Foundation funds nonprofits’ services to military families
$5-million grant program includes 41 West Texas organizations
Since 2001, our nation has been involved in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Inevitably, armed conflict such as this has a profound impact on the long-term physical and mental health of military personnel and their families.
In February 2007, Permian Basin Area Foundation was awarded a $5 million grant from the Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund of the California Community Foundation to provide funding to West Texas nonprofit organizations that support soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. Permian Basin Area Foundation has responded to funding needs of 41 nonprofit organizations.
TRIAD (Texas Resources for Iraq and Afghanistan Deployment) grantees serve as a life-line for families in emotional and financial despair. Detailed in the nonprofits’ quarterly reports are stories that put a face to the courage and sacrifice of military families. Reuniting families in times of illness, injury and death, paying for the most basic needs including utilities and food, providing counseling and support are just a few examples of the myriad of services provided by these nonprofits.
A parent’s deployment can be particularly stressful for children. Permian Basin Area Foundation devotes a significant amount of TRIAD funding to the needs of children. One such recipient is “Freedom Camp,” a project of Fort Bliss, Texas, Army Community Services. The camp, which is located in New Mexico, includes rappelling, drill and ceremony, high ropes and obstacle courses, all designed to familiarize children of soldiers with the rigors of their parents’ military calling.
