The 9/11HelpAmerica Foundation Newsletter

December 2008

It's been a long year for our Wounded guys. A heartfelt thank you for your support throughout the year. We are inviting you one more time to share an afternoon of fellowship and Music and wrap up 2008. Come help honor those men and women that have sacrificed so much for all of us.

In This Issue

Who's Joined us lately

More about 9-11HAF

Mariachi Christmas Festival

Who's Joined us lately

Thank you for your support. Thank you for taking your time to come out and help us, thank you for your generosity and most of all thank you for caring. Without your help nothing would happen. I don't know how much you know about what we do and how we do it, but I will try to inform you as best as I can. Some of you may be a little more familiar with us because we have been friends a while. For those that are fairly new to our group and do not know us well, I would very much like to keep you informed of what we do and how. Hopefully this will get you more involved. It has been trial and error from the beginning however, a pattern is starting to emerge.

A few weeks ago I had a conversation with LCP Ufrano Rios Martinez of Fresno California. He is a young Marine who, while on patrol in Afghanistan, stepped on an IED. The injury resulted in one of his legs having to be amputated below the knee. This happened a few months ago so his long rehabilitation is just beginning. He is rehabilitating at Balboa Hospital. He is married; no children. Now he is part of the 9/11HAF family and at 19 he is our youngest member. By the way, a great young man...we are very proud to have him in our group.

In September we spoke with another Wounded Warriors, SFC Anthony Arrington. We gave him the news that we would be honored if he would accept our program; he was very happy and agreed.

Anthony is now part of the 9//11HAF family also. Anthony,like Lcpl Rios Jimenez and Spc Joe Gracia (our latest Wounded to be added to our group) were all wounded by IEDs. All are at different places in the long road to recovery. They all now have another thing in common, our foundation. All very low key, very easy. Ufrano and Joe, I went to visit in San Diego, Anthony we invited to our last Poker and Golf Tournament.

It was my privilege to personally welcome these guys to the 9-11HelpAmerica Foundation.

This is to let you know how we do things. First, it has to do more than anything with whether we have funds available to meet our commitments to them. We promise to assist financially for a period of at least 18 months. As we come to the end of those commitments to some, we can begin to add others...that is one way we are able to add new guys. Another way is to raise additional funds through Golf Tournaments such as the one we recently hosted in Oct ... Golf is not just about generating much needed funds; it's also one of the best ways to get our guys out for a day of fun and help to build a fellowship so crucial to recovery.

More about 9-11HAF

I wish we had a team of experts telling us what to do or how to approach a combat wounded but we don't... how to talk to the families or caregivers. What to say or what not to say. What we strive for is to be relevant in their lives and to figure out how best to learn about their challenges. I wish there was something original about what we do but the fact is that there really is nothing original at all. We try to convey the fact that the community cares deeply for them. We also wanted to offer some financial assistance and we do a little of that too... We send them $200.00 per month. It may seem insignificant but believe me, it is something that they appreciate and rely on.

At first we were not sure about what to do or how to help. We decided to do what made the most sense to us. Without any strings, we sent money; during the holidays we send gifts or cash to the families, on birthdays we send the kids a card with a few dollars, and one of our favorite things to do is flowers on Mothers' Day. If we do that consistently, they do get the idea. People do remember and appreciate them, that their sacrifice is not forgotten and ordinary folks love and appreciate them. This becomes more important as time passes. With time we learn more about our guys. We learned how hard it is to come out and be in groups, how some have such a hard time being around people and would much rather stay in the comfort of familiar surroundings. We learn that the best place for them to heal is to be among their fellow comrades; that they do not trust too many people. We learn that the care givers love when people reach out to the ones they love.

I remember having a conversation with the mother of one of our wounded. She mentioned that during a heat wave, they purchased an air conditioner which they were not able to install properly. One of our friends sent some of his workers to their home, purchased and installed two air conditioners so our soldiers could be comfortable. She was very grateful mainly because some cared about her son.

We want to continue to do more, building a fellowship among our wounded is a big part of what we will be doing in the future. As time passes, that is an area that we must work hard to achieve. We have done well in some areas such as obtaining some very expensive equipment that the VA will not provide; we have done OK with financial assistance. Sure, there could be more money for a longer period but in any event it is something and, they are grateful. They let us know too. The area that we need to do better is in the fellowship. Another is a better understanding of TBI (this war's signature injury) and how that affects everyone around them. Why do some fall through the cracks in terms of rehabilitation and or benefits.