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Letter from a Soldier

December 20, 2020 by Peter Whalen

Letter from a Soldier

Dear Sir,
Ammunition Christmas treeI have not been stationed in the US since 1995, and the nature of my job will keep me overseas throughout my career. Although I am not always viewed as that soldier with “dusty boots,” I know all too well what it is like to be away from home for so long — especially during the holidays.

I would like, however, to take this opportunity to thank you, and America, for being the fine, grand, noble Nation that makes each and every one of us out here serving in the military extremely proud of the country and the people we protect.

You don’t necessarily have to pray for us soldiers, as we have chosen this life….and we will sacrifice our life for OUR people and OUR country. No, do not pray for us this holiday season…..Pray for OUR Nation and Her people……for only then will the life we ‘chose’ be worthwhile.

Yes, I do pray for peace on Earth…always. But, “there will be wars, and rumors of wars,” so, in the meantime; maybe, just maybe, this year you can put out a suggestion to OUR American people…… We tend to fly our flag on 4th of July, we tend to fly our flag on Veteran’s Day……maybe this year, through your web-site, you could maybe “ask” the American people to put a small American Flag on their Christmas Tree, amongst their ornaments, (or within their own religious ceremony/custom) just to “remember.”

A small reminder that “we” are free to celebrate whatever holiday, however we please, because of that flag and what She represents. Sir, I have volunteered to protect ALL Americans… Christian, Jewish, Agnostic, even Atheist…. it is my proud honor to do so…. and all I ask is that maybe, during this “holiday” season (whether one believes in it or not) is your help in asking “America” to wave Her flag in Unity and be thankful for our Grand Nation. It would mean a lot to us out here, wherever we are……

EPILOGUE
The Giving Season has arrived and with it an outreach email to the Friends of the Invictus Foundation to consider a donation to the Invictus Foundation in 2020. A donation can easily be made by going to www.invictusfoundation.org and hitting the donate button.

For your review I have attached a jpeg visually representing that ten years of effort in executing the first phase of our capstone strategy has been achieved. WHN 2020 Coverage This year we completed our eighth and final regional Welcome Home Network covering the New England states.

Starting in 2021 we will begin moving forward on the funding and development of eight regional Invictus Centers for TBI & Psychological Health. As with the WHNs we will build out the Centers moving West to East. Our first one will be built in Orting, WA on a beautiful piece of land that fits one of our strategic requirements that the Centers be built in a pastoral setting.

Each Center will cost 3M dollars to build. Attached is a jpeg of an architectural rendering of the Centers. Invictus Center As I promised with the Welcome Home Networks there will be no long-term endowment required to keep the Centers operating. They will be self-sustaining.

For the past ten years we have built out the WHNs by the generosity of corporate sponsors, grants, high net worth individuals and grass roots fund raising. Now we will begin to move into the capital construction phase of building the Centers which are the capstones to our strategic and tactical capstone strategy. They will require capital construction costs of 3M dollars each to build. To raise those types of funds we will need to have a more robust fund-raising infrastructure than we currently have in place.

My “ask” of the Friends of the Invictus Foundation is specifically around the strengthening of our fundraising infrastructure. I have researched and sought proposals from three companies I believe offer the Foundation the best value for its money. I have narrowed it to one contractor and the cost of engaging them to help us strengthen our fundraising efforts would be $25,000 thousand dollars. This line-item expense will help us put in place the infrastructure necessary to raise the 3M dollars in capital construction costs to build our first Center in Orting.

Thanking you in advance for your review and consideration of our Christmas Ask.

We Must Mend Them

December 31, 2019 by Peter Whalen

If We Send Them We Must Mend Them

Healing Invisible Wounds of WarOne of the many hats I wear as the CEO of the Invictus Foundation is that of Chief Fundraising Officer (CFO). As with all my other hats it comes with no salary (: In this role I believe that it is incumbent upon me to fully explain why with all the “white noise” out there this time of year clamoring for your year-end donation dollars the Invictus Foundation’s “ask” should be acted upon. The answer to that question is “because we have earned it”. We believe that “donor fatigue” is real and that hard earned money should and will go to charitable organizations that can prove they have earned it.

