This year’s mission is bringing Christmas to over 200 children in 40 SoCal cities, 14 states, Puerto Rico, and the Navajo Reservation; our wounded heroes are all over the United States. You can help us continue Operation Santa by bringing/sending a gift or by making a donation.
Claudia, a mother of two from Tucson, Arizona, is a medically retired US Army Vet. In 2003 her unit was deployed to Iraq; where she was involved in a head-on collision on a fuel convoy. As a result, Claudia repeatedly loses her entire memory every 48-72 hours. VA diagnosed her with severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Claudia is unemployable; no one will hire a veteran with memory limitations. At the moment, she is struggling to pay her mortgage and needs our support. Claudia served her country – Let’s help her now.
At WHOA, we realized long ago the importance of working with others to accomplish our common goals.
One of the best examples of collaboration is our relationship with Beth Phillips and Furnishing Hope. This unbelievable foundation provides furniture to combat wounded veterans. It’s impressive that in only a few hours, they can dramatically change the lives of veterans and their families. Special thanks to Beth, Furnishing Hope, and all the great volunteers who bring joy to our heroes.
In the veteran non-profit world and the VA system, there are multiple groups that benefit from sports or activities as therapy. The camaraderie and the fellowship alone are utmost therapeutic, and the physical activity challenging in a good way. August 25, 2018, was our kick-off for the WHOA Scuba Diving Club! We are a good deal away from being able to call ourselves scuba divers, but we’re on our way. Special thanks to Chris and Thomas, managers at Dive N’ Surf, and to our adventurous heroes for making this happen.
There are some things we do that really turnout to be special and worth building on. Taking our kids shopping for school clothes is one of those things- Not just shopping, but letting the kids choose and buy whatever they want. It’s a great day for everyone involved- Rotary gets a chance to get closer to the vets and families, …
Listen Up- When we say that fellowship is something the vets need as much as anything,it’s because we’ve seen firsthand—for years—the principal of “birds of a feather stick together.” The military is a brotherhood like no other. When warriors are in the thick of combat, it’s not about who is wrong or who is right; it’s about the brother to …
“That’s what I’m talking about.” We have always strongly felt that the resources we need to make the life of our combat wounded veterans a little better are in the community. Cinco de Mayo 2018 is a great example of what’s possible when our community helps us out. They say a picture paints a thousand words, and these photos tell …
Enough with the PTSD, the VA, and all the battles our vets have to fight on a daily basis. Even the kids needed a break. “Mom and Dad are stepping out to party”—Mardi Gras style. Saturday, April 7, about 50 vets and friends of WHOA let their hair down for a great evening of fun. Everyone needed a night out, …
For our first Family Day of 2018, we’d like to thank the folks at Horse of the Sun Ranch. We had a wonderful start to the year and took advantage of a much-needed opportunity to get together with old and new friends alike. Most importantly, Family Day helped us maintain our great friendship with Horse of the Sun Ranch. Jerry, …
In 2007,I had the opportunity to attend a Purple Heart ceremony for four veterans. The ceremony was held at the Long Beach VA in California, and it was the first time I had any personal contact with combat wounded veterans. We at WHOA had recently begun providing financial assistance to wounded vets, but they were out of state. Prior to …
