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Recent Entries

• Take the Nonprofit Stress Test
• A New Era for Philanthropy?
• No, Not A Retreat!
• Dogging Questions
• Cleansing and Renewal

Recent Comments

• By Ellen Ende from the entry 'Take the Nonprofit Stress Test'
• By David from the entry 'American Pride'
• By Mary from the entry 'American Pride'
• By Car Accident Claim from the entry 'American Pride'
• By love me from the entry 'American Pride'
• By Cash Gifting from the entry 'American Pride'
• By sergio from the entry 'American Pride'
• By Victor from the entry 'American Pride'
• By Road Accident Claim from the entry 'American Pride'
• By Kathline from the entry 'American Pride'

Capt. Richard Phillips made me well up with pride as I watched his homecoming speech. “I’m not the hero,“ he said. “The military is the hero. Thank them.“ Wow.

Indeed there are many heroes in the return of the captain and crew of the Maersk Alabama from the grasp of the pirates. A success like that doesn’t happen unless many people play their roles well from the President to the military, so many people behind the scenes, the ship’s owners, the crew and their captain.

I want to focus today, as Capt. Phillips urged, on the military. Capt. Phillips is right. Our military personnel are heroes every day, even when their efforts are pushed from the front pages of the newspaper.

The wounded, particularly, are heroes, and their families bear a huge burden when their lives have to adjust to their bread winner’s treatment, recovery and subsequent disability. The military does a lot for these people, but they cannot do enough.

We have a group of heroes here in the Richmond area doing something about this problem. They call themselves Families of the Wounded (http://www.familiesofthewoundedfund.org), and they are a 501(c)(3) public charity, and they operate from Midlothian.

The board consists of veterans who care for their own. Nothing seems beyond their capability. Every dollar they raise goes to the families of the wounded. A wounded soldier shows up at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, and the group’s president, R. Calvert “Cal” Esleeck, Jr. hands the family a check for $6,000. No strings attached and no questions asked. As many of these people are in financial straits, receiving a check like this can be a religious experience.

I have known about this group since their formation at the height of the Iraq War, and I had a chance to re-connect at a recent breakfast with Cal, Paul Galanti and our host, Bruce Heilman. Talk about being in the presence of a hero, I hope you have the chance to have breakfast sometime with Bruce Heilman in the Heilman Dining Center at the University of Richmond. This first class facility rivals any of its kind, and it is a fitting tribute to a man who as University President left a legacy of greatness. Ever a Marine, Bruce, who is in his 80’s, was well into his breakfast and preparing for his day when I arrived at 7:15.

Paul told me a story about a soldier’s wife who literally prayed for a solution to her dilemma. Cal showed up with a check the next day, and her relief is still palpable years later. She told Cal he was her angel.

I checked out the facts on zero operating expenses by reviewing the organization’s IRS Form 990. In 2007, expenses were $176,700, and not a dime went to operating expenses. Cal, who knows a thing or two about accounting, prepares the tax forms by hand for free. Village Bank handles administrative costs like printing. The volunteers pay for everything themselves.

So, the next time you are looking for a way to do what Capt. Phillips suggests and say thank you to the military, here is a great way to do it. Make a gift to Families of the Wounded. The angel who arrives with a $6,000 check will deliver your thanks in a way that truly makes a difference.