The ''Yellow Ribbon Fund'' (YRF) is a charity that primarily helps returning
American service men & women, injured during active service, who are recovering at
Walter Reed Army Medical Center and
Bethesda Naval Hospital. The charity was founded on March 1, 2005 and is based in
Bethesda, MD
Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...
.
Mission
The YRF helps recovering
service members through various events and programs, arranged by staff and volunteers, aimed to help the patients and their families enjoy the community. The YRF has arranged numerous parties, trips (to places like Fredericksburg, the carnival, etc.), and even weddings.
Support from celebrities and other organizations
Several high-profile people have supported the charity, including
Mandy Moore,
Marty Cordova,
Dana White and
Forrest Griffin. The charity has also received help from the
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
television program ''
The Colbert Report''.
Stephen Colbert announced that he would donate all proceeds made by his ''WristStrong'' wrist bands and the auction of his cast would go to the ''Yellow Ribbon Fund''. The winning bid for his cast was $17,200. As of January 23, 2008, over 30,000 WristStrong Bracelets were sold. Marie Wood, Director of Communications, was presented a gigantic novelty cheque for $171,525 on ''The Report'' that day.
Many companies and organizations have worked with, and donated to, the YRF to support them in their mission of helping injured service members. Those organizations include, but are not limited to
Independent Benefit Services,
the
Army Navy Country Club,
American Airlines,
Mary House, and
Barwood Taxi.
See also
*
H. Timothy "Tim" Vakoc – the first U.S. military chaplain to die from wounds received in the Iraq War.
References
External links
Yellow Ribbon Fund website
American veterans' organizations
Charities based in Maryland
Organizations established in 2005
2005 establishments in Maryland
{{US-philanthropy-org-stub