Posted on 12/24/2014 12:03:26 PM PST by InvisibleChurch
I've noticed some commercials recently by the wounded warrior project. What am I missing here? Why aren't soldiers cared for for injuries sustained while serving? Does government/military aid cease after a soldier leaves the service? How can this be?
I hear the WWP is anti-second amendment
2. . There is less lost in bureaucratic costs
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
As long as it keeps on track...
Think Salvation Army vs Red Cross..
I think for awhile the director/directress off MADD basically had a ‘new Escalade’ every year, stayed at the finest hotels, ate at the finest restaurants based on the premise “We raise millions a year, how am I supposed to do that wooing potential clients at Motel 6 and buying them lunch at McDonalds”?
Which is a true statement BUT most of these things become another ‘private fiefdom’.
I Like Fischer House - the founders etc were rich to start with and the money is in direct support to Personnel confined to Military Hospitals..+ plus families.
People ‘get on’ Gates because of his out of country support etc but don’t forget a while back he was willing to work with officials to put computers in EVERY school - eventually got turned down, one of the reasons given it would give him an unfair advantage to train people on his equipment....
Of course when the local Ford Dealer gives the school district cars for Driver Ed, isn’t part of the reasoning that maybe the trainee will eventually buy a Ford because he likes the feel of it?
How about that Korman(??) fund for cancer - specifically breast cancer - giving BIG donations to PP and/or - directly or indirectly to Abortion clinics.
Kind of a crappy deal if you think your money is going to cancer research and it ends up going to ‘other’ outlets.
If you don’t need it for what is was solicited for, stop soliciting.....
I used to give to WWP, but the news about the % actually going to the vets, along with their anti-2A stance made me wary.
Then I started seeing those endless (expensive) ads on TV which, like a previous poster said, made our Warriors look like whiny whipped dogs. They are Horrible Commercials, but extremely well made, which is so typical of propaganda.
I give to other Veteran-Related charities, that have a proven track record, and have scraped the WWP sticker off my car.
I hope that at least some of the money i donated to WWP has gone to an actual Wounded Warrior.
some of these private groups are all overhead and very little goes where it is promised
I have always suspected that WWP was a front to report veterans with ‘issues’ and have their gun rights suspended.
Wounded Warrior Project spends 58% of donations on veterans programs
Yes, I do know that some private groups are scams, but wouldn’t it be investing to use the same accounting on government that is used on private charities.
In its 2012 IRS filing, Wounded Warrior reported that about 73 percent of its expenses went toward programs. But the charity is one of many that use a commonly accepted practice to claim a portion of fundraising expenses as charitable works.
By including educational material in solicitations, charities can classify some of the expense as good deeds. Ignoring these joint costs reduces the amount Wounded Warrior spent on programs last year to 58 percent of total expenditures. The charity has been criticized for its salaries, with 10 employees earning $150,000 or more. Chief executive Steve Nardizzi, whose total compensation was about $330,000 last year, said salaries are in line with similarly sized organizations.
They're far from the worst, as far as veterans service organizations go, but the exalted status they enjoy is undeserved, IMO.
There's also a gauche commercial exploitation that characterizes the WWP, which I wouldn't find so off-putting if the money raised were being put towards more useful purposes, which I don't think it is.
The organization also engages in branded partnerships for everything from ketchup to paper towels to playing cards—something that rubs other veterans’ groups the wrong way.
“It’s more about the Wounded Warrior Project and less about the wounded warrior,” said a second veterans’ advocate. “You have an organization that is spending God knows how many millions of dollars saying that they’re helping people, but they’re not,” said Davis, an Iraq War veteran.
It reminds me in some ways of Susan G. Komen's exploitation of breast cancer.
Understand something - the government, at whatever level, only grudgingly hands out benefits to even the most deserving of potential recipients, in exchange for electoral support for their policies. There is an often unspoken quid pro quo, especially at the Federal level.
