to Iraq. Minnie has help from the VA and another local government program, but it’s not enough. Wounded Warriors Family Support provides this family with a CNA three nights a week, 52 weeks a year. Their staff has worked with Minnie and Anson for over four years, and they’ll be with the family as long as they’re needed.

In November 2017, an IED blast almost decapitated Kenton, a Navy ordnance disposal expert who was deployed to Syria. He was not expected to live. He cheated death, but he was left a quadriplegic and needed intense medical care to heal his wounds. Evacuated to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, his family in San Diego came to his side and lived at the local Fisher House. Lindsey wanted to be with Kenton as much as she could, but with four young children, she couldn’t do it all. She called Wounded Warriors Family Support.

The organization arranged to fly Lindsey’s mother to Walter Reed to look after the children-Logan, Mason, Annabelle and Sadie-while Lindsey stayed at her husband’s side. Wounded Warriors Family Support provided money so the family could get away from the hospital grounds and have a needed break. Later, Kenton was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Lindsey and the children went, too, and took up residence in Fisher House there. Wounded Warriors Family Support helped this time by paying the airfare for Kenton’s mother to come in when Lindsey’s mother went home.

We don’t like to think in terms of dollars when it comes to supporting our combat wounded families, but that’s reality. Without the NAILBA grant that Wounded Warriors Family Support received, the support extended to the families of Anson and Kenton would not have been possible.

Wounded Warriors Family Support, while not a large or well-known charity (you won’t see any television advertising because they don’t spend their money that way) is highly effective and recognized as one of the best veterans’ charities by Consumer Reports and CNBC. With a four-star rating (the highest) from Charity Navigator, Wounded Warriors Family Support not only performs a great service for veterans, but also is a great steward with all funds donated.

I have been on the board of directors for several years and serve as treasurer of this great group. I am proud of the work this organization does, and I am proud that NAILBA and our members support the work that Wounded Warriors Family Support does to “heal the wounds that medicine cannot.”

To learn more, or to donate time or money to Wounded Warriors Family Support, visit www.wwfs.org.

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