title:  How Wounded Warrior Project Treated A Triple-Amputee Marine And His Family Should Enrage Us All
text: This just goes to show that you should always do your research before donating to a charity.Despite being a charity that supposedly provides support to wounded military veterans and their families, the Wounded Warrior Project(WWP) failed one family so badly that it should anger every American who claims to support our troops.Courtney Leigh Schumacher was preparing to deliver her second child when her husband was severely injured. Jon Schumacher lost both of his legs and required major medical care at Bethesda Medical Center in Maryland. The only problem was the family was stationed in California and Courtney needs to figure out how to fly across the country and make sure her husband, her baby, and herself had everything they needed for the long recovery ahead.So she reached out to the Wounded Warrior Project seeking travel assistance, baby items, and other needs to get through the hardship. Wounded Warrior Project denied her requests. In fact, the only thing they managed to send her was a box full of merchandise including hats and stickers instead of what she and her family actually needed. Needless to say, Courtney Schumacher was angry, so she posted her story on social media.Dear Wounded Warrior Project,Please stop sending us merchandise.We do not want the hats, stickers, magnets, clothing and backpacks you send us throughout the year. I don t understand how you have the funds for these items, yet you can t help the countless Veterans who need it. You can show us your programs and have a few Veterans testify for you, but it means nothing. I m not a person who read a negative article about you and is now deciding to speak out. I am a caregiver who approached you in my time of need and I was told no.I was 3 weeks away from delivering our second son when my husband was injured. I flew from California to Bethesda to be by his side. I asked for baby items and assistance with travel for our immediate family so I could recover. I was told no. These were two of my dozen of requests that were all denied. I asked then what can help us with and you said  whatever you need.  Merchandise was the only thing we have ever received from you.Luckily, Courtney and her family found support from a charity that actually went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure they had everything they needed.Fortunately for us, an organization did support us and fulfilled our needs. They gave us a swing and a pack n play for my husbands hospital room so I could continue his care. They flew our family out in time for the birth and flew out our oldest son, who was 4, across the country to spend Christmas with us. This organization was the Semper Fi Fund.As for Wounded Warrior Project, Courtney refused to waste any more time supporting the organization.I will be sending an email today to be removed from your mailing list. I hate to see anymore of your donor s funds wasted. Sincerly, the caregiver of a triple amputee. @wwp @semperfifund  # wwpgear   # woundedwarriorproject   # semperfifund Here s an image of the post via NewsFoxes:Now, there is no denying that Wounded Warrior Project has helped many veterans. But what happened to this family is totally unacceptable, especially when you read an account of what Courtney went through in Bethesda for months, which she wrote after her original post went viral.We were stationed in 29 palms, Ca and made under $1900 a month for a family of three. When my husband was injured, I was flown to Bethesda, MD. I decided to leave our four year old son in California with my parents. I was expecting a swift return to San Diego and I didn t want him to see his dad in that condition. I had a automatic payment set up for my parents back home so all his needs were met.There was no savings for our needs in Bethesda. I was never looking for a handout or a check from WWP. I just wanted help.I had nothing to lay my newborn baby in while in the hospital room. I slept on a chair and my husband had MRSA. I asked for a bassinet, I was told no. I asked for someone to take my debit card to Target and buy me one. I was told no. I didn t have a vehicle or a car seat. I was desperate. I flew to Bethesda in October and stayed through January. I didn t own any warm clothing. I walked to and from the hospital through snow in flip flops until my family bought me boots during their visit. I never asked for things for myself.We couldn t afford plane tickets across country during the holidays. I was due to deliver our second son on December 17th. I knew we needed family bedside to continue my husbands care while I delivered our son. We were told no. Luckily, Semper Fi Fund flew our family out for two weeks. It made our hospital room Christmas morning much more pleasant. I had a hard time getting my husband dressed everyday for therapy. He was still connected to wound vacs in his legs and tubes throughout his body. We asked if there was a way to get some snap athletic clothing, we were told no. Luckily  Sew much comfort  provided Jon with velcro clothing. There were more requests I made and I was told no. I asked what do you do and they said whatever you need.Indeed, despite that declaration by Wounded Warrior Project, Courtney still only received a two-letter word that made it clear that her family wasn t going to receive help from that particular organization, and she ripped them a new one for it.If you only provide specific services, then make that information available. If you outsource most of your Veterans to other non profits, yet sue them for stepping on your toes, then state that.If you cant help my family then state that instead of keeping us hooked with false hope. I see organizations like Homes for our Troops who can put a Veterans family in a mortgage free handicap accessible forever home with a tiny portion of what WWP makes a month and it upsets me. All I ask, if you know of a specific need of a Veteran that you want to see happen, then donate to that specific organization.Here s an image of the family Wounded Warrior Project refused to help.Wounded Warrior Project may have began as a worthy cause that helped a lot of people, but it has since become a questionable charity that is struggling to make the grade.According to Non-Profit Quarterly, WWP received a  D  rating from the American Institute of Philanthropy, C+ by Charity Watch, and  three out of four stars  from Charity Navigator. In short, it s a mixed score that doesn t exactly inspire confidence.In addition, Wounded Warrior Project brought in $342 million in 2014, and only 55 percent of that goes to actually helping veterans in need while the other 45 percent is used for administrative expenses, $473,015 of which is the salary paid to CEO Steven Narduzzi. One has to wonder how it feels to get rich off the backs of veterans.In contrast, the Semper Fi Fund that Courtney and her family received help from has a spectacular rating. It has a four star rating from Charity Navigator, an A+ rating from Charity Watch. And unlike WWP, only 6 percent of the funds donated to Semper Fi Fund are used for overhead.This really shows which charity organization has their priorities straight. So, perhaps it s time for all of us to do research before we donate to an organization, especially when that organization claims to support wounded veterans and their families. If we really believe our troops and their families deserve the best, shouldn t they also deserve the best charitable organizations as well?Featured Image: News Foxes