The Yellow Ribbon Fund provides supplemental assistance to America’s wounded, ill, and injured service members and their families and caregivers. Their mission is to bridge the gap between the service members’ needs and earned benefits, enabling families to stay together during lengthy medical treatment and rehabilitation. The TowerCares grant will support the Walter Reed chapter of the Keystone Program, which services more than 200 military caregivers in Maryland, northern Virginia, and DC. The program offers peer-to-peer support, health and wellness opportunities, family retreats, life-skills development, education, and more. Funds will be used to offer hunting and fishing retreats at Patriot Point, another TowerCares charity partner.

Horizons Greater Washington (HGW) helps prepare students from low-income families in the Washington, D.C. area for success by building academic and life skills outside the traditional school year. The TowerCares grant will support HGW’s six-week Summer Program, which blends high-quality academics with an emphasis on literacy and STEM with fitness, cultural enrichment, field trips, and swim lessons. Students rotate through classes in reading, language arts, science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

The Baltimore Station offers an innovative therapeutic residential outpatient treatment program for Veterans who are overcoming obstacles to help regain self-sufficiency. The TowerCares grant will help provide equine therapy for homeless Veterans currently living at The Baltimore Station. The equine therapy will be provided by Maryland Therapeutic Riding, another TowerCares charity partner. The lessons are adaptive for individuals with physical, cognitive, and/or emotional challenges. The benefits of equine therapy include increased strength, balance, coordination, and self-confidence resulting in hope and healing.

The Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) enhances the lives of enlisted service members and their families in spirit, mind, and body through programs relevant to the unique challenges of military life. The TowerCares grant will support the ASYMCA Child Care Expansion program, which helps military spouses pursue employment to provide vital resources for their family through job training and education, and affordable childcare and youth programs.

The Mercy Medical Angels mission is to remove the barrier to medical care with transportation on the ground and in the air. They provide free ground and air transportation to and from critical medical treatments for children and Veterans of low-income households who are residents in the Washington, DC/Baltimore, Maryland corridor. The TowerCares grant will help provide 100 free trips to medical treatments for critically ill children and Veterans.

Home Base is dedicated to healing the invisible wounds of Veterans from all eras, service members, military families, and families of the fallen through world-class clinical care, wellness, education, and research. The TowerCares grant will support Home Base’s Comprehensive Brain Health and Treatment (ComBHaT) Program, which serves Veterans from Special Operations Forces. The program provides intensive treatment for military heroes and Veterans with PTSD, chronic pain, sleep disorders, mood difficulties, and other health factors that influence long-term brain health and performance.

The mission of Every Mind, Inc. is to strengthen communities and empower individuals to reach optimal mental wellness. The TowerCares grant will support the ServingTogether Project, which provides critical mental health services and support for military and Veterans in Maryland, DC, and Virginia through peer navigation, collaborative groups, and education. The goal of the ServingTogether Project is to provide one centralized point of entry for curated, coordinated care to meet the unique mental health needs of our military and Veteran community.

Baltimore Outreach Services (BOS) provides comprehensive programs and services for homeless women and their children in Baltimore City, Maryland including food, clothing, education, employment, culinary arts job training, and temporary/permanent housing. Their goal is to address the underlying causes of homelessness and provide the women with the tools and resources to remain stably housed and independent. The TowerCares grant will support the BOS Children’s Program, which provides after-school homework help and skill-building assistance in math and reading as well as extracurricular learning activities when school is not in session. The children BOS serves have high rates of absenteeism due to homelessness, learning disabilities, ADHD, and mental health issues.

Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital in Baltimore, Md. is dedicated to maximizing the health and independence of the children they serve. The TowerCares grant will support Child Life and Therapeutic Recreation at the hospital’s UM Capital Region Medical Center. The program helps children and their families cope with and adjust after an illness, injury, and hospitalization. Funds will be used for new toys, books, rehabilitation and adaptive equipment, infant massage classes, and activities for siblings of hospitalized children.

The mission of Mentoring Mentors is to address the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences by building community inter-dependency, enhancing academic achievement, and exposing at-risk youth to positive mentoring experiences. The TowerCares grant will support the Intensive Afterschool/Mentoring Program in Baltimore City, Maryland. The students are referred to the program by partner schools due to a high rate of absenteeism, inability to connect with peers, and struggles with maintaining passing grades. Through the mentoring program, students participate in 3-4 days per week of afterschool programming to include financial literacy, homework help from college students, professional small group tutoring, certification training, network mentoring, experiential outdoor education, and community service hours.