Beach firm gives $1M to fund for warfare families - The Virginian-Pilot
The Navy SEAL Foundation announced Tuesday that a Virginia Beach-based business has donated $1 million to a new fund dedicated to helping the children of commandos killed or wounded in combat - and the foundation is challenging donors to give twice that amount.
ADS Inc. sells tactical and medical equipment to military and other federal agencies. The family-owned company got its start as an arm of the Lynnhaven Dive Center, which does lots of business with members of the special warfare community.
"We are blessed to serve these brave warfighters," Luke Hillier, CEO of ADS, said in a news release. "Their sacrifices are no less than extraordinary. Supporting these special families... is both an honor and a privilege."
Jim Smith, the foundation's executive director, said there was an outpouring of support from individuals and companies after the death of 22 Navy special warfare personnel when a helicopter was downed in Afghanistan in August. But there also were a lot of upfront expenses to cover as families coped with loss.
The foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2000, wants to address the ongoing needs of affected families, and it has learned they often need more assistance for a longer stretch than military benefits provide, Smith said.
For instance, he said, SEAL wives who lost husbands in recent years told him their children often needed more than two years of grief counseling. Many rely on financial counseling arranged by the foundation as they plot new futures for their families. Some surviving spouses need help covering expenses as they prepare to sell a house or complete a home renovation that their husband intended to finish.
Thirty U.S. service members died in the helicopter downing in August. The 22 Navy men among them left behind 12 wives and 26 children, according to the foundation. And though no one likes to say so directly, more families will join their ranks. The number of U.S. military members assigned to Iraq and Afghanistan will drop in coming years, but experts say the nation's reliance on special operations personnel will only grow.
According to forms filed with the IRS, the foundation received $5.4 million in contributions and grants in 2010.
Ultimately, Smith said, the foundation's directors hope to amass a $30 million endowment.
The new fund - called The ADS Inc. Fund for Children of Naval Special Warfare - will enable the foundation to provide some services almost immediately in the wake of a death, including airline tickets and lodging for family members.
"The military's assistance is limited," Smith said. "Ours is less limited."
For instance, the government pays for travel for immediate family after a death.
"Their idea of immediate family is different than our idea of immediate family," Smith said.
But the fund also will cover longer-term needs, Smith said: tutoring for school-age children, leadership opportunities, college or vocational school tuition not covered by existing federal programs.
"We're in it for the long haul," Smith said, "and support for the long haul means that donations have to keep coming."
Donations can be made at www.nswfoundation.org or sent to Navy SEAL Foundation, 1619 D St., Building 5326, Virginia Beach, VA 23459.
Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629, kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com
12 Oct, 2011--
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGNZb7Ri_iKV3FQA4YCOxA5vTb8pw&url=http://hamptonroads.com/2011/10/beach-firm-gives-1m-fund-warfare-families-0
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