HWP Aug 15 Newsletter - Healing Warriors Program

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August 2015 Newsletter
Dear Deb,
Did you have a great summer? It's been wildly busy at
Healing Warriors Program and we have a lot in the queue for
the months ahead. This month's newsletter features the
personal story of one of our young veterans whose ready
smile, determination and intelligence always inspires us at the
clinic. Please see his story below. We have a lot news, so
without further ado, we hope you enjoy our August newsletter!
In This Issue
NEWS
Meet our Volunteers
Veteran's Stories
Staff Announcements
Thank You!
We need your help
Hot Rods and Heroes
NEWS
Upcoming Free Clinic Service Days
Denver and Colorado Springs, Healing Warriors Program will
be offering FREE clinic days for all Service Members
(Veterans, Active Duty, CONG, retired, anyone who has
served) and their spouses/partners in Denver on 8/29 and
Colorado Springs on 9/19. More information
Sat. 8/29 Denver - VOA Veterans Services Center
1247 Santa Fe Drive
Denver, CO
August 29th 9 am - 1 pm
Sat. 9/19 Co Springs - Cordera Community Ctr
11894 Grand Lawn Circle
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
September 19th 8 am to noon
HWP Answers The Call
We had numerous requests for services last month and our
team was happy to volunteer their time to provide support.
July 11th -- Aurora Armory
July 18th -- Fort Collins Armory
HOT RODS & HEROES GALA
Sept. 27 5:00 - 9:30 PM
VIP Private Champagne
Reception 4:00 PM
Don't delay, VIP tickets always
sell out.
Purchase online here.
July 25th-26 -- Yellow Ribbon Post- Deployment
August 8th -- Yellow Ribbon During Deployment
2015 Gala Donations
Hot Rods and Heroes Gala - Sunday, Sept 29 @ 5pm
This year's gala will be our most FUN yet! Dinner, drinks, live
band, games and a lot of excitement. We have some
outstanding auction prizes, including a Ron Fellows
Performance Driving training, fabulous hotel stays, fine items
from Sword and Plough, Spyderco signed Broncos collectibles
and so much more!
Thank you to master brewers at Pateros Creek Brewing for
partnering with HWP and creating a special brew! And to
Concertos in Chocolate for their exquisite fine chocolate. Many
of these are veteran-owned businesses and their generosity
and support demonstrates values in action. Join us in saying
thanks!
Why I Volunteer, by Susan Whinery
September 11 is my birthday. On September 11, 2001,
terrorists hijacked my birthday as well as the planes they
crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field
in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3000 people died that day, and
another 6000 were seriously injured. These figures don't take
into account the thousands of lives changed forever on that
September 11.
Just as those of us of a given age
can recall exactly where we were
when we learned President Kennedy
had been assassinated. Or how
indelibly the explosion of the space
shuttle Challenger with teacher
Christa McAuliffe on board is etched
into my memory, so is my
recollection of September 11, 2001.
My husband was a volunteer firefighter for 20 years, and our
son had recently enrolled in a Fire Science program at
Oklahoma State University in preparation for his own career in
We are excited about the amazing
in-kind donations that have already
come in for our upcoming gala and
we're asking for your help to make
our auctions spectacular!
If you are able to provide an In Kind
donation, such as a hotel stay,
bottles of wine, or a fun experience,
please contact us at
[email protected].
DID YOU KNOW?...
Healing Touch is being offered at
several VAMCs including the
upcoming pilot at Oklahoma City
VAMC. They were awarded a
national VA grant to conduct a pilot
project using Healing Touch and
guided imagery as a three-week
treatment series for PTSD. It is good
to see therapies that we are
championing being offered around
the country.
HEALING TOUCH INTERNSHIP
PROGRAM
We are rolling out a new internship
program for Healing Touch students
who have completed level 4 and
meet other criteria.
For more information on how to
apply, click here »
WISH LIST
We Need Your Help
We really need a Desktop PC
server unit: mid-range version,
Intel I-5 quad corp, 8 GB of
ram, and 2 TB hard drive
($850).
the fire service.
When the phone rang as I dressed for school that morning, I
smiled as I glanced at the caller ID. Thinking my 19-year-old
son was extraordinarily considerate to be calling me so early
that morning, I answered the phone. He only said, "Mom, turn
your TV on. I just saw a plane crash into the World Trade
Center."
Together our family watched another plane head deliberately
into the second of the Twin Towers. As my teenage daughter
and I walked to school and the destruction continued to unfold,
I knew I would not be teaching English on this day. Today,
students and teachers would join together to recount in
disbelief what we had seen and to mourn the losses we had
only begun to comprehend.
Perhaps what the terrorists didn't expect was the instant
polarization of the American people in acts of patriotism not
experienced since World War II. Like so many others, our
family donated money to the relief funds and supported our
President's decisions. I never felt like I had made any
significant personal contribution, however, until this, my 60th
year, when I began to volunteer at the Healing Warriors
Program clinic in Fort Collins.
