Grants from the  ASMBA STAR Foundation  support a wide variety of programs and services for our military, veterans, and their families and loved ones.  Together, these organizations and the  ASMBA STAR Foundation  are making a significant impact on military lives.  The organizations receiving grants to date are:

Air Compassion for Veterans:  Mercy Medical Airlift –  Virginia Beach, VA     
Air  Compassion for Veterans ensures that no financially-stressed wounded warrior or their adversely affected family member(s) is denied access to distant specialized medical evaluation, counseling, diagnosis, treatment, or rehabilitation for lack of a means of long-distance medical air transportation.  The Foundation’s award assists them in furthering their commitment to the ongoing healing process of our veterans, by helping them fund free air transportation for activities for wounded warriors that aid in their healing process. 
 
A Sanctuary for Military Families, Inc.:  "Project Sanctuary"
Parker, CO
Project Sanctuary was founded with the belief that the best way to support the men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan is to support the entire family.  They do this by providing therapeutic, curative, supportive and recreational activities to veterans, active military personnel, their spouses and children in a leisure environment in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.  Project Sanctuary uses Diversion Therapy or Recreation Therapy to break through walls and foster an environment of healing,  Retreats are provided FREE to military families.  The ASMBA STAR Foundation sponsors retreats for some of these families.

AVET Project, Inc.:  "Empowerment Equipment Bag (EEB) Program"
Satellite Beach , FL   
One of the goals of AVET Project is to furnish each and every deployed military member in Afghanistan and Iraq with gender-specific EEB's to meet their immediate and basic and urgent hygienic needs.  Because AVET Project efforts to each military member the importance of daily journaling, materials and instructions on how to begin are provided. Also included is an Empowerment Packet (EP) - a packaged informational program containing a quick reference guide of benefits available to the service member, along with information on issues such as separation anxiety, PTSD, suicide prevention, the effects of TBI, and information on a wide variety of self-improvement methods and techniques.  The Foundation grant will enable AVET to send out 400 of these valuable EEB's.

Buckhaven Learning Center, Inc.:  
"Wounded Warrior Archery Deer Hunt" - Loudonville, OH
Money awarded by the ASMBA STAR Foundation went towards their inaugural all-expense paid Archery Whitetail Deer Hunt for disabled veterans who are living on fixed incomes.

Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee:  "Warriors Legacy Fund" - Nashville, TN
The funds awarded to the Warriors Legacy Fund will help returning warriors and their families in a secure online outreach and therapist-assisted treatment program for both veterans and service members suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  The continuing development and growth of this work helps the returning warriors and their families obtain the needed resources to help them handle the aftermath of war.
 
Fayetteville Cares Foundation:  "Basics for Barracks"
Fayetteville, NC
Fayetteville Cares is a community-based organization supporting the military personnel and families of the Ft. Bragg-Pope AFB area.  The mission of Fayetteville Cares is to engage the entire community and to provide an avenue for local citizens to support the troops and their families.  Their Basics for Barracks program ensures that single service members at Ft. Bragg and Pope AFB know that the community appreciates their hard work and sacrifice by providing them with a proper welcome home by providing them with personal care products, snacks, etc. needed in the first days after returning to the barracks.

Fisher House - Landstuhl, Germany
The two temporary living facilities at the U.S. Army military hospital in Germany provide living accomodations for the families of Iraq-Afghanistan returning war-wounded during their loved ones' treatment at the hospital.  The grant from the ASMBA STAR Foundation paid for repairs in their facilities and also purchased new DVD's to be enjoyed by the soldiers and their families.
 
Friends of Veterans: "Project Outreach" - White River Junction, VT
Friends of Veterans, serves New Hampshire and Vermont area veterans.   Located near the Veterans Center for Readjustment Counseling, they receive many referrals for veterans needing assistance.  Funds awarded to Friends of Veterans will go to their "Project Outreach", a proactive and aggressive campaign to meet the needs of veterans who are experiencing difficulty adjusting to civilian life.  Veterans benefiting from this project receive basic day-to-day living support while they are getting "back on their feet" - in the form of financial aid, food and clothing, as well as help with regaining marketable employment skills.

