Resilience Through Adversity
The Bob Woodruff Foundation brings you stories of hope, community insights, and examples of positive action.
The most challenging of circumstances can bring out the best in humanity. Our veterans know this better than most. As we collectively deal with unprecedented challenges, we are fortunate to work with a community of veterans, their families, and caregivers who are known for their resilience through adversity.
Our grantees have persevered through difficult times. We are so appreciative of all of our partners and applaud their efforts to keep their attention focused on the military/veteran community that we jointly serve.
We invite you to join us here for updates on how the Bob Woodruff Foundation and our network that highlight the important work being done for our veterans and military families.
Our team will continue to keep you informed about issues impacting our community and creative insights from our partners serving veterans. We remain steadfast in the pursuit of our mission through these uncertain times and beyond.
Arts in The Armed Forces (AITAF)
Arts in The Armed Forces (AITAF) uses the power of shared artistic experiences to better connect the military and civilian worlds. Founded by successful actors Adam Driver and Joanne Tucker, AITAF has enlisted the help of iconic actors including Laurence Fishburne, Laura Linney, Samira Wiley, Anthony Ramos, Ben Stiller, and many more to bring access to the arts through live performances for veterans and active-duty military members. After Driver’s service in the U.S. Marine Corps. concluded, he noticed a disconnect between the culture he was accustomed to in the military and the civilian world. Driver made it his goal to help bridge this gap.
Easter Seals
Easter Seals equips veterans with the tools they need for meaningful employment, education, and overall wellness through 69 local affiliates in communities across the nation. COVID-19 has hit Texas particularly hard with the ramifications of the virus extending way beyond public health. Over three million unemployment claims have been filed since the pandemic began. In the Houston region, where residents are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, the pandemic is impacting an economy already trying to find its footing after the storm. Easter Seals of Greater Houston is offering virtual peer support opportunities and is providing direct emergency financial relief to 150 veteran households whose recovery from Hurricane Harvey has been slowed by COVID-19. Their services will be critical in post-COVID-19 economic recovery efforts as veterans return to the workforce.
Team Rubicon
Our friends at Team Rubicon continue to leverage the skills of veterans to provide emergency assistance during natural disasters. In response to COVID-19, they’ve launched a #NeighborsHelpingNeighbors campaign to ensure that high-risk populations are safe during the pandemic. While nationally coordinated efforts will make a huge difference, on a local level we can check on our vulnerable neighbors to make sure they’re safe and stocked up on food and medical supplies. Team Rubicon emphasizes the value of these “individual acts of service.” Each act of service, even if small on the surface, helps get our communities through this crisis.
New York-Presbyterian Military Family Wellness Center
Social distancing doesn’t have to equate to a gap in medical services for veterans. New York-Presbyterian Military Family Wellness Center was already providing high-quality medical care for veterans before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the program could be more important than ever, as they move forward with cutting edge services including Clinical Video Telehealth. The Military Family Wellness Center is able to capture vital health information that can help paint a holistic medical diagram of patients for physicians.
Tuesday’s Children
There’s plenty of resources out there to help us stay entertained and ease the stress of being isolated during COVID-19. But where do you start? Thankfully, Tuesday’s Children, an NFL-BWF grantee, has put together a comprehensive list of cool activities for both children and adults including online art lessons, virtual museum tours, and even Broadway shows! Check out their full list here.
Veterans Yoga Project
Our partner, Veterans Yoga Project (VYP) streams over 5 hours of live yoga content every single day from VYP teachers around the globe. Visit the VYP Online Streaming Classes page on Facebook to join any of the 11 live daily practices to include movement, meditation, breathing, guided rest, and gratitude. Free to access, watch, share, and practice!
Merging Vets and Players (MVP)
MVP brings together veterans and former athletes to combat social isolation. Recognizing the implications of COVID-19, they quickly adapted operations to continue safely supporting their members. In four days, their team moved programming over to Zoom hosting the first-ever virtual workout and huddle in each of their cities. In Los Angeles alone, they had over 60 participants on the platform. MVP was featured on Good Morning America, showcasing how they focus on staying socially connected while maintaining a safe physical distance.
Sesame Workshop
It’s safest to stay home right now, but there’s one street you can always visit. As part of their new “Caring for Each Other” initiative, Sesame Workshop is offering messages of kindness, virtual playdates with Sesame friends, online learning activities, and more to support families with young children at home. BWF and Sesame Workshop recently partnered to develop resources for military caregiving families — all of this and more is available online.
Combined Arms
Combined Arms, a BWF-Qatar Harvey Fund grantee, issued a call to action for veterans to help neighbors in need. As community leaders, veterans can volunteer to take inventory of local needs, create a group chat for sharing important news related to COVID-19. See below for a video describing this Neighborhood Leader Initiative.
