Here are just a few of the ways contributions from friends like you are used:

A group of Air Force men enjoying their free phone cards from the Foundation.

We help our active duty men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan by supplying them with free phone cards so they can call home and talk to their loved ones – something the military does not pay for.

We help our wounded when they are evacuated to Germany in the same way – with free phone cards so they can talk to their loved ones during an often worrisome time.

Once back in the U.S., many of the wounded we help are also the breadwinners for their family. In these cases we try to help both the soldier and his family. For example, when a wounded soldier is on one side of the country at a military or VA hospital and their family is on the other, we can help with their travel and motel costs. In one recent case, we helped a mother spend two weeks near her son while he was undergoing life saving surgery at a VA hospital in Texas.

The Foundation purchased this exercise machine for a young medic who was shot while trying to help a wounded GI. The machine allows him to workout his upper body while sitting in his wheelchair.

As I write this, we are helping a young soldier whose vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb. The device exploded under his seat and the burns he suffered to his back and legs were horrific. Before this young hero was sent home his VA doctor gave him a prescription for a special type of mattress. This mattress helps burn victims because it distributes their weight and thus puts less pressure on the burned area allowing them to sleep. But the VA could not (or would not) supply him with the mattress and, at a cost of over $1,000; his family could not afford it. So the Memorial Foundation stepped in and bought one and now he can sleep at night.

Supporter gifts helped us purchase highly trained service dogs for two veterans.  One soldier had lost his hearing and the dog acts as his ears --  both are trained to pick up and bring objects, open and close doors, wake up the owner in case of fire, press switches, and much more.

We helped pay the cost of home repairs after hurricane Katrina damaged the home of a family who had lost a member in Iraq.

Gifts from concerned Americans like you have made it possible for us to pay for rent, car repairs and other costs while a soldier is being treated for wounds suffered in Iraq or Afghanistan.

There are many more examples like this made possible by the donations friends like you have made to the Foundation. These include the help we least like to give -- to the families of those who have lost a loved one forever…

If you would like to donate, click here.

On a sprawling base in Iraq, the Foundation's gift of a bicycle helps this army chaplain do his job more effectively. And the musical instruments we donated (with help from friends like you), help troops add music to their chapel services.

Major Foundation Programs:

Vocational Training Grants/Scholarships

The Armed Forces Aid Campaign (AFAC) Vocational Educational Training (VET) gives disabled Afghanistan and Iraq veterans an opportunity to receive educational training in an area suitable to their experience and background.  The program is flexible and, depending on the need and status of the veteran, can cover some or all of the costs not provided by the Veterans Administration, Department of Defense, or government educational assistance programs.

VET assistance is awarded on a case-by-case basis with allowances made for the severity of the disability, the type of vocational training being sought, and the personal financial situation of the applicant.

TREA has a long and successful history of awarding scholarships and assisting service members and their families.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars in educational awards have been made in the past.

The new program is in response to a growing need among enlisted men and women who are being medically discharged from the military and find that service related disabilities prevent them from pursuing the careers for which they were trained.  For example, a mechanical specialist who has suffered partial paralysis or lost a limb will likely need to change careers and move into an occupational area with different physical requirements.  While some of the costs resulting from this are covered by DOD programs, AFAC has found that in many cases there is a need for additional financial assistance.

To see if you qualify and obtain an application, please contact:

     Bill De Boer, Chairman

     TREA Memorial Foundation

     1111 South Abilene Ct.

     Aurora, CO  80012

     Fax:  719-570-7065

     Phone: 800-338-9337

     Email:  TREAMEMFND@comcast.net