Spouses donate $2,500 to help heal TBI, PTSD

Maxwell Gunter Officer Spouse Club members present a $2,500 check to the Shepherd’s Men of the Shepherd Center for Traumatic Brain Injury, during the annual fund raising silent auction and dinner, April 16, 2016, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. The money donated to the organization will go toward providing care to U.S. veterans who have sustained a traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Alexa Culbert)

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Spouses donate $2,500 to help heal TBI, PTSD

Published April 19, 2016
By By Airman 1st Class Alexa Culbert
42nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Maxwell Gunter Officer Spouse Club members presented a check for $2,500 to the Shepherd's Men of the Shepherd Center for Traumatic Brain Injury, during the annual MGOSC fundraiser event, the Silent Auction and Dinner, April 16, 2016, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

The Shepherd Center for Traumatic Brain Injury's Share Military Initiative is a comprehensive rehabilitation program that treats military veterans who have sustained traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Within this organization there are the Shepherd's Men. These few raise money for the initiative by running. The group ran over 1,000 miles from Boston to Atlanta from March 26 through April 3. They ran 22 km. a day while wearing a 22 pound flak jacket the entire run. The 22 pounds of extra weight and the 22 km. per day symbolizes the average number of veterans lost to suicide every day.

"What we have done is to help save a generation, because we are dangerously close to losing them ... and believe it or not, the time the we have spent here tonight, someone has been sitting in a room, alone and fragile, struggling with these invisible wounds of war, someone made a decision that would adversely affect their families for generation, a decision to take his or her own life and now they are known as a statistic, not mommy or daddy. It's unacceptable," said Travis Ellis, Shepard's Men member.

The MGOSC is a charitable group based at Maxwell that donates funds, which are earned through the base thrift store and their annual fundraiser event, to various organizations. This is the first time the club has donated to the Shepherd's Men, but Jennie Vander Veen, MGOSC president, said they hope to start a long term relationship with them, because it's such a great organization.

"As military families, we are all service oriented and we have that sense of service before self, and it's important for us to give back. It's just part of our heritage, when we see someone in need, we want to help," said Joni Kwast, MGOSC honoree president.
The $2,500 donated by the MGOSC will go toward the Shepherd Center's Military Share 12-week rehabilitation program.

Ellis said the money will be used to allow veterans to have hope and peace and restore a sense of normalcy to their lives.

"We're honored for your support, this will make a difference, said Ellis. "We've raised about $6,000 to date, and we're still pushing forward to get this million dollar goal. We thank you for your support, your engagement and I would just encourage each person in this room, every day when you wake up, do the impossible, engage in the fight, share the burden, aim high and win. We're grateful and we're honored."