Honoring our Veterans:  "Jackson Hole Recreational Therapy Project" -Moran, WY
Honoring our Veterans (HOV) is an educational and public benefit corporation formed to assist wounded and disabled military veterans.  The goal of HOV is to provide disabled veterans with the tools needed to have a fulfilling life and a stable career after military life.  The Jackson Hole Recreational Therapy project focuses on helping wounded warriors returning from deployment.  The program emphasizes life skill training that will aid in a veteran's transition from military to civilian life through recreational therapies such as fly-casting lessons, fly-tying instruction, therapeutic horseback riding, kayak touring, rock climbing and/or hiking, and educational tours of the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.  The services provided to the veterans include airfare, transportation, lodging, meals, and all activities.

Hopes & Dreams Riding Facility - Quitman, GA
Hopes & Dreams is dedicated to helping active military and veterans cope with PTSD & TBI through the use of horse therapy, camaraderie and understanding, enabling them to restore peace to their lives and heal the battle wounds that can't be seen.  The Foundation grant allowed Hopes & Dreams to construct/purchase a handicap ramp with harness and hoist system to life riders on to the horses.

Knights of Heroes - Colorado Springs, CO
Knights of Heroes is a program designed to offer the sons of fallen military members an opportunity to spend one week in a safe and caring environment where they can explore the outdoors and act like boys.  Each year, boys ages 8 to 18, who are sons of fallen military members, are invited to attend the Knights' Summer Camp Program free of charge.  The ASMBA STAR Foundation grant helps fund this camp.

Little Patriots Embraced:  "Project Bear Essentials"
Chesterfield, MO 
Little Patriots Embraced is a St. Louis-based non-profit specializing in delivering ongoing emotional and psychological support to spouses and children who are experiencing the stress of extended separation caused by military deployment. Project Bear Essentials is designed to help parents and teachers relieve the stress that young children experience when a loved one is deployed for an extended period of time.

Lonesome Dove Equestrian Center - Powhatan, VA
The mission of the Lonesome Dove Equestrian Center (LDEC) is to serve the mental, physical and emotional challenges for the special needs of veterans in Central Virginia, by providing a program of recreational riding and horsemanship at no charge to veterans and their families, which will increase the quality of life for the participants through activities that are positive to the cognitive, physical, emotional and social well-being of each veteran. The program allows the riders to regain flexibility, mobility and stamina.  The ASMBA STAR Foundation funded the purchase of a portable "SureHands Lift System" for the Center.

McKendree University - Lebanon, IL
McKendree University, the oldest college in the state of Illinois, was ranked in the top 10 percent of best colleges by U.S. News and World Report "Best Colleges 2008" and was recognized in U.S. News and World Report's "Great Schools, Great Prices 2008".  One national publication describes McKendree as being "one of higher education's greatest success stories of the last decade".  McKendree's largest campus is located in Lebanon, IL, near Scott AFB, and a campus on Scott AFB was opened in 1971.  In 1973, McKendree opened its Radcliff, KY campus adjoining Ft. Knox, KY.   McKendree will use the award to establish the"ASMBA STAR Foundation Military Spouse Scholarship", which will be used to provide an education for two deserving military spouses - one each at the Scott AFB and the Ft. Knox campus.
 
Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (MSCCN) - Lake St. Louis, MO
The MSCCN operates as an employment referral and job placement solution for military spouses, war-wounded, and caregivers of war-wounded via an Internet gateway and a team of geographically diverse military spouses and veterans.  The MSCCN specializes in vocational training, volunteer and employment workshops, and job search seminars at no cost to military installations and military-affiliated applicants. They are an employment partner with all Army, Navy, Marines Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard military commands, installations and family centers.  The grant from the ASMBA STAR Foundation will go to their "Caregiver First-Step Employment Program", which is specifically targeted to the caregivers of severely war-wounded military.

