USA Cares receives major grant from McCormick Foundation and Major League Baseball!

McCormick Foundation & Major League Baseball Supporting Veteran’s Mental Health & Employment Initiatives
Selects USA Cares “Warrior Treatment Today” program as a major grant recipient

RADCLIFF, KY Retired Navy Commander and USA Cares Executive Director, Bill Nelson, beamed at his Family Resource Coordinators in the organization’s phone center as he announced; “It is official today. We just received word that we have been awarded a $300,000 grant from the McCormick Foundation and Major League Baseball’s Welcome Back Veterans initiative. It is slated for our Warrior Treatment Today program that supports returning veterans who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. In far too many cases, the veteran cannot afford the three to five months of hospitalization due to financial pressures to keep their family bills paid.” He added “this is our first major funding of this very important program and I cannot express my gratitude enough.”

In April of this year, Nelson testified before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and described how private sector non-profit organizations such as USA Cares can effectively operate as a partner of the VA. In his testimony, he observed “USA Cares is uniquely qualified to offer testimony as we see on a daily basis the real-life issues that veterans and their families face. If there are ‘holes’ in the support structure, we are the first to see their effects, which makes us an excellent source of information for officials seeking to do the right things for America’s troops.”

In their joint press release, the McCormick Foundation and Major League Baseball cited statistics that indicate approximately 300,000 veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depression, and about 320,000 may have experienced traumatic brain injury (TBI) during deployment (Lisa H. Jaycox and Terri Tanielian, Invisible Wounds of War, Rand Corporation, 2008). The Welcome Back Veterans initiative is complementary to and supportive of the ongoing government programs already in place.

About USA Cares
USA Cares is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that helps post 9/11 military families bear the burdens of service with financial and advocacy support. Its mission: To help with basic needs during financial crisis, to assist combat injured Veterans and their families and to prevent private military home foreclosures and evictions. In five years, USA Cares has received more than 17,000 requests and distributed more than $5.5 million in grants. Military families anywhere in America can apply for assistance through the USA Cares web site, http://www.usacares.org/ or by calling 1-800-773-0387. For more information on USA Cares contact John Revell, jrevell@usacares.org or call (270) 352-5451.

About the McCormick Foundation
The McCormick Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to strengthening our free, democratic society by investing in children, communities and country. Through its grant making programs, Cantigny Park and Golf, museums and civic outreach program the Foundation helps build a more active and engaged citizenry. It was established as a charitable trust in 1955, upon the death of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The McCormick Foundation is one of the nation's largest charities, with more than $1 billion in assets. For more information, please visit http://www.McCormickFoundation.org.

About Major League Baseball Charities
Major League Baseball Charities is a not-for-profit corporation that provides support to local, national and international tax-exempt organizations to directly conduct or sponsor activities for the promotion of good health, physical education, public safety, medical research, literacy, educational or charitable purposes. In addition to supporting Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), the Official Charity of Major League Baseball, MLB Charities provides support to a number of other national charitable initiatives, including Little League Baseball, the National Urban League and the Jackie Robinson Foundation. The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball pays all administrative expenses for MLB Charities.


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