Veteran Walk for Haley House

Veteran Walk for Haley House

March 30, 2008 11:14 PM EDT
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Walkathon on Siesta Key to raise money for wounded Veterans

Soldiers have been fighting in the Iraq war for five years now. And medical assistance for those injuried and their family is needed. Today, a walk-a-thon on Siesta Key raised money for the Haley House.
Around three hundred people, including veterans, put on their tennis shoes and started walking. With proceeds going to the Haley House a non-profit organization that will give the family of wounded soldiers a place to stay, while their loved one is in the hospital.
And with soliders that are critically injuried the cost for their families to stay for months at a time can be expensive.
"There is no money available for them so it comes out of their pocket, when they go to see somebody. What was happening in the past is these people were spending the night in their cars or sleeping bags on the door of the hospital."
Todays, walk-a-thon raised about 30-thousand dollars for the Haley House. But they could use more. It costs anywhere from 10 to 20-thousand dollars a month to house the families of veterans.
For more information on the haley house click on links we mentioned.

This is what I did yesterday. Living in the Orlando Area, it was a long drive but it was well worth the trip. We got up at 5:00 am to be able to get there in time for the walk. I have to tell you that it felt good to walk in the sand again. It had been years since I was able to do that. I miss Nahant beach back in Massachusetts. The beach back home is rocky and not as clean as Siesta Key beach. The sand at Siesta is smooth and I was able to walk barefoot easily. It was really funny after the walk, I was sitting on a bench near some great Blue Grass band when a veteran came over to me laughing. I had on my Army style pants with my Chaplain's hat and healed sandals. He pointed to the sandals, "I've never seen high heals with that style pants before. I hope you aren't setting a trend!" Ok, so it may not have looked normal but considering they are the only pair of sandals I have, so be it. There was no way I was about to miss walking barefoot in the sand! Style be damned!

There are so many people in this country putting the wounded and the veterans first. This I am proud to be a member of. Veterans for Common Sense is dedicated to putting them first and using politics to take care of them. It would be great if both sides of the Iraq debate at least stood with them for this sake alone, but they don't. It's almost as if they have an agenda of supporting the president, they cannot bring themselves to support anyone speaking out against how he is treating those who serve and especially those wounded by serving under him as Commander-in-Chief.

What got me was that as we were leaving the parking lot was full as people went about getting a tan. I thought that it would have been great if they had taken the time to take a walk for men and women wounded serving this country who may never be able to walk again. I thought it would be great if they had taken the time trying to look good and did something good so that the families would have one less thing to worry about as they leave their jobs so they can be there with their family member recovering from their wounds. They could have worked on their tans, got some exercise and did something for someone else at the same time.

If everyone would put the veterans and the wounded first, there would have been hundreds of people there and thousands of dollars donated. Now that would have made the day perfect! If I didn't guilt you enough to donate to this awesome cause, then take a look on line and Google wounded veterans. Then click the image search. Take a look at some of the wounded and then think. What if it was your son or your daughter. Wouldn't you want them taken care of?

Wouldn't you want to be there with them while they recover in the hospital? I'm sure when you put your own skin in the game, make it personal, you will be moved to donate to this cause. We, after all, are a generous people fully knowing that even $10.00 can go a long way when everyone kicks in.

Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.namguardianangel.blogspot.com/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

Tampa's VA hospital reaches out to Iraq, Afghanistan veterans

Frank King of Altamonte Springs holds his 7-month-old daughter, Raynah, as he gets information Saturday during a Welcoming Home Day at the Sun Dome in Tampa. The event was sponsored by the James A. Haley VA Medical Center for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tampa's VA hospital reaches out to Iraq, Afghanistan veterans
By Jessica Vander Velde, Times Staff Writer
Published Saturday, March 15, 2008 11:09 PM
TAMPA — Iraq war veteran Ken Guillion's back still hurts, even though he stopped carrying heavy .50-caliber machine guns in the Army more than a year ago.

The 29-year-old former gunner wants to start physical therapy for his chronic back pain, but the waiting list was too long at the Veteran Affairs hospital near his home in Indiana.

He's more hopeful about Tampa's services. Although he just moved to the city a week ago, he was at James A. Haley VA Medical Center's "Welcome Home America's Heroes" event Saturday to gather information about medical care he's eligible to receive.

