WARRIOR REUNION FOUNDATION

No two WRF reunions are alike. Our experienced team guides each unit through a detailed planning process that typically takes 3-6 months in order to plan and execute a successful reunion mission. Our sole purpose is to support each unit in realizing their reunion vision. While many organizations focus on hand-outs, we focus on mutual support and capacity development, with the goal of ensuring that each unit’s reunion is planned by their members, for their members. This increases ownership, engagement and commitment; leading to positive outcomes that endure long after the reunion mission is complete. Each reunion’s sequence of events is built around our pillars of Service, Wellness and Camaraderie. How Are We Different?
Capacity Building: We don’t do “handouts.” Our reunions are a partnership between our team and the units we support. We build capacity within each unit, giving them the tools and experience they need to plan future gatherings to ensure their connection remains strong. This is accomplished through good old-fashioned sweat equity: each unit is required to establish a “unit planning committee” of 3-5 members that works alongside our team through a guided 6 month reunion planning process. The unit planning committee makes the decisions for their reunion, coordinates amongst all unit members, and is responsible for ensuring mission success.
Proactive Connections to Actionable Resources: During our planning process we work with each unit to identify the areas of support that best address the prevailing issues facing their members. Based on that assessment of needs we invite representatives from partner organizations to brief at the reunion, putting best-in-breed Veteran Support Organizations (VSOs) directly in front of our reunion attendees. Surrounded by those with whom they served, our attendees are able to talk openly about their challenges. This stigma-free environment, coupled with personal connections to pre-screened resources that match their identified areas of need results in increased engagement with follow-on care.
Enduring Peer Support: Our reunions serve to rekindle the special bond shared by those in attendance, resulting in an enduring connection between the members of the unit. Through private Facebook groups created during their reunion planning process, unit members have a forum to reach out for support when needed. Our program ensures that no veteran is without a connection to brothers and sisters in arms as they strive to pursue life’s next mission.

Our organization connects with local community organizations and national level partners to identify locations that meet the requirement for hosting a reunion. We have developed partnerships with a host of vendors who supply all the logistical requirements for each reunion.

Our organization is founded and operated by combat veterans. We know the population we serve and we know the need because we have personally benefited from attending our own unit reunion. Planning unit reunions is akin to planning a military field operation, only this time the mission is to reconnect America's warriors. We have executed 28 successful unit reunions and have all the planning expertise and vendor relationships necessary to deliver successful reunions in communities across the United States. We offer a guided planning process that comprises every step required to deliver a successful reunion event, and have a full time planning staff that works with each unit we support to ensure the reunion accomplishes their vision.

In the five years since our founding, Warrior Reunion Foundation has reunited over 1500 combat veterans and Gold Star Family members across 28 reunions, provided at no cost to each unit we’ve served. In 2021 alone, WRF executed 11 reunions with over 400 veterans and Gold Star Families at locations in Maryland, Indiana, Montana, Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, and Texas. 2022 will be our largest year yet with 12 reunions. Our schedule features 5 Army, 1 National Guard, and 6 Marine units covering combat deployments from Grenada in 1983 through Iraq/Afghanistan in 2012.

Measurable Outcomes – According to our post-reunion surveys:
• Before attending their reunion, only 30% of participants were "likely" to reach out to their veteran peers for support. After attending a WRF reunion, over 70% reported they were "highly likely" to reach out for support when needed.
This confirms that attending a WRF reunion has more than doubled peer support engagement by our veteran attendees.
• Over 70% of post-reunion survey respondents had not seen members of their unit in over 5 years.
• Over 97% of post-reunion survey respondents said that attending their reunion “strengthened their social connections with their military family.”
• 100% of survey respondents would recommend attending a reunion sponsored by Warrior Reunion Foundation to their veteran peers.