Team River Runner: Our Mission

Brief video describing, in the stories told by the veterans themselves, what Team River Runner does. This program will begin at Shepherd University in Spring 2013, in cooperation with the VA Hospital facility in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

This has been a labor of love that began over a year ago, during Thanksgiving 2011.  My office had just gotten word that we would take on the responsibility of certifying enrollment for veteran-students at the university, and we were looking for ways to connect with this group of students.  With my love of kayaking and active enjoyment of our two beautiful national rivers, a gorgeous new Wellness Center pool, and the proximity of the VA Hospital, this program seemed a natural progression.

My heart is so full of gratitude:

• for the colleagues in every division of the university who have encouraged and supported me from my tentative early conversations with them about this program;
• for the students who have already begun coming forward, offering help in any way to serve their fellow veterans;
• for the therapy staff at the VA Hospital who have embraced this program as supporting their clients’ therapy goals in multiple ways;
• for the university leadership, for saying “Yes!”;
• for the community groups who are learning about this program for the first time, and responding with great enthusiasm;
• for the generosity, wisdom and warm welcome I’ve enjoyed for over a year from the TRR staff and leadership–before we were even official!

So.  All the preliminaries are over.  Now the work commences in earnest.  Yet another thing on the Crazyplate, but oh, what a beautiful and important addition!