A look at one of the four military- and veteran-focused charities that received $37,500 as part of this year’s Newman’s Own Awards. For more on the award program and on other award recipients, including the $50,000 winner, click here.
Charity/program: Boot Campaign’s ReBOOT.
What it does: ReBOOT provides funding for world-class physical and mental wellness programs for traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, addiction and insomnia. It’s open to both active-duty members and veterans, but primarily serves veterans, “as it’s more complicated for active duty service members to attend non-DoD medical facilities,” said Meg Jones, program director.
What the money will do: The $37,500 will enable the organization to help more candidates, Jones said, helping offset costs of travel, car rental, lodging and per diem in addition to treatment. “Our goal with each candidate is to remove all financial barriers for service men and women to receive the treatment that the deserve and have earned.”
In brief: Since it was founded in 2016 by a retired Navy SEAL, the organization has served 56 people through one or more aspects of the pipeline, Jones said.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
