PenFed Foundation and Serve Our Willing Warriors to open home for wounded warriors in Virginia Countryside
The PenFed Foundation Home will open its doors on December 12, doubling the capacity to serve 500 Wounded Warriors and their families each year
TYSONS, VA (December 4, 2018) — The PenFed Foundation and Serve Our Willing Warriors (SOWW) will host a grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony and tour of the PenFed Foundation Home at Warrior Retreat at Bull Run, a home in the Virginia countryside that will provide respite for wounded warriors, their families and caregivers. The event will take place on Wednesday, December 12 in Haymarket, Virginia.
PenFed Foundation’s $300,000 donation to build the retreat home doubles the capacity at Warrior Retreat at Bull Run, enabling SOWW to serve more than 500 wounded warriors and their families, caregivers, and guests per year. The PenFed Foundation Home is the second home on SOWW’s property and each home hosts one family at a time for up to six days.
SOWW serves the needs of wounded warriors and their families through “Warrior Getaways” at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run. Since opening on July 4, 2015, the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run has hosted nearly 900 guests, including wounded warriors from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, and other area military hospitals, at its initial house which sits on a 37-acre campus on the edge of the Bull Run Mountain Conservancy in Haymarket, Virginia.
During their stay, recovering warriors and their families are able to participate in more than 69 different activities and programs offered through local service partners, including helicopter tours, fishing, hiking horseback riding, and 5-star chef-prepared meals. Warriors and their families can also partake in physical and canine therapy, and family counseling.
“The fight does not end on the battlefield for our wounded warriors. When they come home, far too many of our wounded warriors spend months, sometimes even years, undergoing surgeries and long hospital stays. This gives them a break from hospitals and a chance to be normal,” said James Schenck, President and CEO, PenFed Credit Union and CEO, PenFed Foundation. “The PenFed Foundation Home to Serve Our Willing Warriors will host hundreds of Wounded Warriors and their guests each year to provide a week of normalcy where these brave men and women can reconnect as a family, refresh their minds and renew their spirit in this beautiful place.”
Ben Heffron, a wounded warrior who visited the retreat twice – once with his family and another time as part of a battle buddies reunion – will speak about how important time spent at the retreat is to the healing process and recovery.
Event details are below:
When: Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Media preview house tours and interviews: 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. ET
Ribbon cutting ceremony: 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. ET
House tours and interviews: 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
Who: James Schenck, President and CEO, PenFed Credit Union and CEO PenFed Foundation
Shirley Dominick, co-founder and president of Serve Our Willing Warriors
Ben Heffron, Wounded Warrior
Where: Warrior Retreat at Bull Run
16013 Waterfall Road
Haymarket, VA 20169-2126
The PenFed Foundation Home to Serve Our Willing Warriors’ ribbon cutting ceremony and tour will be open to registered media. At the tour, attendees will have the opportunity to meet some of the resilient warriors and caregivers who have stayed at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run. Special attendees will be available for interview if requested in advance. For more information or to RSVP, contact Kassandra Sebastian (Meholick) at kassandra.meholick@penfed.org or (571) 328-1854.
About PenFed Foundation
Founded in 2001, The PenFed Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that supports veterans in their transition from service to success. Affiliated with PenFed Credit Union, the Foundation has provided more than $50 million in financial support to veterans, active-duty service members and military families. The credit union funds the Foundation's personnel and most operational costs, allowing 99% of incoming donations to go directly to our programs. To learn more, please visit www.penfedfoundation.org.
About Serve Our Willing Warriors
Opened on July 4, 2015, Serve Our Willing Warriors is a volunteer- and community-supported 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization. We provide encouragement and non-medical programs that positively affect the well-being, recuperation, and lives of military service members (Warriors) who are Wounded, Ill, Injured, Recovering, or Recovered from service-related injuries, Veterans, and their families. We partner with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Veteran Service Organizations, businesses, corporations, churches, youth groups, and other public and private sector organizations. The Warrior Retreat at Bull Run is our flagship program. Featuring an 11,000-square foot ADA accessible home on 37-acres in the shadow of the historic Bull Run Mountains in Haymarket, Virginia, the Retreat offers six-day respite stays during which Warriors and their families and caregivers can temporarily escape hospital settings and day-to-day demands to relax, rejuvenate, and reconnect with each other and support networks. Since its founding, Serve Our Willing Warriors has hosted more than 900 Warriors, families, and caregivers. We host only one family at a time. Warriors incur no cost. For more information visit www.willingwarriors.org.