National Military Family Association (NMFA) - Alexandria, VA
The NMFA was organized in 1969 as the National Military Wives Association by a group of wives and widows seeking financial security for survivors of uniformed service personnel and retirees.  In the ensuing years, NMFA has been in the vanguard of advocacy for improvements in the quality of military family life. The name of the organization was changed in 1984 to reflect the broad scope of its involvement.  NMFA activities revolve around programs to educate the public, the military community, and the Congress on the rights and benefits of military families AND to advocate an equitable quality of life for those families.  NMFA sponsors a military spouse scholarship program and the award from the Foundation will establish the "ASMBA STAR Foundation Scholarship".

The Independence Fund - Pensacola, FL
The Independence Fund was founded in August 2007 with a mission statement of "providing our veterans injured in the Global War on Terror with the tools, therapies, and guidance that they otherwise may not be receiving".  Since then, they have awarded 18 iBot wheelchairs to soldiers who have lost their mobility fighting the War on Terror.  They have also awarded funds for specialized hand-crank bicycles for paralyzed veterans, awarded cash grants to injured soldiers and their families to meet urgent financial needs, funded individual equine therapy sessions for Marines suffering the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) at Miracle Meadows, a horse farm located outside Camp LeJeune, NC; and much, much more.  
 
The Intrepid Relief Fund:  "Operation Mend" - New York, NY
The Intrepid Relief Fund is dedicated to supporting the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and their families.  The Fund's principal project is"Operation Mend". Operated at UCLA Medical Center, Operation Mend is a unique initiative that provides returning service members with some of the country's best plastic and reconstructive surgery.  The care is provided at no cost  by leading plastic surgeons to severely disfigured service members.  Operation Mend underwrites all of the soldiers' transportation and lodging costs.  The award from the ASMBA STAR Foundation will help offset those costs.

Operation Life Transformed (OLT) - Woodbridge, VA
The mission of OLT is to provide education and employment resources to military spouses and war wounded caregivers, and to increase awareness of the long-term needs of those families and support the military caregiver and military spouse as they re-enter the civilian sector.  OLT enables caregivers and military spouses to find job placement, or to participate in training and educational programs in fields that readily fit around medical schedules, deployments, disabilities, future rehabilitation and transition, to create a more portable lifestyle for the military family.  All of this is done with the goal in mind of empowering achievement and the assurance of renewed hope.

Operation Stand Down-Nashville, Inc. (OSDN)  
Nashville, TN
Operation Stand Down-Nashville, Inc., is the primary nonprofit resource for veterans in Middle Tennessee providing life changing social services including employment readiness training and placement assistance, transitional housing, or referrals and coordination of the activities of other agencies in the delivery of such services.  They are the only VA-approved and supported Veteran Service Center in Tennessee.  OSDN serves honorably discharged veterans with an emphasis on veterans who are homeless.  Most OSDN staff members are veterans, and as veterans serving veterans, they are uniquely qualified to assist veterans with their specific issues and needs.  OSDN is recognized regionally and nationally as a leader in  providing quality services for veterans.

Our Military Kids - McLean, VA
Our Military Kids provides tangible support to the children of deployed and severely injured National Guard and Military Reserve personnel through grants for enrichment activities and tutoring that sustain the children during the time a parent is recovering from an injury or is away in service to our country  These grants are made to honor the sacrifices military parents make and to ensure that their children have access to activities and tutoring to help them better cope with challenges arising during a parent's deployment or injury recovery.   
 
Puppies Behind Bars:  "Dog Tags:  Service Dogs for Those Who've Served Us"
New York, NY
Dog Tags was established by Puppies Behind Bars to provide service dogs to veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan who have suffered a physical injury, traumatic brain injury (TBI) or who exhibit Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Dogs are provided to veterans free of charge.  In addition to raising and training the puppies from the age of 8 weeks until they are paired with the veterans at approximately 2 years of age, Puppies Behind Bars covers 100% of the transportation and boarding costs for the veterans and a family member to attend their 2-week team training, at which they learn how to work with their dogs and are certified as service dog teams.  Puppies Behind Bars also serves as a resource for the veterans in the years that follow, providing support, advice and feedback.