But one very well declared bargain has been extended by the Federal government when it comes to those who serve in the military, especially in time of war. If the serviceman is seriously injured or disabled, the Federal government is supposed to take care of the treatment and day-to-day support of these now often grievously damaged individuals, and see to it they have adequate, appropriate, and sufficient care.
Sometimes they do well. But it is not unheard of, that the bureaucracy that is supposed to supply this range of services and assistance, often takes upon itself the judgment of who does and does not deserve aid. This is where the Wounded Warrior Project comes in - they act as advocate to COMPEL the bureaucracy to live up to the solemn promise made in the past to provide the sustaining care for these seriously damaged former servicemen.
Wounded Warriors Project is not the only advocate, there is the DAV, the American Legion, VFW, and several other smaller organizations whose purpose is to assure that any veteran making a legitimate claim gets a hearing and some action by the appropriate bureaucracy.
You may be aware of the great to-do that was made of the mishandling of the scheduling of veterans for acceptance by Veterans Administration for continuing medical care or domiciliary care, causing untenable delays, sometimes resulting in serious further deterioration or even death, before the needed care was made available.
That is why Wounded Warrior Project exists.
Example: I know of a young Marine who, after 5 tours in combat and 18 months of waiting for an answer, could not get the VA to acknowledge that he was suffering from PTSD. He went into a shooting range, rented a gun and shot himself.
The VA is a miserable failure in dealing with both mental and physical injuries suffered by our troops. Thankfully groups like the WWP, combined with the generosity of American citizens are picking up some of the slack.
Don’t give to them.
They’re a ripoff charity.
Thanks
Given the size and scope of FEDGUV INC, why are there ANY charities needed?
BTW, better off donating to Fisher House or similar that has a much higher % of your donation going to the actual charity.
So a bunch of people can make a boatload of money off of wounded veterans.
Thanks for posting this.
Navy Relief Society scores far better and has been around for much longer doing great work
Fisher House is by far the best one out there, percentage wise, but does not bring in the $ that WW or Navy Relief brings in.
Excellent points, thank you.
Wounded Warrior Project spends more money advertising than they do on actually helping our wounded soldiers. I sent money to them two years ago along with a matching gift from my employer.
Since that time I've received countless calendars, return address labels and other trinkets in the mail, more than I could count. I'd much prefer they spent that money on actually helping our wounded vets, than "marketing the hell out of me."
To make matters worse, they also sold my name to other veterans organizations who now also market the hell out of me.
We stopped giving to Wounded Warriors and now give our money to Fischer House, who doesn't sell my name, doesn't market the hell out of me, and actually sent a thank you letter for our "gift" (something Wounded Warriors never did.)
We'll continue our annual gift to Shepherd House because they actually use the money to benefit our wounded vets. They also have a much higher charity rating than Wounded Warriors. Charity rating = amount per dollar donated that actually reaches the veteran via services.
No disrespect to those who chose to give to Wounded Warrior project, however if you're wondering why your junkmail ticked way up, now you know why.
You’re welcome. I’m sad that we, as a nation, seem to dump those defending us off to the side.
This summer I was involved with an event hosted by Travis Mills a quad amputee who is a motivational speaker and warrior advocate. He brings wounded warriors (amputees) and their families up to Maine for a week of vacation. I idea is that the whole family needs help to push the limits of what is possible in their new lives and to learn to love life again. The families that I met met and became very close at Walter Reed during recovery and rehab it it was a reunion of sorts. The day I was there we had them all out on the water bass fishing. They had adaptive equipment for all sorts of outdoor and on the water activities and was inclusive of wives and kids....respite for the whole family. Anyway this is a fledgling foundation and I have no doubt that Travis Mills has the drive and passion to make this rewarding for many of our vets and families. http://www.travismills.org/foundation/mission/
from this experience I also joined http://www.reelamericanheroes.org/ . It is an organization that matches wounded vets up with anglers willing and able to get them out on the water. It could use your help as well.
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