Boosting the awareness of military help groups

After last year’s successful first-time fundraiser at the Lawrence Yacht & Country Club raised more than $32,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project, organizers of the Honor U.S. Veterans Day event expanded its scope and will include four more veteran organizations for this year’s Sept. 20 event to honor disabled veterans.
Along with the Wounded Warrior Project, a group that provides a variety of programs and services to military veterans such as stress recovery, family and peer support, transition work training and physical activities that encompasses sports, fitness, nutrition and wellness, the day will also incorporate wounded veterans post-9/11 from America’s VetDogs, Folds of Honor, the Soldiers Project and Boots on the Ground.
“America’s Vetdogs is thrilled to be a part of this wonderful event,” said Jaime McGrade, the community fundraising events manager for the Smithtown-based organization. “Fundraising is rewarding and it’s nice to know that a difference was made at the end.”
She learned about the event through Eva Green, a club member and event volunteer, who raises puppies that become guide dogs. America’s Vetdogs provides veterans with guide dogs that meet their specific needs, as well as a variety of dog-related rehabilitation programs. The services are free.
McGrade is not sure how many veterans from her group will play tennis, golf or fish — all suffer from either physical or emotional disabilities — but she said: “They are very excited to attend the event and have the opportunity to partake in the activities.” Five Towns native Dr. Susan R. Cohen, a co-founder of the Long Island chapter of the Soldiers Project, a California-based nonprofit, found out about the Veterans Day through friends from high school who are now club members. Cohen graduated from Woodmere High School, now Hewlett High School.

At least 10 veterans will attend the event and four will be fishing, Cohen said. The group offers therapy and serves as a support system between the service men and women and mental health practitioners. The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Manhasset and various locations in Suffolk County is where the L.I. chapters meets.
“This event gives us the opportunity to honor veterans,” she said. “Soldiers Project gets to dot outreach and receive more name recognition, which will help spread the word that services are available for veterans and loved ones.” Folds of Honor an Oklahoma-based organization raises money for scholarships for family members of veterans who have been “adversely affected by deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan,” according to the organization’s mission statement.
This month, the group will award 2,500 scholarships valued at $12.5 million, said Tony Biata, a member of the Professional Golfers Association, serves as a vice president of the annual Folds of Honor Patriot Day golf tournament.
“It’s a great chance to raise money for [Folds of Honor] because the event involves golf, which has always been the most successful way of raising money,” said Biata, who doesn’t know how many veterans connected with Fold of Honor will attend. “Perhaps with this increase awareness more dependent, who aren’t getting all the help they could be getting, learn about Folds of Honor and receive the help they are meant to have.”
Along with tennis, golf and fishing, the event will include a lunch, cocktail hour, dinner, raffles and prizes. All golfers and tennis players will get a hat and shirt. RSVPs must be in by Aug. 20.
For more information about reservations, donations and sponsorships contact either Barry Ringelheim at (516) 745-8820 or 662-3790 and barry.ringelheim@ubs.com or Dr. Robert Raider at (516) 816-4803 or rgrdvm@aol.com.

Carina Kohn contributed to this story.