Rocky Mountain Hyperbaric Association for Brain Injuries:  
"Healing Our Heroes" -  Boulder, CO
The Rocky Mountain Hyperbaric Association for Brain Injuries (RMHABI) was formed to improve the quality of life for people suffering from brain injuries in the Rocky Mountain region by providing financial support and logistical assistance to people who seek rehabilitation through hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and to promote education and understanding to the community of the benefits regarding HBOT.  Their "Healing Our Heroes" program provides HBOT treatments and logistical assistance to veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.


Silver Star Families of America:  “Feeding Hungry Heroes/Comfort for Hospice Patients” – Clover, MO  

SSFOA is dedicated to supporting and assisting wounded, ill, injured and dying active duty and veterans and their families of all branches of service from all wars.  Their main goal is to recognize the sacrifice of the wounded and those with injuries and illnesses originating in a war zone, and remember their efforts by honoring them with the Silver Star Service Banner.  SSFOA also assists in educating the public concerning the plight of these wounded, ill or dying heroes and provides many programs to aid in their progress. As a Volunteer Service Advisory Board member, they work together with other troop organizations and groups to support in whatever way possible.   An ASMBA STAR Foundation Award funded the purchase of VA coupon books for homeless veterans to use for meals and small items of clothing at VA medical facilities, and for the purchase of prayer blankets for VA hospice wards.

The Chanda Plan Foundation:  "Quality of Life" 

Denver, CO 

As a non-profit foundation, licensed certified practitioners provide treatments to clients, including veterans, who are experiencing health problems due to their disabilities, and the Chanda Plan Foundation covers the cost of integrative therapies such as acupuncture, massage therapy, physical therapy and holistic nutrition, and more.  The Quality of Life program is their primary program of providing these therapies to persons with disabilities. The aim of the Foundation is to help an undeserved and unhealthy population heal with their whole bodies after injury.  The award given to The Chanda Plan Foundation will go towards providing veterans, their caregivers and family members the opportunity to develop a "mind-body connection" during rehabilitation with an emphasis on dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and chronic pain .


Troops for Life, Inc.:  "Life Nav" 

Douglasville, GA 

Troops for Life addresses the many complications service personnel are experiencing related to deployment. 

  The founder’s vision was to bring life coaching, and the powerful influence of horses, together to transform the way veterans re-integrate back into their families and communities upon their return from deployments.  They offer life coaching and human development services that boost the effective life skills of warriors and their family members in areas of stress management, coping mechanisms, human relationships, verbal and non-verbal communication, visioning and goal setting, as well as overall healing from trauma.  
Their cornerstone program is the Life Nav™ (an abbreviation for Life Navigation) program, and the ASMBA STAR Foundation grant supports veterans in this program.


USO of North Carolina - "USO-NC Charlotte Airport Center" 

Charlotte, NC 

The Charlotte Airport USO Center provides a "home away from home" environment offering refreshments, computer stations with internet and WiFi access, large leather reclining lounge chairs, big screen TVs, a movie room and reading area, a game room with PlayStation and Xbox 360 systems.  A family room for those that are traveling with young children provides a much needed respite.  In addition, the center acts as a advocate for stranded military personnel and their families, provides information and referral services for military travelers, and offers special assistance to Wounded Warriors who travel through the airport.  The staff also coordinates all aspects of support required in the event of a Fallen Angel returning home through the Charlotte airport.  Through the hard work and dedication of staff and volunteers, USO-NC has earned the reputation of excellence in support to military members not only from North Carolina, but around the world.


Veteran's Haven, Inc.:  "Veterans' Outreach Center" - Wayne, MI

Veterans' Haven, Inc., is dedicated to helping honorably-discharged veterans by providing for their immediate needs 

in the area of food, clothing, housing, transportation, medical supplies, counseling, referrals, and job connections.  They operate two housing facilities - one in Wayne, Michigan and the other in Westland, Michigan.  Their "Wounded Vets" fund is set up specifically to help Iraq and Afghanistan vets with various bills like rent, car payments, insurance, utilities, etc.  Funding from the ASMBA STAR Foundation will provide help in all of these areas.