138 Wounded American Heroes Need Your Help

That's the number of requests Project Valour-It has they can't afford to fulfill at the moment.

Matt Burden, Blackfive himself, emailed me yesterday because today is the last day of their fundraiser (though I'm sure they'd happily take contributions anytime) and they really need some help.

If you're not familiar with Project Valour-It, here's what their work has meant to one hero.

In 2005, I was wounded. For some months, I was unable to use my hands. They were simply too badly damaged from the blast, and the surgeries to make them usable again left me unable to do anything for myself.

Then came Soldier's Angels, who gave me a laptop, and paired it with special software that allowed me to control the computer, using only my voice! Imagine, being able to do anything you can do with a mouse and keyboard, using just your voice. For me, it allowed me to do one thing, that I could do before I was wounded.

That one thing--when everything: feeding, cleaning, scratching, everything had to be done for me--that one thing I could do for myself allowed me to connect to my soldiers, friends, and family. That one thing... that one thing began a long road to recovery. It gave me hope; that I could learn to do other things like I did before.

That one thing is only possible if people like you care enough to help. We have provided thousands of these systems since 2005, but the needs for these systems is still increasing. I visit military medical facilities and meet with wounded troops, and know that there are ways to help them... and right now, I have to tell them to wait because we need funding.

Should our wounded have to wait for something that can help them heal, take their mind off their pain, or bring them a little sense of self?

Please help us raise $100,000 between July 1-14; to keep us in the business of providing for our wounded. It seems like a lot of money, but every single dollar helps. Every dollar donated goes to the troops. None of the VALOUR-IT donation goes to administrative or other costs. You'd be hard pressed to find any charity that does that, but it was a stipulation I made when we set it up. That number seems huge, insurmountable. But you know how you eat an Elephant? One bite at a time. Give what you can, please. I know times are tough. Times were pretty tough for me, too, and are pretty tough for young men and women learning how to use prosthesis, getting skin grafts, having wounds washed out.

Donate if you can, please share the message with others. Get your friends to give what they can. Write about it on Facebook and twitter. Call in to a radio or TV show. Spread the word. Spread the love. Spread the hope.

Thank you.
Chuck Ziegenfuss

(Cool note: Chuck is in the comment thread. If you have any questions about the program or how important it is to a wounded hero, he's your man.)

Money is tight for everyone but if you have anything you can spare, this is a damn good cause to share it with. You don't have to donate $50, $100 or more to help (though if you can....). If every moron who could tossed in $5, we should be able to make a dent in that 138 hero long waiting list.

You can donate here.

Thanks for your consideration.

UPDATE: Awesome job Morons....the original donation link went to Team Army but it looks like we helped them reach their goal. I've moved the donation link to Team Marines but it doesn't matter which service you donate to, it all goes to the same great cause. They are still only a little over 1/2 way to the overall goal but it looks like they are a lot closer thanks to your help!

posted by DrewM. at 09:27 AM

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