Thank you, Brennan and everyone else, for the warm welcome to the group. Better late than never, right? I know a lot of folks have been asking Joanna why I wasnt already a member, considering how involved she has become over the past 3 years. Id like to take a few minutes to explain. Some of you know how skeptical I am of Veterans Groups due to various personal interactions Ive had and second/third-hand accounts from other fellow disabled vets. There are over 35,000 active nonprofit veterans groups in the US and Ive seen a lot of groups that use the emotional plea of supporting the troops to get folks hard-earned money. Not only do I think this has created a tremendous amount of redundancy but, from my experience, Ive been less than impressed with a lot of the groups Ive come in to contact with. Groups like Charity Watch grade half of the veterans groups they rate poorly because of the amount of money these nonprofits spend to get donations versus the amount of money that they actually use to fund programs to aid veterans. Over the years, Ive seen these groups fall in to one (or multiple) categories: The first, and most commonly, is an organization of mismanagement and potential waste. This is normally not done maliciously, but due to the fact that it is extremely easy to create your own nonprofit. 98% of the over 50K applications for tax-exempt status filed with the IRS by new charities are approved each year. Often these groups are created by patriotic Americans wanting to help with little or no idea how to run a business, and find themselves in over their heads in no time. They have limited resources and are unprepared to deal with the associated cost it takes to make enough money with minimum overhead to be able to provide maximum support to the veterans the group was created to support. Another category is unfortunately the scam or fraudulent organization, one established with no intent other than getting dishonest people rich. Im sure you all know these stories, such as Bobby Thompson disappearing with most of the $100 million his nonprofit, The US Navy Veterans Association, made in the eight years it existed. Everything about the organization was completely fraudulent and by all accounts the group was the equivalent of a dummy/shell corporation. The third type of group is one that is self-serving to the founder. This may or may not have been the original intent of the group, and Im not going to name names here, but you all know these types. It seems like the only benefit that comes from these organization is to provide a venue where the founder gets to hobnob with celebrities, get free swag, go on national TV to have their back patted and basically sit back and listen to how great they are. You have to wonder if they had to run the company anonymously and not receive any recognition they would continue to work as hard as they do for the troops. The last category and, Im sad to say, the rarest, is an organization that is an effective, beneficial group that truly does what it says its going to and really does support the troops. A group that brings together folks from all walks of life for a common desire to help our veterans. These groups somehow find the perfect balance of spending just enough money to bring in as much as it can and almost all of it goes right to benefit the vets, being in the limelight just enough to attract new members and donors and hard-working, committed volunteers to sacrifice their time and energy. So Im not one to blindly support a group claiming to help our Veterans and before I do I usually vet them quite thoroughly. Ive found Team RWB to be one of the few groups that have successfully navigated its way through the VSO minefield. It continuously impresses me with its leadership, innovation, community outreach and, most importantly, the people who proudly wear the Eagle. RWBs success is a testament to Mike Erwin motivation and steadfast dedication to making peoples lives better. When I got back from my deployment 3 years ago and Joanna told me she had joined this group, I naturally put on my skeptics glasses. But as Ive seen how well the RWB community has embraced my wife, the true pleasure that she and everyone else in this group get from supporting the mission and national effect this groups efforts have had on veterans, active duty military and families, I am very honored to be part of this family. While you probably wont see me out there running marathons anytime soon (no one wants to see that!), you can count on me to do whatever I can to help out. Especially if theres another one of those fundraiser things where the more you drink, the more money you raise. Yeah, Im all in on that one!
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 00:32:10 +0000
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