WBAC Washington for Northwest Battle Buddies

WALLY BYAM AIRSTREAM CLUB ("WBAC"), Washington unit, is leading a campaign in support of Northwest Battle Buddies ("NWBB").

We are raising money for NWBB, a nonprofit organization that provides professionally trained service dogs to combat Veterans who are battling PTSD and helping our American Hero's to regain their freedom and independence. 

Today, 22 Veterans will lose their battle with PTSD by taking their own lives. Yet our families will go to bed tonight having enjoyed another day of the liberties and freedoms these American Heroes fought to secure and protect.  This is our opportunity to be more then patriotic by helping our Veterans win their battle with PTSD.

For too many of our combat Veterans the battle continues. Though they are no longer on the battle field, the battle persists in the form of combat-induced post-traumatic stress.  It is estimated that 11 – 20% of veterans develop post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.  PTSD is a serious and potentially debilitating condition that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed dangerous, violent, or life-threatening events.  Veterans battling PTSD may experience severe depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions, and are at increased risk of suicide.

There is no cure for PTSD, but there is hope.  NWBB service dogs faithfully and skillfully serve their veterans by providing constant and unconditional acceptance, support, security, love and loyalty.  In these dogs, the Veterans find true battle buddies that provide constant and unconditional support to succeed in overcoming the perpetuating challenges presented by post-traumatic stress.  These dogs help our Veterans regain their freedom and independence -- a four-legged battle buddy to help fight the battle and find a way back home.

To learn more, we strongly encourage you to take a brief moment and watch the Vision of Hope Series, a micro-series produced by NWBB and narrated by Veterans.

VISION OF HOPE SERIES (4 - 6 minute videos)
Chapter 1: Our mission
Chapter 2: PTSD
Chapter 3: Suicide
Chapter 4: Our service dogs 
Chapter 5: Our teams 

Your support and advocacy are critical.  In the past 5 years, Northwest Battle Buddies has provided service dogs to over 50 Veterans. In the next 5 years, they seek to provide service dogs to 500 Veterans -- an extremely ambitious goal that will require extraordinary levels of commitment, investment and action.

Why is their plan so aggressive?  We recently learned that the list of Veterans who have been approved to receive a service dog from NWBB is growing.  So much so, that a Veteran who is approved today will have to wait 3 years to meet their service dog for the first time in the year 2022.  Because 1 in 14 Veterans battling PTSD will commit suicide within the next 3 years, this 3-year wait is unacceptable.  NWBB’s team has the capacity to train and deliver more service dogs, they simply lack the resources to do so.

As a nonprofit organization, NWBB depend on the support of members, donors, volunteers, partners and friends to fund, train and certify each veteran-canine team.  The illustration below, titled "Anticipated Expenditures Per Veteran-Canine Team," provides an overview of how our donations will be spent.

ILLUSTRATION 1: 
Anticipated Expenditures Per Veteran - Canine Team
Northwest Battle Buddies, Inc. (EIN 45-415917) is a registered 501c3 charitable organization that has achieved a Platinum rating with Guidestar™ and is a member of the Association of Service Dog Providers for Military Veterans.

Statistical Sources and References:
1. “How Common Is PTSD?" U.S. Depart. of Veteran Affairs, 10/2016.
2. “Suicide Among Veterans ...," U.S. Depart. of Veteran Affairs, 08/2016
3. GuideStar™ profile 
4. Association of Service Dog Providers for Military Veterans profile