By Thomas Underdown President, Fairways for Warriors
The Warrior Golf Club
Fairways for Warriors is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit. Our mission is to help combat wounded warriors with their mental and physical rehabilitation. We provide golf equipment, instruction, outings and other activities to wounded warriors and their family members. We have golf clinics and outings every week for the warriors and their families in Orlando. We are also have chapters in San Antonio, TX, Newport RI, and Jacksonville, FL. When we started 4 years ago, we had no idea what a significant the impact that such an organization would have for warriors and their families. What we’ve learned is that Fairways for Warriors has given these brave men
and women the opportunity to heal from their most significant injuries – the injuries that we can’t see such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, etc. Fairways for Warriors provides hope and is changing lives. When an injured warrior returns from the front lines their personal battle is just beginning, and we have testimonies from several of our program that we are saving lives. The sad truth is that 22 veterans commit suicide every day in the U.S. – that is one every 65 minutes! Several of our wounded warriors have told us that if Fairways for Warriors hadn’t provided them with hope, they too may have committed suicide.
Our next project is to buy a golf course in Orlando that will be a place to provide jobs for combat wounded warriors and much more. The club house will be the most important part of the Warrior Golf Club (WGC). The clubhouse will be a place where combat warriors can go and be their place . The clubhouse will be big enough to hold around 80 people for seminars on PTSD, anger management, job fairs, peer to peer counseling, and also to have all types of other events. The Warrior Golf Club will be run 100% by wounded warriors and will provide approximately 20 full and part time jobs. We will also provide internships and training for warriors who want to have a job in the Fairways for Warriors Golf Clinic
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Southern Golf Central • Volume 15, Issue 8