I intend to reinforce my answer through throwback commercials that reinforce some principle guiding precepts of the Invictus Foundation: (1) Hard work and organizational craftsmanship produces value, (2) public relations hype and slick, expensive commercials do not trump actions speak louder than words and (3) telephone calls and web based meetings will never replace old fashioned fashion eye contact and a handshake to project donor-centricity.

The first precept is reinforced in this video Click on Link. The second precept is underscored in this video Click on Link. and finally the third precept is brought to life in this video Click on Link. We at the Invictus Foundation have built something of long-term value and have done so by strategically and tactically paying attention to the above precepts to build out the Invictus Foundation.

Our adherence to these precepts produced the attached results in 2018. 2018 Annual Report. We produced this value with an AFR (Administrative and Fundraising) cost of 5% i.e. 95% of every donated dollars goes into services and programs. That number is substantiated and validated by GuideStar, a third-party reviewer of charitable enterprises, where we have a Gold Star rating with them for transparency to donors.

To donors I have likened the Invictus Foundation to the “Quiet Company” whose actions and results do speak louder than words. We use the three-legged stool of grants, corporate donations and grass roots fund-raising to fund our services and programs. Like most non-profits 80% of our donations come from 20% of our donors. Ironically, we operate under conditions similar to what our young men and women in the military experience; 1% of them are expected to be the sentinels of Freedom’s Gate so the rest of us can enjoy those freedoms. Where is the Outrage – A Must Read

In closing, I respectfully ask that you donate to the Invictus Foundation’s vision and mission by going to www.invictusfoundation.org and clicking on the donate button. With your gift you will turn the phrase “support our troops” from a slogan into action. Your gift will support an effort that will contribute to our Nation’s military, veterans and their families who have given so selflessly of themselves to us and replace despair and disconnectedness with hope, resiliency and recovery for those suffering from the invisible wounds of war.

Say a Prayer for the Military at Christmas Time

December 18, 2019 by Peter Whalen

https://invictusfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Peterj-Whalen-Invictus-Foundation-October-2019.mp4

 

At this hour, a military family is missing a loved one at Christmas. Maybe their soldier, sailor, airman, Coast Guardsman or Marine is away for training. Maybe their loved one is deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, the Southern Border or an undisclosed location. Or perhaps their loved one is one of almost 7,000 Americans – including 24 this year – to return from the Middle East in a flag-draped casket.

As we celebrate Christmas, there is no group of Americans who deserve our gratitude more than the one percent of our population that volunteers to serve. Every moment of every day, U.S. troops and their families are making enormous sacrifices to protect the 99 percent of us who don’t wear the uniform, as well as innocent people abroad.

Unless it’s Veterans Day or Memorial Day, it’s increasingly difficult to keep the military’s sacrifices at the forefront of our national consciousness. That’s why this Christmas, the Invictus Foundation is asking you to say a special prayer for our troops, veterans and all military families. Asking God to watch over our heroes is not only appropriate, but will remind everyone at your Christmas table celebration that somewhere – at this very moment – an American warrior is defending liberty.

About the Invictus Foundation

Invictus Foundation™ is a national nonprofit organization providing individual and family behavioral health counseling services regardless of their ability to pay to active duty military service members, veterans and their families. Invictus Foundation partners with behavioral health providers across the U.S. to provide improved access and increased behavioral health services to uniformed personnel, veterans and their families.

Thanks in advance for your time. And as always, thanks for being a Friend of the Invictus Foundation. It is our goal to inform and educate our readers on the vision and mission of the Invictus Foundation.

Sincerely,
The Team at Invictus Foundation

Say a Prayer for the Military at Thanksgiving Dinner

November 25, 2019 by Peter Whalen

If We Send Them We Must Mend Them

At this hour, a military family is missing a loved one at Thanksgiving. Maybe their soldier, sailor, airman, Coast Guardsman or Marine is away for training. Maybe their loved one is deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, the Southern Border or an undisclosed location. Or perhaps their loved one is one of almost 7,000 Americans – including 24 this year – to return from the Middle East in a flag-draped casket.

As we give thanks, there is no group of Americans who deserve our gratitude more than the one percent of our population that volunteers to serve. Every moment of every day, U.S. troops and their families are making enormous sacrifices to protect the 99 percent of us who don’t wear the uniform, as well as innocent people abroad.

