Purple Heart Fund Pumps Up Aid for Wounded Service Men and Women
Asheville, North Carolina, man launches The Purple Heart Fund, a non-profit initiative that provides critically-needed funding to assist combat-injured service men and women and their families.
Asheville, NC. (PRWEB) July 8, 2005 -- Keith Knapp believes that
all-too-often purple hearts become wounded hearts. The Asheville, North Carolina
man has launched The Purple Heart Fund, a non-profit initiative that will
provide critically-needed funding to assist combat-injured service men and women
and their families.
Knapp’s passion for his cause is pure-bred; his
father, a WWII D-Day chaplain who received a purple heart for a shrapnel wound,
offered comfort to dying soldiers and their families. Son Michael, a Marine
Corporal stationed in San Diego, has known many of the men and women, with whom
he trained and worked, killed or injured while fighting for their country.
When Knapp learned that some combat-wounded Purple Heart Medal
recipients have to declare bankruptcy because of uncovered expenses during their
hospital and recuperation process, he vowed to get involved. “When I
investigated the public and private resources that provide assistance to wounded
men and women and their families, I was shocked to learn that no one provides
funds to cover additional family expenses incurred while caring for an injured
loved one.” Knapp also discovered that there is no comprehensive guide for
families to use in locating available resources.
Although Congress has
recently taken steps to increase support for some Purple Heart Award Medal
recipients, there is still a substantial need. A new insurance disability
benefit of up to $100,000 was created for those who suffered traumatic injuries
such as losing a limb or eyesight, but this will offer financial assistance to
only about 1000 of the estimated 6750 men and women who have been wounded in
action but not returned to duty in Afghanistan and Iraq through June, 2005. This
means that more than 5,500 military service people who did not lose a limb or
their eye sight still need significant financial aid.
Those familiar with
former Senator Bob Dole's story will recognize that although he did not lose a
limb or his eyesight in WWII combat, he underwent a grueling and lengthy
recuperation period. “Even had today’s new government assistance program been
available to him,” said Knapp, “Senator Dole still would not have met the
qualification criteria. Today, many lesser-known service men and women suffer
the same fate.”
The Purple Heart Fund’s focus will be two-fold: helping
to relieve family financial pressures during the often-long period of
hospitalization, recovery, rehabilitation and job search, and developing a
comprehensive listing of funding resources for wounded service men and women and
their families.
“It is time to provide our grassroots American citizens
a way to give back to these men and women who have sacrificed so greatly for our
country,” said Knapp. “No injured member of our armed forces should ever agonize
over providing for their family during the critical time of restoring their
health. The Purple Heart Fund will relieve the devastating financial burden that
robs these heroes of the dignity and quality of life they so rightly
deserve.”
About the Purple Heart Fund
The Purple Heart Fund is a
registered non-profit 501(c)(3) charity that was formed to honor and assist
Purple Heart Award recipients WIA Not RTD (wounded in action, not returned to
duty). The Fund seeks to provide recipients and their families with immediate
financial assistance so that they can focus on their medical recovery and return
to life with their families. For more information, visit www.purpleheartfund.org
or call (828) 994 -2024.
# # #
Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/7/prweb259584.htm