We may not have deep pockets but we have great friends that love, respect and understand the value and the sacrifice our men and women in uniform make daily.
Every year for the last three years the Los Angeles County Fair (LACF) has hosted Wounded Heroes of America for a Day at the Fair. It’s one of our biggest get-together of the year. This year we had over 130 people- veterans and families. It’s difficult to convey what this means not just in terms of a dollar value of this gift (which would be prohibitive to us based on our budget) but in the message that it sends to those young warriors that have gone to combat and havecome back wounded. The Iraq and Afghanistan Wounded Veteran community is not as large as people may think, nevertheless, they have paid a huge price and the recognition of that price is huge to them. Our part is to bring the civilian community and the wounded vets together, to create the opportunity to express gratitude and say thank you for their service and sacrifice, and intern have the appreciation from the vets for that recognition.
We at WHOA work very hard to be the vehicle that builds that bridge with the community and its leaders and on a consistent and reliable basis- Most of our vets as referrals from the VA case workers- They understand the need of grassroots foundation such as ours. They know we can do quickly and quietly what many much larger foundation can’t do. Some of the larger foundations have grown so large and have created such bureaucracy and so many layers between the giver and the receiver of services that often times it keeps them from being effective. So it is for this reason that we value so much the relationship he have developed with organizations such as the Los Angeles County Fair (LACF).
Often times we use these events to introduce our foundations to a new referral. A very important principal in the trust building aspect of our relationship is “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression” – An excerpt from a message we received from a first time visitor who spent the day with us at the fair. —“Thank you again for EVERYTHING TODAY!!!I honestly can’t thank you enough for the much needed smiles you brought to my families face today” We can only have this impact with your help- Thank you LACF and your wonderful staff for helping us create this family environment. The short of it is that many of these vets suffer from depression and isolation- So any time we can bring them together in the spirit of fellowship is when we’re all doing our jobs — The job of caring for those we send into combat. Thank you Jim Henwood & staff and the entire LA County Fair