Every poet and lyricist worth their salt writes of the heart losing its life, vitality, reason for being…On Valentine’s Day, perhaps more than most, you may be aware of your own heart and its comfort with your situation, or restlessness at not having another to beat with. If, as Pat Benatar sang, “Love is a Battlefield,” then on this Valentine’s Day, think about stretching your heart a size or two larger, and connecting with the Wounded Warrior Project. WWP acted in response to all the news about soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, and wanted to make a small but thoughtful contribution to the lives of the wounded. Instead of brass bands and parades, WWP delivers their backpacks bedside to wounded soldiers. Inside a WWP pack are intuitive items of clothing, toiletries, playing cards, the things that make recuperation time in a hospital a bit more humane since the system can be dehumanizing. From that effort to empower and comfort recovering soldiers, additional projects have sprung: Family support and combat stress recovery programs, physical health and wellness programs and events, economic recovery training and career counseling/training, and peer mentoring and community building programs. Alumni can’t seems to express how much the personalized attention and help has meant on the road to recovery and reentry. Think about getting involved in one of many ways, including volunteering.
And THAT, more than Godiva chocolates and long-stem roses, is what the heart wants…to give and to receive.
Change by Doing 