"She pushed me to come," he said, smiling, as he pointed to his fiancee, Linda Rondon.

In a nationwide effort to reach more veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has asked its hospitals to hold welcome back events.

Only about 30 percent of veterans go to VA hospitals, and that needs to change, said Seamless Transition coordinator Steve Preston. "We'd like it at 100 percent," he said.

It's his job to help transfer veterans from military hospitals to VA hospitals.

Tampa's VA Medical Center's chief of staff, Edward Cutolo Jr., said that even though troops are told about VA services when they leave the military, many don't remember the information when they need it.
go here for the rest
http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/veterans/article419066.ece

If you live in Central Florida, join the walk the Veterans For Common Sense is doing on the 30th of March for the men and women we all claim to support. I'm going!


Siesta Key Beach walkathon for Haley House
Veterans to benefit from walkathon
By LESLIE FEINBERG CORRESPONDENT

The Florida Veterans for Common Sense (FVCS) have organized a walkathon to benefit wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan on Siesta Key Beach on March 30.The hospital receives more seriously injured veterans, with staff specializing in the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries. Since patients often need several months of treatment, their families are left to handle the cost of hotels and living expenses during their recovery.

The Haley House in Brandon helps the friends and families of patients who live more than 50 miles from the Haley House and qualify for aid based upon income with living arrangements as well as the recently completed "Comfort Center," complete with full kitchen, washer and dryer, and a TV and game area.

Volunteers at Haley House have found a marked difference in a patient's recovery with the presence of their loved ones, providing them with the necessary support system to significantly cut down on their recovery time.

As Harry Stimmel, FVCS board member and co-creator of the walkathon said, "If the parents live in Oklahoma, and they don't have much money, we're providing them with some kind of facility so they can visit the veteran ... it can make all the difference."

As a display of their faith in the Haley House Fund and the support that it provides to veterans and their families, each member donates the cost of a room to Haley House on his own birthday every year.All of the local members of the Florida Veterans for Common Sense plan to participate in the walk, as well as many of the Haley House staff.

INTERESTED?
To participate in the walk, make a per-mile pledge or to make a direct donation, contact retired Air Force Lt. Col. Len Gumley, FVCS board member, at (941)927-0777, or mail it to him at 5408 Eagles Point Circle, Sarasota, FL 34231.

All funds raised by the walkathon will go to the Haley House Fund, which was created in 2004 to provide facilities for the visiting loved ones of veterans being treated by the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital.
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9568

Siesta Key Beach walkathon for Haley House

Veterans to benefit from walkathon

By LESLIE FEINBERG CORRESPONDENT
The Florida Veterans for Common Sense (FVCS) have organized a walkathon to benefit wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan on Siesta Key Beach on March 30.



The hospital receives more seriously injured veterans, with staff specializing in the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries. Since patients often need several months of treatment, their families are left to handle the cost of hotels and living expenses during their recovery.

The Haley House in Brandon helps the friends and families of patients who live more than 50 miles from the Haley House and qualify for aid based upon income with living arrangements as well as the recently completed "Comfort Center," complete with full kitchen, washer and dryer, and a TV and game area. Volunteers at Haley House have found a marked difference in a patient's recovery with the presence of their loved ones, providing them with the necessary support system to significantly cut down on their recovery time.

As Harry Stimmel, FVCS board member and co-creator of the walkathon said, "If the parents live in Oklahoma, and they don't have much money, we're providing them with some kind of facility so they can visit the veteran ... it can make all the difference."

As a display of their faith in the Haley House Fund and the support that it provides to veterans and their families, each member donates the cost of a room to Haley House on his own birthday every year.

All of the local members of the Florida Veterans for Common Sense plan to participate in the walk, as well as many of the Haley House staff.

INTERESTED?

To participate in the walk, make a per-mile pledge or to make a direct donation, contact retired Air Force Lt. Col. Len Gumley, FVCS board member, at (941)927-0777, or mail it to him at 5408 Eagles Point Circle, Sarasota, FL 34231.

All funds raised by the walkathon will go to the Haley House Fund, which was created in 2004 to provide facilities for the visiting loved ones of veterans being treated by the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital.
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9568