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A visit earlier this year to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center prompted the Help Hospitalized Vets organization to give the hospital a substantial monetary donation.
The group came to Germany a few months ago and returned Sept. 7 to present the LRMC Chaplain’s Corps with a check for $200,000. The money will be earmarked mainly for clothing and shoes.
“There was even a stipulation that if we needed more, they could provide it,” said Chaplain (Col.) James Griffith. “We have a long list of things we provide for servicemembers who come here and the items are always available in our clothing closet, which we call our Wounded Warrior Ministry Center. We spend about $20,000 a month on clothing items for people hospitalized here.”
Patients at LRMC come from downrange war theaters in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also from the general citizenry and from non-hostile militarized areas.
The visiting Help Hospitalized Veterans board members listened as acting LRMC Commander Col. John Collins delivered a briefing to explain what goes on in a day-to-day scenario at the hospital.
“It’s an incredible organization,” Colonel Collins said of HHV. “When you consider the Wounded Warriors and the care of patients – it’s a unifying factor.”
The majority of the donations will be used to purchase shoes, but there was no specific purpose given by the visitors on how to spend it. The Chaplains Corps spends about $3,000 on footwear each month.
“It’s to be used as best you see fit,” Mike Lynch of HHV told Chaplain Griffith and the other Chaplains Corps representatives. “If there are other needs that you or others here at the hospital can brief us on, perhaps we can help you all with those things, too.”
HHV has raised over $285 million since it was founded 31 years ago as a vehicle to assist veterans with health issues.
