12.29.2009 -  VENICE, FL (December 29, 2009) – Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice recently awarded more than $1.2 million in grants from its Florida BRAIVE Fund to seven nonprofit organizations that serve military personnel of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and their families.  The funding supports everything from financial assistance for injured troops’ families to job training and counseling for returned veterans trying to reintegrate into their communities.

The following grant awards from the Foundation’s Florida BRAIVE Fund will help military personnel in central and southwest Florida and beyond:

American Red Cross – Tampa Bay Chapter - $500,000 to provide assistance, including direct emergency financial relief, to soldiers and veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and their families

Florida National Guard Foundation - $243,792 to provide emergency financial assistance to personnel of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom

Haley House Fund - $60,000 to provide temporary lodging to the families of active-duty military personnel being treated for life-threatening injuries and diseases at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Polytrauma Unit in Tampa

Operation Helping Hand - $50,000 to support and assist wounded or injured active-duty military patients being treated at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, and their visiting families. Support includes welcoming kits, monthly dinners, and day-to-day needs of patients, as well as air travel and other expenses for immediate family members who are visiting in Tampa.

Seminole Behavioral Healthcare – $49,479 to provide treatment and early intervention services for troops with mental health or substance use issues

State College of Florida Foundation – $219,775 to create a globally accessible, multimedia Web site to help veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families prepare for and access postsecondary education

Welcome Home, Vets – $125,000 to provide counseling and other clinical services for returning veterans and their families, care packages to overseas troops, and outreach to improve community sensitivity to the needs of veterans

Since 2003, more than 1.8 million American troops have served in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and thousands have been deployed multiple times. “We know the future is uncertain for our military heroes, even when they have returned home,” said Teri A Hansen, president and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation.  “The BRAIVE Fund is our signal to those men and women that we care and want to help them as much as we can.”

The $5-million Florida BRAIVE Fund at Gulf Coast Community Foundation was created in 2008 to assist military personnel and the families of military personnel who are serving or have served in Afghanistan and Iraq from a 25-county area in central and southwest Florida. The fund was established with a generous gift from the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund (IADIF) of the California Community Foundation. The California Community Foundation has released a new report on the achievements of IADIF and the ongoing needs of our military community, which is available online at calfund.org.

For information about making a contribution to The Florida BRAIVE Fund, visit gulfcoastcf.org.