Heartbeat Christmas Wish 2017 -- Adopt a Military Family

Published: Fri, 10/13/17



​​​​​​​Adopt a Wounded Warrior
or a Wounded Warrior and their Family
this CHRISTMAS season!
It's the time of year when we start accepting applications to adopt an individual Wounded Warrior and/or a Wounded Warrior and their family for Christmas!  
We will begin matching families to adopt in early November and continue through mid December 2017.  We match on a first come first serve basis.  You may choose the size of Family to adopt and you may adopt more than one Warrior/Family.

We match over 100 military individuals and families every year!  Please be aware that the number of Warriors that are in the adoption pool can fluctuate, so one may not always be available at the time you submit your application.  We also cannot guarantee specific locations to match a community member's county you  live in for our WA state adopting communities. Please be patient it will happen.  We also adopt out a couple of units that have experienced stress due to multiple deployments.
 
Many people who adopt Wounded Warriors, including my own family, experience tremendous gratification and a profound sense of what this season is about.  Some choose to continue a relationship and will invite their "new friends" to share a meal or attend an event and check in on their progress during the year.  We generally leave the decisions up to those involved to determine what they might want to do after the Christmas holiday has ended.
 
More information about how to adopt: Community members (individuals and groups: church organizations, businesses, etc.) sign up online on Heartbeat's website under the Christmas tab.  The Warrior/Family also fills out an online application; we then match the two.  Please see suggested minimum expenditures per person these minimums must be followed.  Please wrap presents and include a card, then set up a meeting that is comfortable for the Warrior/Family to give them their gifts.  Please be sensitive that some Warriors are not comfortable in traffic and in crowded areas because of their injuries.  Meeting in the visitor's parking lot of JBLM (Joint Base Lewis McChord) is a nice option for them, if your wounded family is in that area.  You would not need a pass to meet in this area.  Going to their homes is not a good option unless the family asks for that.
 
 
Finally, we are still collecting donations for the Christmas Stocking Program.  Let me know if you are interested in contributing or have a group, church, or organization that might want to get involved!

As always on behalf of our "brave men and women wounded warriors", THANK YOU! WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!

If you have further questions, please contact me at [email protected].
​​​​​​​
 
Kendra Giersch
Communications Manager, Heartbeat Serving Wounded Warriors®

"At Heartbeat, we provide emergency assistance, morale building, and innovative therapeutic services for wounded warriors and their families"

"The cause is great and the need is worthy"