PenFed Foundation Donates $300,000 to Construct Home for Wounded Warriors

TYSONS, Va., Nov. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- PenFed Credit Union announced today that its charitable arm, the PenFed Foundation, is donating $300,000 to Serve Our Willing Warriors (SOWW) to construct a home that will provide a week-long respite in the Virginia countryside for hundreds of Wounded Warriors undergoing long-term medical treatment.

"Many of these Wounded Warriors spend 365 days per year in the hospital recovering from service-related injuries. This donation from PenFed will allow twice as many Wounded Warriors, along with their families and caregivers, to get out of the hospital, reconnect, refresh, and experience a sense of normalcy through SOWW's Warrior Retreat at Bull Run," said the Honorable Frederick F.Y. Pang, Chairman of the Board of the PenFed Foundation.

"Wounded Warriors and military families are great Americans who willingly go without the comforts that many of us take for granted. At PenFed we are humbled to have the opportunity to partner with Serve Our Willing Warriors to show our appreciation for the services and sacrifices of the men and women who fight and win our nation's wars," said PenFed Credit Union President & CEO James Schenck.

SOWW serves the needs of Wounded Warriors and their families through "Warrior Getaways" at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run. Since opening on July 4, 2015, the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run has hosted nearly 600 guests, including Wounded Warriors from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, and other area military hospitals, at its 11,000-square-foot, five-bedroom house on a 37-acre campus on the edge of the Bull Run Mountain Conservancy in Haymarket, Va.

During their stay, recovering Warriors and their families are able to participate in more than 65 different activities and programs offered through local service partners, including helicopter tours, fishing, hiking, amusement park visits and a 5-star chef-prepared meal. Warriors and their families can also partake in physical and canine therapy, and family counseling.

The Warrior Retreat at Bull Run is currently able to house one family at a time. The construction of the PenFed Foundation Home will allow SOWW to host two families at a time, thus doubling their capacity and enabling them to serve more than 500 Wounded Warriors and their guests per year.

"The PenFed Foundation grant will have a profound long-term impact on our ability to offer encouragement and non-medical programs that influence the recovery and lives of wounded, ill, or injured warriors, their families and caregivers," said SOWW's Executive Director, Jeffrey Kendall Sapp. A 30-year Navy Veteran, Sapp understands the challenges confronting warriors. "We see family bonds strengthened, breakthroughs in PTSD and TBI treatment, and a renewed sense of purpose through this alternative form of treatment and healing. The program has quite literally saved the lives of Warriors who had contemplated suicide and inspires hope. The PenFed Foundation Home will help us do more."

PenFed and Serve Our Willing Warriors will host a groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 4, 2017 at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run to launch the expansion.

Event details are below:

PenFed and its Foundation's gift to SOWW is part of their ongoing efforts to support military and veteran communities. This year, PenFed and its Foundation together have donated more than $1.3 million to charitable organizations in the Greater Washington, D.C. area, primarily those organizations supporting veterans and military programs.

About PenFed Foundation
Founded in 2001, the PenFed Foundation is a national nonprofit organization committed to helping members of our military community secure their financial future. It provides service members, veterans, their families and support networks with the skills and resources they need to improve their lives through programs on financial education, credit-building, home ownership, and short-term assistance. Affiliated with PenFed Credit Union, the Foundation has the resources to effectively reach military communities across the nation, build strong partnerships, and engage a dedicated corps of volunteers in its mission. The credit union funds the Foundation's personnel and most operational costs, demonstrating its strong commitment to the programs the Foundation provides. To learn more, visit: www.penfedfoundation.org.

About PenFed Credit Union
Established in 1935 as the War Department Credit Union, PenFed Credit Union is America's second-largest federal credit union, serving over 1.6 million members worldwide with nearly $24 billion in assets. Our long-standing mission is to provide superior financial services in a cost-effective manner, while being responsive to members' needs. PenFed Credit Union offers market-leading mortgages, automobile loans, credit cards, student loans, personal loans, checking, certificates and a wide range of other financial services with members' interests always in mind. PenFed Credit Union serves a diverse population, and no military service is required to join. PenFed Credit Union offers many paths to membership, including numerous employee groups and association affiliations. PenFed Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA and is an equal housing lender. To learn more about PenFed Credit Union, visit PenFed.org, like us on Facebook and follow us @PenFed on Twitter. Interested in working for PenFed? Check us out on LinkedIn. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

About Serve Our Willing Warriors
Opened on July 4, 2015, Serve Our Willing Warriors is a volunteer- and community-supported 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization.  We provide encouragement and non-medical programs that positively affect the well-being, recuperation, and lives of military service members (Warriors) who are Wounded, Ill, Injured, Recovering, or Recovered from service-related injuries.  We partner with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Veteran Service Organizations, businesses, corporations, churches, youth groups, and other public and private sector organizations.  The Warrior Retreat at Bull Run is our flagship program. Featuring an 11,000-square foot ADA accessible home on 37-acres in the shadow of the historic Bull Run Mountains in Haymarket, Virginia, the Retreat offers six-day respite stays during which Warriors and their families and caregivers can temporarily escape hospital settings and day-to-day demands to relax, rejuvenate, and reconnect with each other and support networks. Since its founding, Serve Our Willing Warriors has hosted more than 600 Warriors, families, and caregivers.  We host only one family at a time.  Warriors incur no cost.  For more information visit www.willingwarriors.org.

SOURCE PenFed Foundation