Unless it’s Veterans Day or Memorial Day, it’s increasingly difficult to keep the military’s sacrifices at the forefront of our national consciousness. That’s why this Thanksgiving, the Invictus Foundation is asking you to say a special prayer for our troops, veterans and all military families. Asking God to watch over our heroes is not only appropriate, but will remind everyone at your table that somewhere – at this very moment – an American warrior is defending liberty.

About the Invictus Foundation

Invictus Foundation™ is a national nonprofit organization providing individual and family behavioral health counseling services regardless of their ability to pay to active duty military service members, veterans and their families. Invictus Foundation partners with behavioral health providers across the U.S. to provide improved access and increased behavioral health services to uniformed personnel, veterans and their families

The War After the War

A cut from Mary Gauthier’s brilliant album “Rifles and Rosary Beads.”

Take the time to listen and to reflect. Powerful truths in the lyrics of this song.

We urge those who want to understand how the invisible wounds of war are inflicted upon these men and women to purchase Mary’s Rifles and Rosary Beads. It was nominated for a Grammy Award and its songs speak powerfully to the impact of war on those who fight it on our behalf.

Thanks in advance for your time. And as always, thanks for being a Friend of the Invictus Foundation. It is our goal to inform and educate our readers on the vision and mission of the Invictus Foundation.

D-Day Hero – Mr. Jack Gutman

November 11, 2019 by Peter Whalen

The Invictus Foundation is Proud to Announce the Addition of Mr. Jack Gutman, D-Day Hero, to its Advisory Board

Jack GutmanSEATTLE, October 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ —The Invictus Foundation™, a national nonprofit organization providing individual and family behavioral health counseling services with licensed behavioral health practitioners across the U.S to uniformed service members, veterans and their families, takes great pride in announcing the addition of Mr. Jack Gutman, D-Day hero, as the newest member of its Advisory Board.

“For a very long time I have been searching for a member of the Greatest Generation who took part in the Normandy invasion and the nightmare that has become known as “Bloody Omaha”; Omaha Beach. When I saw Jack’s interview on a nationally televised news broadcast I knew I had found that individual. Click on this link to see Jack’s interview.

“In order to heal other veterans so they don’t feel so alone in their suffering I wrote a book about my experience, Mr. Gutman states. In my book One Veteran’s Journey to Heal the Wounds of War, I reveal my own nightmarish experience as an eighteen year old Navy corpsman on Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion. My book is a genuine reflection of the scope and duration of my struggle with Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD). In it I describe my life-long panic attacks, night terrors, depression, and addictions, the latter which I used to “distract” myself from going mad”. Click on this link to review the book and its reviews.

“Jack was a kid sent to do a man’s job, and he did that heart wrenching job with valor, dignity, sometimes humor, kindness and grace. He is a living embodiment of why we should always and forever be grateful to those who sacrificed so much to keep us free.” Mr. Whalen states.

“Specifically important to me was that Jack has become a powerful voice added to the chorus of warriors past and present encouraging active duty military personnel and veterans to seek help. By

doing so they provide themselves and their families the opportunity to be taught the life skills necessary to practice resiliency in managing the aftermath of what was done and seen by them in the crucible of war.”

“I was pleased when Peter asked me to become a member of the Invictus Foundation’s Advisory Board. He and I are committed to a lifetime collaboration around the Invictus Foundation’s vision and mission of improving access and service levels for behavioral health services to uniformed services personnel, veterans and their families as well as the physical recovery and fitness aspects of their “new normal.”

About the Invictus Foundation

Invictus Foundation™ is a national nonprofit organization providing individual and family behavioral health counseling services regardless of their ability to pay to active duty military service members, veterans and their families. Invictus Foundation partners with behavioral health providers across the U.S. to provide improved access and increased behavioral health services to uniformed personnel, veterans and their families.

Goal Achievement

October 25, 2019 by Peter Whalen

We at the Invictus Foundation want to thank all who donated to our If We Send Them We Must Mend Them campaign. You helped us achieve our goal of raising $2000 dollars to provide behavioral health services to active duty military personnel and veterans who are taking their lives at the rate of 22 a day. The final number raised was $2400 dollars.

Last year our Welcome Home Networks provided 300,000 thousand psychotherapy visits to these men and women many of which were pro bono (free).

Your donations help us continue our mission to improve availability and access of behavioral health services to active duty military members and veterans.

