The Wounded Warrior Project: Helping Soldiers One by One
Introduction
“The greatest casualty is being forgotten,” is the Wounded Warrior Project’s most famous quote (Project 1). The Wounded Warrior Project, also known as WWP, is a non profit organization which means that the organization was not made to gain profit, it was made to help others. The Wounded Warrior Project is a way to show that you appreciate the sacrifices and respect what soldiers have done for us. The WWP helps wounded soldiers return home from the war, and helps support them and their family, and make their life normal again. We can all help a little bit, and make the Wounded Warrior Project grow bigger, so they can help more soldiers.
Mission Statement
The mission statement of the Wounded Warrior Project is to, “Honor and empower wounded soldiers.” The WWP is to help wounded warriors gain respect and be recognized by communities, and also to help them regain confidence while going through their life. The Wounded Warrior Project is a national organization that has over 160 locations nationwide! The locations are located all over the country from Seattle, WA to Jacksonville, FL. The location in Jacksonville, FL is the biggest nationwide. “Out of 470 staff members, 200 of them work in Jacksonville” (Roberts 1). A quote from the Wounded Warrior Project is, “A decade of service, a lifetime of commitment,” a soldier may only serve for so long, but they will always be dedicated (Project 1). The Wounded Warrior Project also helps foster wounded soldiers who don’t have any family or friends that are willing to take care of them. It’s like a foster home, except these wounded warriors are grown people that no one cares enough to help. They went to war and fought for us and risked their lives, but no one is willing to take care of them. No one even acknowledges them. It’s sad to think that the people that take care of the wounded warriors may be the only people that the soldier will see or speak to that whole week. With a little bit of help from everyone, we can make a difference in a wounded soldier’s life, just like the WWP does.
History
The Wounded Warrior Project wasn’t officially founded until 2003, but it started in 1992 when John Melia was in the Marines and he was located in Somalia, a country in Africa. John Melia was in a, “Marine Corps helicopter crash that killed 4 of his friends and injured 14 of them,” (Wounded Warrior Project History 1). He suffered a severe back injury from the crash. “In 2002, I was watching a news story on TV and saw a young Marine being loaded onto a helicopter, and it just brought back a flood of memories for me and I thought, “Boy, I bet that guy’s getting ready to go on the same type of journey that I did for a number of years, struggling to figure out what I was going to do after I was retired from the military” -John Melia (Wounded Warrior Project History 1). John couldn’t just sit there and suffer from watching people go through the same thing he did, he needed to find a way to help the wounded soldiers. So he started out with $50 and his basement in Roanoke, Virginia, John started a non profit organization. Now, the WWP has raised $312.7 million for warrior services. John had had some previous experience being part of a non profit organization, as he was part of Disabled American Veterans and Paralyzed Veterans of America from 1996 until he started the Wounded Warrior Project. John got together a group of people, that consisted of his brother, Jim Melia, Steven Nardizzi the current CEO, and Albion Giordano. John received help and support from his family and friends. Together they raised $5,000 which he used to make and deliver these Wounded Warrior Project backpacks. The backpacks were delivered to, “Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and Bethesda Naval [Hospital in Bethesda, Md” (Wounded Warrior Project History 1). The backpacks were filled with the necessities a soldier might need such as a toothbrush, underwear, socks, shorts, a razor, t-shirts, and CD players. When John delivered the backpacks, “They just caught on like wildfire.” A couple of days later he got calls from Walter Reed and Bethesda asking, “Can you get me any more of those?” In November 2003, the United Spinal Association (USA) of New York adopted the WWP as a program. All of the donations went directly to help the soldiers because while under the USA, they got financial and staff support. In 2005, the United Spinal Association granted $2.7 million to the WWP to form into a “stand-alone charity with its own identity and programs.” The USA hoped it would provide long-term support to start the organization. “On February 23, 2005, WWP registered for incorporation,” (Wounded Warrior Project). That’s how the Wounded Warrior Project really started, “It was meant to be something to honor wounded warriors by giving them these backpacks as just kind of a thank-you gift, and it just turned into so much more because every time we went there, warriors were inspired by stories that I told them about other wounded veterans, and I started seeing that families didn’t have all the information that they needed to access their benefits,” (Wounded Warrior Project History 1). The backpacks were later upgraded to Under Armour backpacks because Under Armour was one of the WWP’s newest sponsors.
Unfinished essay…