The Healing Warriors Program serves veterans of all ages,
providing integrative health care for those suffering from
physical injuries as well as the invisible scars so many of our
veterans carry home from their tours of duty. When I talk to
veterans who recount their struggles, listen to them explain
how this clinic is rekindling their hope, and as they leave
remark how much they appreciate having this clinic and its
employees, I know I have found the place to make a real
contribution. I volunteer at Healing Warriors to say thank you to
the many who have offered or sacrificed their lives defending
this country.
Our Veteran's Stories: Quinton Bartek
Quinton Bartek admits he would never have come to the
Healing Warriors Program clinic had it not been for the 3 free
treatments he received initially. The healing he has
experienced through the use of acupuncture and CranioSacral
therapy has been so powerful that now, even though he's on a
limited income and pays for each treatment, he doesn't miss a
week.
Quinton realizes in retrospect that he probably always had an
undiagnosed case of ADHD and some degree of PTSD when
he joined the army. Upon separation from the army, he
We want to provide Still-Point
Activators for our CST clients.
We can make these
ourselves, we just need about
100 men's tube socks and
about 200 tennis balls.
With so many requests for us
to provide support at various
events, we need 2 portable
massage tables we can use at
events. They run about $125
new.
Once again, we are participating in
the
Castle
Rock
Shopping
Extravaganza on Sept. 19th.
This Charity event is fun for
attendees
and
benefits
area
nonprofits.
You can purchase
tickets here.
If you are not
attending, but would like to gift a
ticket to a military family, please call
us at :
970-776-(VETS) 8387
eventually recognized he now has a full-blown case of PTSD.
Regular treatment at the Healing Warriors clinic for the past
year has stabilized his unfocused energy and released much of
his anxiety.
Another of our favorite clients!
Use of the National Acupuncture Detoxification ear seeding
techniques reduces his cravings, helping him to quit smoking
and lessening his cravings for alcohol. Quinton has bonded not
only with his care providers but with volunteers at the clinic as
well, describing them as "good people willing to help you and
who know what you're going through."
Despite his rough childhood, Quinton Bartek
is, at heart, a gentle soul. Quinton limped
through school and joined the army after
graduation in hopes of creating a stable life for
himself. Quinton became part of the 1st
Armored Division, 40th Engineer Battalion as a
combat engineer. In civilian language, Quinton
became part of the construction/ demolition
crews responsible for building battlefields in
Iraq.
Although the work was hard and involved 7-day work weeks,
Quinton spent the first six months of his 14-month tour in Iraq
in relative safety. He describes construction of 15-foot
perimeter walls almost like castle walls that would separate
quartered troops from the actual battle lines.
Halfway through his tour, Quinton's Charlie Company was
cross-trained for a month, and for the next seven months the
three platoons would serve as EOD (Explosive Ordinance
Disposal) escorts working 12-18 hours a day. Their job:
"interrogate" IED's which consisted of defusing, dismantling,
retrieving or blasting in place IED's to keep supply routes open
for the troops.
In a perfect world, Quinton's platoon would sweep for mines
during the day one week, during the night the next week, and
would enjoy a break from the tension during the third week.
Realistically, they were always on call, heading out to rescue
vehicles or fill in during a crisis on their week off. Working in
teams of from 3-8 soldiers, they would head out in vehicles
ranging from Vietnam relic M113 APC's to armored Humvees
and eventually huge hydraulic M-Raps.
When Quinton left the army December 2009, he had no visible
injuries. For five years he bounced around, working mostly in
the oil fields. Quentin did not even realize he suffered from
PTSD until he was idly thumbing through a brochure and
recognized he regularly experienced 7 of the 8 symptoms
typically associated with PTSD.
2014 Gala
He had discovered that smoking marijuana relieved some of
the constant anxiety and depression that plagued him, so he
relocated to Colorado. There he enrolled at Front Range
Community College and met Josh De Santi, the Veteran
Representative for the school.
Josh suggested Quinton check out the Healing Warriors clinic
after he explained that he hated taking pills and was searching
for a more natural treatment. De Santi has assisted Quinton
with getting his VA benefits and an accurate diagnosis of his
condition. Despite being classified as 70% disabled, Quinton
for the first time has a clear goal. He wants to become a
Craniosacral therapist in hopes of treating others who fight the
internal wars he himself is battling. The Healing Warriors
Program has provided Quinton with a place to feel at home,
relief from his wide-ranging symptoms and hopes for a
productive career.
Quinton's determination to reach his goals, and his ready smile
in the face of challenge, has made him a true inspiration to all
of us at the Healing Warriors Program clinic. Thank you,
Quinton.