With gratitude, I am

Peter J Whalen
Founder & CEO
Invictus Foundation

Rule of Three

October 21, 2019 by Peter Whalen

Veterans and FlagTo the Friends of the Invictus Foundation

Aristotle’s Rule of Three was, “tell them once, tell them what you just said, then tell them again.” We at the Invictus Foundation subscribe to that rule.

We are just two days away from winding down our September Suicide Prevention Campaign. Since our Campaign began on September 20th and the time it ends on October 20th 660 active duty military and veterans lives will have been lost to suicide!!!

We at the Invictus Foundation are doing all we can with the resources given to us by donors such as yourself to message them we love and care for each and every one of them. Last year we provided 300k visits to them across our Welcome Home Networks.

However, we urgently need your help in continuing our efforts to create grass roots efforts in the form of community outreach efforts that improve the availability and accessibility of behavioral health care services to these men and women.

We at the Invictus Foundation believe that the crucible of war inflicts a moral injury on those that experience the crucible of war and that they must have access to services at the local level that will provide them with the coping skills they will need over a lifetime to come to terms with what they have seen and done while in the crucible of war.

Please join us in our mission to bring down these horrifying numbers by helping to pay for services they so desperately need. To take this action step turns Welcome Home from a slogan to a commitment to help end the epidemic of suicides among those that have risked life and limb to make sure the rhythm of our everyday lives goes on without interruption for the rest of us.

Thanks for listening. Now we ask you to act!

Passion is the very fact of God in man / Paddy Chayefsky

October 11, 2019 by Peter Whalen

Friends of the Invictus Foundation,

Quote by JFK

By the end of each day we lose 22 active duty military and veterans to suicide-almost one an hour. JFK once called on this Nation to, “ask not what your Country can do for you but what you can do for your Country”.

That we lose 22 men and women a day that answered that call to suicide is heart breaking. To do a deep dive into the causative effects of this rate of suicide among military members and veterans would take far longer than your attention span would allow.

Suffice it to say that jingoisms and slogans do not help these Kids with their feelings of disconnectedness and feeling abandoned by our society at large. Welcome Home is just a slogan to these Kid’s when they are well aware that 22 of their battle buddies a day are taking their own lives while the rhythm of everyday life seems not to notice.

We at the Invictus Foundation notice everyday and are doing all we can with the resources given to us by donors such as yourself to message them we love and care for each and every one of them. Last year we provided 300k visits to them across our Welcome Home Networks.

However, we urgently need your help in continuing our efforts to create grass roots efforts in the form of community outreach efforts that improve the availability and accessibility of behavioral health care services to these men and women.

We at the Invictus Foundation believe that the crucible of war inflicts a moral injury on those that experience the crucible of war and that they must have access to services at the local level that will provide them with the coping skills they will need over a lifetime to come to terms with what they have seen and done while in the Crucible.

Please join us in our mission to bring down these horrifying numbers by helping to pay for services they so desperately need. To take this action step turns Welcome Home from a slogan to a commitment to help end the epidemic of suicides among those that have risked life and limb to make sure the rhythm of our every day lives goes on without interruption for the rest of us.

Thanks for listening. Now we ask you to act!

SEPTEMBER IS SUICIDE PREVENTION MONTH

September 21, 2019 by Peter Whalen

To the Friends of the Invictus Foundation

There is no greater need for prevention of suicides than in the military/veterans space. Twenty-two veterans a day commit suicide! Suicide prevention and the reduction of the current numbers remain a priority and focus of the Invictus Foundation. We ask all who receive this correspondence to click on the link below. It will take you to our Campaign. Once there we ask that you help us obtain our goal of raising $2000 dollars to contribute toward programs we are operating to improve accessibility and availability of behavioral health services for our men and women in uniform, veterans and their families to help reduce this truly horrific statistic.
https://www.givegab.com/campaigns/stop22

The Invictus Foundation Appoints Bryan Hoddle as its Chief Program Officer

May 23, 2019 by allpro

INTRODUCTION

Bryan with CoreyI am really excited to have Bryan join the Invictus Foundation team. He is superbly qualified to be our expert knowledge base in building world-class resiliency programs for the men and woman suffering from the physical and invisible wounds of war at the planned Invictus Centers for TBI & Psychological Health in Orting, WA.

