Our Impact
Why We Help
The mark of war for many veterans, is felt way past their tour of duty. The scars that these marks leave, both physically and mentally, carry over into the transition from military to civilian life. Research done by PEW Research found that three-in-ten veterans say it was very difficult to transition into their new lives. Among our post 9/11 heroes, many stated that they had difficulties paying bills, accessing health care as well as receiving food support.
Soldiers who fought for our country should not lack the assets they need to live post military. Our mission at the Purple Heart foundation is to enhance the quality of life of Purple Heart recipients and other honorably discharged veterans and their families. We provide them with the resources they need to pay their bills by providing critical assistance grants for veterans facing immediate financial crisis.
We also focus on the future by providing educational scholarships for Purple Heart veterans and their families as well as providing service dogs and recreational therapy for veterans dealing with PTSD.
Helping veterans is what we do
We are here when they need us most.
"...Am I going to be living on the streets?
That’s the question Senior Airman Soriano (Ret.) thought to himself when the pandemic hit and his world crumbled right before his eyes. SRA Soriano is a U.S. Air Force veteran that served in Operation Enduring Freedom soon after 9/11. First, his employer started cutting his hours, from 40 to 20 to just 10 hours a week. Eventually, SRA Soriano was laid off.
Then just when he found a new job, he discovered he had contracted COVID-19 forcing him to give up his new position. “I spent every penny basically just on rent,” said SRA Soriano. “You don’t realize how fast you run through your savings. I was literally thinking I’d be on the street soon” …SRA Soriano had donated to the Purple Heart Foundation in the past, that’s what made him think of us when he was in a time of need… and we were there for him.
Learn more about how our critical assistance grants help veterans like SRA Soriano.
Lending a helping Hand through education
We understand that veterans and their families alike take the time to plan out their next move and decide that going college and getting a higher education is what they would like to do. We at the Purple Heart Foundation want to be there to lend a hand and offer an incentive that can go to their tuition, room & board, or other fees.
Our scholarship program invested almost $100,000 into our veterans and their families members to be able to go to college and start the career of their choice afterward! Every year more veterans and their direct descendants go to college. You can help provide a brighter future for a combat-wounded veteran or their family by making a donation to the Academic Scholarship fund. You can learn more here to see if you are eligible for the Purple Heart Scholarship
Providing a new "leash" on life
A research article concluded that veterans with service dogs spent an average of 82% of their time with their helpful companions (Plos.org). In addition to providing service dog funding to other organizations, we work alongside Veterans Moving Forward to train the best possible puppies into helpful and caring service dogs as a critical resource to combat wounded veterans. Service dogs can help wounded veterans with basic daily tasks that they may have found difficult before, like turning off the lights or opening the refrigerator door.
Over $200,000 was allocated to our Service Dogs Program in order to give veterans a chance to be more independent in their lives due to their physical or mental disabilities. Funds allocated to this program allow veterans to have the possibility of being paired up with a new best friend for life. Our most recent addition to our Purple Heart family is Clay, The Service Dog in training.
Going to War with PTSD
The effects of combat linger long after soldiers return home. PEW Reserach found that veterans who say they had emotionally traumatic or distressing experiences related to military service and those who say they have suffered from post-traumatic stress (PTS) as a result of their experiences in the military are among the most likely to say their transition to civilian life was difficult.
PTSD continues to be a problem for most veterans.The Department of Veterans Association reports that about 11-20 out of every 100 Veterans (or between 11-20%) who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom have PTSD in a given year. In 2022, the Purple Heart Foundation gave over $600,000 in Welfare and Rehabilitation grants. This includes offering grants to PTSD research facilities such as the National Intrepid Center in Texas.
We also offer the book Tears Of A Warrior on our website, free of charge. The purpose of the book is to educate families and veterans about the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress and to offer strategies for living with the disorder. We do everything we can to offer ways that can help ease the hardship of disabilities, such as PTSD
Our Impact By The Numbers
Having supported hundreds of thousands of veterans over the last sixty years, we intend to not only increase support but also to expand our programs to serve thousands more. Take a look at last year’s numbers and how we made an impact in the lives of veterans.
Our Mission
The mission of the Purple Heart Service Foundation is to enhance the quality of life of Purple Heart recipients and other honorably discharged veterans and their families.
