Eight organizations to receive IHF grants to improve care for military veterans

Infinite Hero Foundation (IHF) today announced that eight organizations will receive charitable grants to fund therapies that address the most critical mental and physical challenges facing returning military veterans and their families. Since its inception in 2011, IHF has issued grants totaling nearly $2 million to organizations whose goal is to empower veterans in recovery through innovative, accessible and effective treatments.

"We're proud to fund some of the most forward-thinking medical and recreational therapies that will truly improve the livelihood and positive outcomes of returning veterans," said Infinite Hero Foundation Board President, Colin Baden. "We must all commit to continuing to push forward innovation, accessibility and collaboration to help create meaningful, measured impact in veteran rehabilitation and reintegration."

IHF identifies and funds organizations that provide unique solutions for veterans through an invitation-only, rigorous grant process. Qualifying programs are eligible for grants up to $100,000 per program, with two years to complete the funding while providing measurement and reporting on effectiveness and impact. The 2014 IHF grantees include:

• Airpower Foundation is receiving two grants to fund brain treatment research and rehabilitation programs at The Brain Treatment Center in Newport Beach, California and Carrick Brain Center in Irving, Texas. The Brain Treatment Center MRT Treatment uses non-invasive neuro-modulation to treat the physiological cause of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by restoring normal brainwave activity to reduce stress, anxiety, depression and anger to help sleep patterns. Carrick Brain Center's veteran program combines evidence-based diagnostics with leading-edge technologies and treatments to quickly improve quality of life for service members and their families dealing with a wide range of brain-related injuries and disorders.
• The Vail Veterans Program (VVP) provides rehabilitative experiences for wounded warriors through world-class outdoor programs. This recreational therapy helps to dramatically decrease the isolating effects of physical and invisible injuries by bringing together peers and enabling them to focus on their abilities after surviving combat and severe injuries. VVP also incorporates the service member's caregivers and therapists to ensure continuum of care once they return to their rehabilitation center or hospital setting.
• IHF will pilot three Leadership and Athletic Camps hosted by Team Red, White and Blue. These 2-3 day, world-class training experiences provide veterans the opportunity to learn a new sport or activity while receiving leadership development training. The camps build stronger veterans and communities.
• The Armed Forces Foundation's School Counselor Program plays a critical role in helping military-connected students and families deal with difficult circumstances such as multiple deployments and combat stress at Ft. Belvoir Elementary School in Fairfax, VA. IHF funds will be applied toward the development of the Military School Counselor Toolkit, which will be both a curriculum for training and a resource guide for other counselors as well as the expansion of the counseling program into other DC Metro area schools.
• The Semper Fi Fund to continue a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) program which provides assistance in a variety of ways, including access to cutting-edge, non-medical technology such as Alpha-Stims, Irlen Lenses, Audio Visual Entrainment, and Celluma devices. The Alpha-Stim is a medical device that uses cranial electrotherapy stimulation to help alleviate symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, depression and chronic pain. It is a non-addicting, holistic treatment with a less than 1% chance of side effects. The results are cumulative and residual, enabling patients to decrease the frequency of treatments while maintaining the same level of symptom relief.
• WETA Washington DC's BrainLine Military website gives service members and veterans, as well as their families and caregivers, the concrete information and support they need to navigate the road back from TBI or PTSD and dealing with the transition from active duty to being back home. IHF funding will contribute to BrainLine Military's goal of reaching at least 30% more users with a focus on new content development, personal stories and expert insights.
• Heartbeat – Serving Wounded Warriors is receiving a grant for its Scuba Warriors program, which provides critical physical and mental health healing to members of the military community through underwater diving. The liberation of therapeutic scuba diving is, for many military heroes, the first movement without pain, contributing greatly to increased confidence in physical abilities, as well as increased muscle strength, cardiovascular improvements and decreased migraine symptoms. Combined with previous funding from IHF, the grant will enable Heartbeat to continue its expansion from Washington state to other bases throughout the U.S.

Last year, through a grant from IHF, Chief Warrant Officer 5 (Ret.) Gary Linfoot, paralyzed from the waist down, was the first military veteran to receive an Ekso suit for personal use, enabling him to stand and walk again. "The Ekso device has changed my life," said Linfoot. "I feel so lucky and thankful to have received this device and am proud to be helping to collect critical data from the use of this suit to expand the availability of this technology." Linfoot has used the device an hour a day, up to five days a week and has completed more than 200,000 steps to date.