Staff Reports
A group founded to help wounded post-9/11 military veterans readjust to life back home has expanded beyond its South Florida roots and has new name to match.
The Wounded Warriors of South Florida will become the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund.
“This is a pivotal time in our organization’s history,” executive director Mike Durkee said in a press release.
“We’ve experienced tremendous growth yet struggled with name and organization confusion, having to clarify who we are, what we do, and where we operate,” he said. “Now, instead of starting conversations with ‘Who we are not,’ we can start with the number of veterans and family members we help every day, and the relief we provide.”
There’d been confusion, he said, with the unaffiliated Wounded Warrior Project.
By the close of 2015, the organization, founded in 2009 and now operating statewide, had provided direct assistance to more than 6,000 wounded veterans and their families, and continues to serve nearly 130 veterans each month.
Counting family members, that number climbs to nearly 300 people. And more than 85 percent of all donated money goes for direct assistance, the group said.
“The more we keep costs down, the more funds are available for our primary mission of helping wounded veterans,” Durkee said.
The 5th Annual All Branches Military Ball and Gala Saturday night in West Palm Beach will do double duty as the coming-out party for the project’s new brand. The event, sponsored by Military Officers Association of America’s Palm Beach and Martin County chapter, begins at 6 p.m. at the Ibis Golf and Country Club.
The organization’s rebranded website is due to go live Thursday night or Friday, but information about it and the ball are available here.
The group said it provides “immediate emergency financial assistance to eligible disabled veterans who have served in the wars and conflicts since 9/11.”
That includes help with food, gas, rent and utility payments, transportation, wheelchair lifts, moving expenses, and temporary or transitional housing, it said.
