A 'priceless' donation
The dollar amount assigned to The American Legion’s Operation Comfort Warriors (OCW) donation to the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run in Haymarket, Va., is $10,000. But value will be much higher than that.
The donation will go to pay for a week’s stay at the retreat this summer for five servicemembers – and their families – most likely recovering at the Fort Belvoir Warrior Transition Unit and Walter Reed National Medical Center. But John Dominick – vice president and co-founder of Serving Our Willing Warriors, the nonprofit that runs the Warrior Retreat – said the donation means even more than that.
“You hear certain things are great and certain things that are priceless,” Dominick said. “No matter what the value of it is, you can’t put a price tag on it. From a value point, that will typically get us through five weeks of stays (for five families). That’s the financial value.
“Now if you look at the emotional (side). The value to the family itself – how do you put a price tag on that? It’s incredible.”
Located on 37 acres in Prince William County, Warrior Retreat at Bull Run features a half-court basketball court, garden, fire pit, walking trails and a playground. Inside the 11,000-square-foot home on the property are five bedroom suites, a game room featuring a pool table and large-screen television, a library, an exercise center and a full kitchen.
Typically one family stays at the house, checking in on Friday and leaving the following Wednesday. The facility opened last April; its co-founder hopes to add three more houses to the property to accommodate more than one family at a time.
“When you’ve been in a hospital … after 10 days, you start going stir crazy,” Dominick said. “You want to get out of there. It compounds the challenge of recovery. Our idea was to give a respite from the medical center and offer a little mini-vacation.”
American Legion Post 1799 in Haymarket has provided volunteers to help run the retreat, and also has donated items such as flags, blankets and cleaning supplies. Tom Henning, who serves as the post’s liaison to the retreat, applied for the OCW grant for the facility.
“I’m very proud of The American Legion,” Henning said. “I’m extremely honored to have worked with the retreat for the past couple of years. It’s a week away from the hospital (for the recovering warriors). The hospital environment can be a little grueling at times for them and their families.”
Department of Virginia Commander Jim Chapman was on hand for the donation. “It’s critical to get the families to join (the wounded warriors) at the same time,” he said. “The families suffer at the same time. When you bring them all together at a place like this, where they can relax … it benefits everybody.”