The Trustees of the Putnam Avenue Family Trust have announced the awarding of their first million dollars in charitable grants to five organizations that provide support services to veterans and those active duty military personnel recently returned from deployment. The organizations were selected on their proven ability to work with veterans who are in need of emotional, physical or career support.
Trustees Greg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson stated, “We cannot think of a more urgent priority than addressing the needs of those men and women who have defended our nation. Many of these veterans are faced with a myriad of real and immediate personal issues that range from trauma to foreclosures. These grant awards reflect the beginning of a process that allows us to leverage lottery winnings into materially helping our society.”
Organizations that will receive $200,000 each are: The Bob Woodruff Foundation, www.remind.org, Building Homes for Heroes, www.buildinghomesforheroes.org, Services for the Under Served (S.U.S.), www.sus.org, Operation First Response www.operationfirstresponse.org and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, www.fallenheroesfund.org.
S.U.S. Chief Executive Officer Donna Colonna said, “We are stunned by the generosity and heartened by the fact that the Trust has heard our call to action. By helping the thousands of veterans who have returned from our nation’s wars, and who are now need of assistance, we are keeping faith with those who have worn the uniform, defended our freedoms and suffered terribly from that experience. We are thankful to the Putnam Avenue Family Trust but more important, we are grateful that they are giving us the financial tools to sustain our veterans support programs.”
We are extremely humbled and thankful – especially during this holiday season – to be considered by the Putnam Avenue Family Trust for this kind of generosity,” said David Winters, President of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Foundation. “As our troops return home from Iraq this month, we are ramping up our efforts to serve the needs of those suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress, the signature injuries of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. This donation will greatly help our efforts to construct satellite centers that will help diagnose and treat those conditions, working in conjunction with the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) in Bethesda, which we opened last year.”
“The Bob Woodruff Foundation is grateful to be the recipient of such a generous donation from the Putnam Family Trust demonstrating their commitment to the men and women who have volunteered to serve our country. This donation will allow our Foundation to support injured service members and those who care for them in the areas of employment, education and other meaningful activities to help them reintegrate after they transition home from the battlefield,” offered Bob Woodruff, journalist, ABC News and Co-Founder of the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
President of Operation First Response, Peggy Baker, said, “Our organization has the honor of serving our nation’s Wounded Heroes and their families on a daily basis. To the families we serve, this generous donation will be making a significant difference in their lives. The staff and board members of Operation First Response consider this a Christmas miracle and wish to express our deepest gratitude to the Trustees of Putnam Avenue Family Trust.”
“Building Homes for Heroes couldn’t be more ecstatic about this incredible act of patriotism and generosity. This tremendous donation will help our organization build a minimum of four homes for severely wounded American heroes in the coming year. By helping the brave men and women realize the American dream of home ownership, The Putnam Avenue Family Trust is making a significant difference in the lives of some very special families. On behalf of those who return home severely injured, we thank The Putnam Avenue Family Trust from the bottom of our hearts, explained Andy Pujol, the group’s Founder and President.
Restating their early comments this week, the Trustees explained, “We are leveraging our professional experience and our collective success in money management to ensure these lottery dollars go far further than their face value. If we are successful, we believe the creation of this Trust, and its legacy, will serve as a national model for others who have been equally fortunate in winning sweepstakes and now seek to use those dollars to touch the lives of others.”
Posted on December 5 2011 in News