Staff Announcements
Our team is growing! Please join us in welcoming our new
Board members:
Brian Fash, Board President
Tanis Duncan, Board Member
Robert N. McEwan, Board Member
Marcus Smith, Board Member
Reid Rubenstein, Advisory Council
Rey Wong, MS, Advisory Council
We are excited with the talent and passion of our amazing
team! We'll have more news in the weeks ahead.
We want to bid a fond farewell to
Elizabeth Schnell, our departing Board
President, who has led HWP through
creation and launch with drive and
heart.
Elizabeth participated in
Healing Warriors Program's inception,
helping with the infrastructure design
and doing tireless outreach. Elizabeth
has been a leader with grace and
tireless delivery.
Her efforts have
brought us where we are today. You will be greatly missed!
Meet Our Practitioners:
Debi Saidman, L.Ac., Dipl.Ac., HTPA
The newest clinician at the Healing
Warriors
Program
Clinic
is
acupuncturist Debi Saidman.
The 2011 graduate of Southwest
Acupuncture College followed her MS
with an additional month of hands-on
training at Hellongjiang University of
Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture in
the People's Republic of China and a
6-month Acupuncture Sports Medicine
apprenticeship with Whitfield Reeves, a well-known sports
acupuncturist in Boulder, in 2013. There, Debi received
advanced training in diagnosis, assessment and treatment of
sports injuries and pain. She also specializes in women's
issues, including relieving peri- and post-menopausal
symptoms as well as life-style nutritional coaching.
Originally from Maryland, Debi and her family, children now 19,
21 and 23 relocated to Fort Collins in 2007, primarily for quality
of life issues. They appreciate the slower pace, good school
systems, low humidity, and the beauty of the Rocky Mountains.
Like most of us involved in the Healing Warriors Program, Debi
has had personal encounters with veterans. She remains close
to her former father-in-law, a Vietnam veteran who, to this day
struggles with PTSD. When veterans come to her private
practice, Touch of the East Acupuncture, she refers them to
the Healing Warriors Program clinic to insure their treatment is
even more affordable than her community style treatment, an
approach that seeks to make acupuncture affordable for all
who need it.
Debi, recruited for the clinic position by Healing Touch
practitioner, Jackie Cooper, finds veterans to be a whole
different clientele. Veterans' needs, she explains, are more
challenging, require more depth, and provide a much stronger
emotional bond. Although she has provided 12-15,000
treatments in the past 4 years, veterans have introduced Debi
to a world she had not previously experienced. Her admiration
of their courage in the face of adversity grows each time she
meets a new client.
The Healing Warriors Program clinic is excited to have
someone as seasoned and experienced as Debi offer her time
at the clinic. Thank you, Debi, for your passion in serving our
Veterans.
Heartfelt THANK YOU
Thanks to Fifth Graders at Werner
Elementary
Fifth grade students, parents and their
teaching team at Werner Elementary, a 2008 Blue Ribbon
national award-winning school and a long-term John Irwin
School of excellence, turned a service-learning project into a
precious gift for the Healing Warriors Program.
After the fifth graders at the Fort Collins school researched
their choices of historic characters whom they identified as
heroic, the students demonstrated their subject mastery
through multiple projects culminating in a "wax museum" and
an in-character speech about their chosen subjects. During
their presentations, parents and staff donated funds to each
student.
At the completion of the project, students brainstormed a list of
possible recipients for their fund-raising efforts, with a variety of
choices including veterans. The students voted to support
veterans.
Fifth grade teacher Trish Lambert whose 10th grade son is a
member of The Young Men's Service League (YMSL) provided
information on the Healing Warriors Program, whom the YMSL
had recently worked with during the Greeley Stampede
Veterans Appreciation Day event. The nearly $900 donated by
the 5th graders provided treatment for more than 25 local
veterans. Our service members were very touched by the
generosity and support of our young leaders of tomorrow!
Thank you!
Healing Touch/ Guided Imagery Therapy Series for
PTS
We launched the Healing Touch/ Guided Imagery Therapy
Series for Post Traumatic Stress this June and the service
members that have taken advantage of this program have
found excellent outcomes. The series consists of 6 one-hour
sessions using Healing Touch in combination with Guided
Imagery. Clients participating in the program are reporting
improved sleep, fewer stressful dreams, relief from anxiety,
improved creativity and focus. Early results have been so
positive, Healing Warriors Program clinic will make this a
permanent program offering.
The Clinic Needs Your Support
Lastly, as a young 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we ask for your
continued financial support. Financial donations are used to
sponsor therapies, pay for clinic supplies, pay for building
needs, and enable us to offer clinic services. Your donation
directly provides clinic sessions for our service members. A
suggested donation amount is $35.00 but no gift is too small
and always welcomed. We are grateful for your continued
support.
Click here to donate online »
Checks can be mailed or hand delivered to: Stuart Professional
Park Healing Warriors Program 1136 E. Stuart Street, Ste
4202 Fort Collins, CO 80525
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Healing Warriors Program | 1136 E. Stuart St. | Suite 4202 | Fort Collins | CO | 80525