*photograph by Sue Clark, SuePhotography.com
Fourteen years ago, Robin Kelleher felt an urgency to help her best friend when her husband returned home after being wounded while serving in Iraq.
Even though Kelleher’s husband was a Marine who had been deployed several times, she had never personally experienced the ordeal, hardship, and heartbreak a wounded service member and their family must endure.
She could not sit idly by.
That friend, Shannon Maxwell, and Kelleher combined forces to help forge the future for Shannon’s husband, Tim, and countless other wounded military members. What began as the effort of two Marines’ wives soon became Hope For The Warriors, which has helped thousands of veterans, service members, and their families over the past 14 years.
Kelleher and Maxwell originally were looking for ways to find post-combat bedside care and support for wounded Marines coming back to Camp Lejeune (Jacksonville, N.C.). Today, Hope For The Warriors provides a full cycle of care through many programs to restore self, family, and hope to post-9/11 service members, military families, caregivers, and families of the fallen across the country.
Since its inception in 2006, Hope For The Warriors has served more than 33,500 service members, veterans, and military families.
The genesis of Hope For The Warriors was the realization that there was a gap in resources for every service member and military family in communities across the country. From that deficiency grew the belief that warriors can thrive with access to integrated services focused on individual and collective well-being.
Hope For The Warriors uses a comprehensive approach to well-being when caring for veterans, service members, and their families through its programs, focusing on clinical health and wellness, sports and recreation, and transitional services.
“We understand that no service member, veteran, or military family is just alike, and their needs are ever-changing,” said Kelleher. “Therefore, we’re an ever-evolving organization, shifting to assist where the needs are.”
Knowing the organization can’t tackle each need on its own, if Hope For The Warriors does not have a program that meets a specific need, team members can connect with one of the organization’s more than 100 Partners in Mission.
For more information on Hope For The Warriors, make a donation or to apply for services, visit hopeforthewarriors.org.
