Vet News: VA Secretary to Announce VA-Bob Woodruff Foundation Partnership

WASHINGTON – Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Secretary Robert A. McDonald this evening will announce a partnership with the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) to further advance VA’s outreach to Veterans through deeper and more innovative local and community partnerships. VA will capitalize on BWF’s strength and contacts to find unique ways to connect Veterans, transitioning Servicemembers and their families with resources right where they live. The partnership with BWF is one of many strategic alliances VA is forming and is an integral goal of the MyVA initiative, the largest reorganization in VA’s history which reorients VA around the needs of Veterans.

“We believe that by working together we can create a ‘single front door,’ or a convenient community point of entry, to help Veterans gain access to the benefits they have earned in addition to the resources unique to their local communities,” said Secretary McDonald. “This partnership creates a more robust integration of federal, state and local governments, non-profit organizations, businesses and other local partners at the community level. By combining and sharing our efforts and expertise, I believe this partnership can help us better serve our nation’s Veterans – together.”

“Our nation’s transitioning Servicemembers, Veterans and their families each have unique needs, making the resources and services dedicated to overcoming their challenges all the more necessary,” said BWF Executive Director Anne Marie Dougherty. “We are excited by this opportunity to work in partnership with VA to reach Veterans and their families where they live and to deliver high-impact programs to support sustainable success.”

The Bob Woodruff Foundation is a nonprofit organization working on behalf of injured Servicemembers, Veterans and their families. Since 2006, BWF has invested nearly $30 million in programs reaching more than 2 million injured Servicemembers, Veterans and their families in three key areas: Education and Employment, Rehabilitation and Recovery, and Quality of Life.

For more information about the Foundation, visit bobwoodrufffoundation.org. For more information about VA including the MyVA initiative, visit va.gov.