Many people do not understand that veterans are not eligible for the more generously funded DOD satellite military facilities. To access those Centers such as the Intrepid Spirit Centers you must be on active duty. Veterans are left with decidedly more modest centers. Our dream is to build regional centers that are fed by our regional Welcome Home Networks that emulate the Lakeshore Foundation in Alabama.

Many people often ask me, “Peter, isn’t that where our taxpayer dollars are supposed to be going in the funding of the VA”. The answer is yes and no. Inarguable that is one of many of their mandates. However, the System is overwhelmed, outdated and hopelessly behind the curve in helping our military personnel and veterans cope with what they have experienced in the crucible of war. The private sector has a vital role to play in alleviating some of the short-fall in TBI and psychological health services.

I believe one of my chief roles is to show private sector donors how they can assist in this short-fall in the most cost-efficient manner while simultaneously generating tremendous goodwill for its brand in the community in which these Centers will be placed. The below quote gives an accurate description on the financial cost of ten years of war in the Middle East let alone the human cost of waging it over those years.

Costs won’t peak soon

The true cost of war can’t be known for years and decades after the last bullet has been fired. A disability tied to military service might take years to emerge, and might steadily worsen after it does. Bilmes, the Harvard professor who co-wrote “The Three Trillion Dollar War” with Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, said the peak for paying out claims from World War II didn’t come until the 1980s. The peak for the Vietnam War, which ended nearly four decades ago, hasn’t yet been reached. “We expect to see the same kind of lag this time around,” Bilmes said

One of our generation of warriors proudest achievement was to have the Nation understand, albeit belatedly, that you don’t blame the warrior for an outcome that was politically dictated by the hapless policies of politicians. As von Clausewitz famously said, ” war is the continuation of politics by other means”. My passion for the last nine years has been to “pay it forward” to benefit this Nation’s latest generation of warriors in providing them provider portals and planning world-class Centers as an actual physical demonstration of “Welcome Home from a Grateful Nation”.

I won’t stop until I have realized the dream of the Invictus Centers for TBI & Psychological Health.

Coach Hoddle will be responsible for the R&D of all physical activity programs that fulfill the mission of the Invictus Foundation

Coach Hoddle will be responsible for development, implementation and management of the programs of physical activity that fulfill the mission and vision of the Invictus Foundation. This responsibility will span the continuum of programming in fitness, aquatics, recreation and athletics. Coach Hoddle’s primary responsibility will be developing world class programs in the aforementioned areas for injured active duty military personnel and veterans sponsored through and by the Invictus Foundation.

Peter J. Whalen, CEO of the Invictus Foundation, states, “In the years ahead, Coach Hoddle will closely consult with me in preparation for the groundbreaking on our first TBI (traumatic brain injury) & Psychological Health Center. We anticipate the new Western Regional Center will be located in Orting, Washington. “Bryan will provide the expertise and knowledge base to help me bring the physical recovery and fitness aspects of this project to life,” Whalen said.

Coach Hoddle has worked extensively with injured soldiers helping amputees, traumatic brain injuries, blind and wheelchair soldiers. He has been honored by the Washington State House of Representatives with HR 4675 for his work teaching, coaching, working with athletes with disabilities and Soldiers/Veterans as well as having been awarded a 2014 USA Track and Field Presidential Award.

In August of 2002, he was named Program Director for the USA Paralympics Track and Field Performance Coaching Staff. In the summer of 2000, he served as Assistant Manager for the World Junior Track and Field Team. He was selected Head Coach for the 2004 USA Paralympics Track and Field Team held in Athens, Greece.

“I was so pleased when Peter asked me to assume the role of the Chief Program Officer for the Invictus Foundation,” states Coach Hoddle. “He and I have had a long-term collaboration around his dream of improving access and service levels for behavioral health services to uniformed services personnel, veterans and their families as well as the physical recovery and fitness aspects of their “new normal” that stretch back to his founding of the Invictus Foundation nine years ago. I have always believed that he had the leadership skills, competency, credibility and character to one day bring his vision to life.”

Conclusion

One of my driving believes has always been a plan without execution is just a hallucination. We have accomplished a great deal in nine years with much left to achieve. We have proven to our supporters that we are in it for the long haul and are executing our strategic and tactical game plan with intelligence, patience and an eye toward the long game.
The joy is in the journey not how quickly you get there.

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