Hope For The Warriors Grants Wish to South Carolina Veteran
Columbia, SC (PRWEB) April 07, 2014 -- Hope For The Warriors® is proud to grant Lance Cpl. Hector Sanchez, USMC (Ret.), along with his family, a trip to his native Puerto Rico. Sanchez was born in Puerto Rico but adopted as an infant and raised in the United States. Granted as part of the A Warrior’s Wish® Program, the Sanchez family hopes that this trip will be an integral part of his therapeutic recovery by connecting him with his culture and history. The Sanchez Wish was one of 12 Wishes granted in 2014 by Hope For The Warriors®, a national nonprofit dedicated to restoring a sense of self, restoring the family unit, and restoring hope for our service members and our military families.
Sanchez served eight years in the Marine Corps, including a total of 19 months deployed to Iraq. During his combat, he endured the impact of five IEDs and witnessed severe combat conditions during his two deployments. It was clear to Aida Sanchez, his wife, that Sanchez was suffering from PTSD; she began looking for help.
Aida turned to Hope For The Warriors® and step by step, the nonprofit organization began working with the entire family. Aida saw significant psychological recovery in Hector after various types of counseling and applied to the A Warrior’s Wish® Program on his behalf. Hector is a mentor with the Department of Juvenile Justice, Big Brother, Big Sister, and the Food Bank. Through this volunteer work, and with the support of his family, Hector keeps himself regimented to take control of his own recuperation.
As an avid photographer, Hector is looking to understand and appreciate his identity and passions. This trip will serve as a keen opportunity to document his time in Puerto Rico as, what he and his wife call, a “cultural expedition.” Their two young children, Hector, Jr. and Isis, will be joining them in Puerto Rico.
“I think about what [Hope For The Warriors® is] doing for us and it just makes me smile,” Aida said. “From us being ignored and me personally going through these things, for someone to come and do something so extremely amazing and powerful just keeps me going.”
A Warrior’s Wish® supports the long-term goal of hope beyond recovery through financial grants. These Wishes fulfill a desire for a better quality of life or support a quest for life-gratifying endeavors. Knowing that Wishes can come true directly affects service members’ spirits in addition to the families and communities that support them. Whether realizing a dream to sail, ride a bike again, or own a home adapted to specialized needs, Hope For The Warriors® honors the goals and desires of wounded service members and their families.
The mission of Hope For The Warriors® (http://www.hopeforthewarriors.org) is to enhance the quality of life for post-9/11 service members, their families, and families of the fallen who have sustained physical and psychological wounds in the line of duty. Hope For The Warriors® is dedicated to restoring a sense of self, restoring the family unit, and restoring hope for our service members and our military families.
Hope For The Warriors® has earned a Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org) for three consecutive years. Charity Navigator is an independent organization that evaluates fiscal responsibility and accountability of nonprofits.
Hope For The Warriors® (Federal Tax ID 20-5182295) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity as defined in sections 509(A)(1) and 170(B)(1)(A)(VI) of the Internal Revenue Code. Combined Federal Campaign, CFC #27800.
###
Anne Barnwell, Hope For The Warriors, http://www.hopeforthewarriors.org, +1 910.554.1505, [email protected]
Share this article