ONE Freedom 2008 Update | By Elizabeth Hawkins, Executive Director

ONE Freedom training programs continue to go well and are garnering attention from every branch of service due to the non-stigmatizing, self-empowerment message we offer. We also have an amazing training team made up of specialists from the military and civilian sectors all with a shared vision of
changing the way warriors reintegrate.

A few of our accomplishments this year include:

ONE Freedom has been asked by the Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) of Fort Carson, Colorado to offer monthly trainings to the new WTs, and on-going support trainings to WTUs throughout their stay in the unit. These sessions provide education on the brain and nervous system, self-regulation training, grief and loss, exercise for recovery, nutrition for recovery, writing for recovery and more. These workshops help service members navigate wounded-warrior status and how to see beyond their current experience to the next chapter;

ONE Freedom and Outward Bound are collaborating to launch ONE Freedom’s first Wilderness Immersion Programs! Paid for by Outward Bound and ONE Freedom, these 8-day programs will take veterans and OF and OB professionals into a wilderness excursion focusing on trauma recovery via outdoor adventure.

ONE Freedom is pleased to collaborate with Swords to Plowshares and Vets4Vets to provide the Retreat for Military Women: Finding Your Voice. This weekend in San Luis Obispo, CA will bring together 24 military service women from around the country from all branches of service to experience a focused weekend on navigating post-deployment and resourcing strength.

We’re collaborating with NoIgnoring, a new online show that reveals the downrange experience filmed first-hand by former CNN war-correspondent Mike Boettcher and son, Carlos who are embedded for 15 months with various units;

ONE Freedom continues our work with Combat Casting and Sacred Swords out of LA to create the ONE Freedom DVD Docu-drama (disk 1) that brings a neurophysiological look at combat operational stress for service member and family alike through story, and the “Go Deeper” DVD (disk 2) that will guide people through and to more resources. The guys as Combat Casting have given us incredible breaks and are allowing us access to the kind of footage that will make this DVD “kick ass” with the young veterans.

ONE Freedom is also partnering with Veterans Green Alliance (VGA) –an amazing nonprofit that is helping veterans move toward an education in sustainability and the green movement—a big hopeful for the future economy of our country.

ONE Freedom was invited to participate in the grant funding program between the McCormick Foundation and Major League Baseball—a donation program that will fund nonprofits helping veterans; other grant applications include The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Coors Foundation, and the Anschutz Foundation; and in addition we completed our Case Statement and Strategic Plan for major donor asks from 2009-2011.

ONE Freedom continues to use a top-down, bottom-up approach to building awareness of our programs and services. While we are spreading ONE Freedom’s message at the ground level we’re also getting attention at the top levels of the DoD. We met with the Secretary of the Army in 2007and have been recognized by CJCS in 2008 for providing solutions to the reintegration needs of the US military.

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the new ONE Freedom website www.onefreedom.org on November 1, 2008. Not only is the site visually stunning it features a state-of-the-art content management system (CMS) so we’ll be able to manage a site that is dealing with trainings and services all over the country. It also has a database that will take us into the next decade with critical data-retrieval features as well as tracking, fundraising support, etc. Most importantly, veterans and families will find the site cool, practical and inspiring.