Wounded Warriors Takes Advantage of the Injured
The nonprofit organization Wounded Warrior Project is being accused of not spending enough money on war veterans according to CNS News.
The Wounded Warrior Project have always been known as the charity that helps war veterans, but now they are starting to be known as criminals. Many allegations have come up regarding that the Wounded Warrior Project is not spending the money they receive on the veterans at all. It wasn’t until allegations arouse by CBS News that then the Wounded Warriors board of directors took action.
In the investigation CBS revealed that the CEO Steven Nardizzi and COO Al Giordano had taken $800 million that was raised through donations and spent it on their employees and not on the war veterans at all. In fact CBS found out that veterans were even denied the proper treatment they needed to recover from injuries.
Military personal have even said that when they or someone they knew needed help after being injured in combat they were no where to be found, “I honestly believe they do not help veterans enough after they return home. I can attest to this claim by my personal experience and utterly say that when my buddy — a marine — who was deployed overseas in the Middle East for 9 months and got injured, he wasn’t helped or notified by the Wounded Warrior Project”, Mike Kampbell. Many people believe that the name of the non-profit organization is used solely for the name sake and to make money.
The investigation by CBS went even further with interviewing former employees of the Wounded Warriors Project. They were asked what the money was actually spent on and the answer was simple, parties and trips for employees.
The Wounded Warrior Project was exposed to the amount they actually spend on war veterans. 60 percent is the amount they spend on the veterans that walked through their doors. Other organizations like Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust spends 94 percent towards helps veterans and Fisher House gives 91 percent of their profits on the men and women that have served.
The nonprofit sales t-shirts, hats, and backpacks also to help raise money. They even send you a Wounded Warrior Project blanket when you donate to them. Some people are complaining that the stuff they sale is too expensive for the warriors themselves, “there are many ways to help, they can begin by reducing prices on their expensive and outrageously priced clothing sold throughout the United States”, Kampbell told me.
When you go to the Wounded Warrior Project website and you click on the tab that says shop they give you all the companies that team up with the Wounded Warrior Project.
Under Armour is there main partner when it comes to clothing. Nothing that they sale is cheaper than twenty dollars, but that is common with Under Armour. If the Wounded Warrior Project would team up with a company that was cheaper it would lower their prices in clothing.
Jacob Newton is a private in the United States Army and he told me that the organization could help in other ways than just lowing their prices, “I think they can reach out and go find veterans.” Newton along with many of other people believe that the company is more focused on making a profit then they are with helping the soldiers feel welcome and getting them to come in and get the help.
What the Wounded Warrior Project also doesn’t do enough of is helping wounded soldiers feel like they are actually useful to everyday life even with an injury. One soldier I talked to named Jonathan Kenerson said “I think they could help more by doing more to create reintegration opportunities. What I mean by that is doing more to make our economy and society more accepting and fitting for wounded soldiers instead of just fitting them in.” Kenerson is right soldiers that come back from war with either a physical or mental illness have troubles getting back to their lives. The Wounded Warrior Project can help these soldiers by spending more money on helping them.
Another problem people have with the Wounded Warrior Project is that they don’t help in the communities enough. All three of the people I interviewed all said the same things in their own way and that was that they are not seen interacting with the community and that they don’t help wounded get back into their own communities, whether that is helping them find work and just adjusting to everyday life again.
War is very different than life back in the states and people try and donate their time, money and resources to help these soldiers come back and get the medical attention they need but people just don’t trust that the Wounded Warrior Project is able to give them the proper attention they need.
