Every day, our wounded servicemen and women return from combat, many to long-term rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital. Beginning in late 2004, over 500 individuals and businesses in the Washington Metropolitan Area donated funds to help these service members and their families. In February, 2005, we created the Yellow Ribbon Fund specifically to welcome them into our community through Yellow Ribbon Fund volunteers--friends who care.

Welcoming Our Injured Service Members Home

Long-term rehabilitation at any hospital is not easy. Family and community support helps a patient tremendously in their recovery. Most injured service members at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital are away from their own communities, with only a few family members around and some with none. Many are amputees. These active duty service members' primary responsibility is to successfully accomplish their recovery mission. That mission still leaves many of them a substantial amount of free time.

Yellow Ribbon Fund volunteers arrange opportunities for the patient to enjoy our community, just as members of their local community would do if Walter Reed were there, instead of here. We take them to local sporting events, invite them to join us in hunting, fishing, and other sports. We take them and their families to a variety of other events in our community. When the Government does not cover the cost of a family visit, the Yellow Ribbon Fund arranges free hotel rooms and apartments. If a family is here for an extended period, the Yellow Ribbon Fund arranges taxis and rental cars so that they can enjoy our community.

In our Mentor/Intern Program, we offer these service members the following: (1) an opportunity to use their free time to learn job skills with a local company and to have meaningful interaction with the civilian business community (2) if appropriate, more formal training on the job, in a local business or at a technical institution (3) as required, transportation to and from the job or training site (4) mentors and friends who care.