SENTINELS OF FREEDOM STANDING UP A COLLEGE PARK TEAM
Full Description:
No matter your postion on the Iraq war one thing is clear, our young men and women that are serving us over there deserve our support. There are plenty of opportunities to do that but Mike Conklin of Danville, Califorinia saw a unique need. Because of advances in medical technology more of our military are surviving what in the past would have been fatal injuries. These heroes or as Mike calls them, Sentinels, return home severly injured. Many are missing arms and legs. These brave citizens spend a year or more at military hospitals going through intense rehabilitation before recieving medical retirement from the military. Then they return home, or to a location of thier choice, to start a new life with new limitations. At this point Mike realized is where the community needs to come together to provide the support systems to enable these Sentinels have the support they need to get thier new lives off to a postivie start.
He has done this with six returning Sentinels in California with good success. His formula for success was to involve the community, including corporate sponsors such as Wells Fargo, UPS, Chevron, Braddock & Logan Services, Shapell Industries of Northern California, and others. Each Sentinel is supported by a mentoring team made up of ten individuals that include a doctor, a financial consultant, chaplin, retired field grade military officer, and other community leaders.
The Scholarship as it is called is for a four year period and includes housing, car, job placement, educational counseling, financial counseling, and other services that are tailored to the need of the specific Sentinel.
About two years ago Mike's program came to the attention of RE/MAX International and Mike became a part of the RE/MAX network and then this March at the International convention RE/MAX announced that it was going to become a primary sponsor of the charity with enough funding to take the program national. In April ninety business leaders from around the country recieved training on the program and returned home to begin setting up thier team in anticipation of recieving a Sentinel in thier community. Three teams are being formed in the Orlando Metropolitan area including one here in College Park.
David Rose, a local RE/MAX agent and community activist learned about the program at the International Convention and was one of the ninety people trained in April to stand up teams in thier communities. David has lived in College Park for almost fifty years and has a long history of community involvement. In reaching a decision to bring this program to College Park he reviewed all of his work for the community and realized that his efforts before this was to strengthen the neighborhood. College Park is in fact a very strong viable community. It was time for David to change his focus and to rally his community to support a single individual that needs to draw on the communities strength. David's goal for the ninety days is to build a team and resources necessary to be certified to recieve a Sentinel.
For more information on this program go to www.SentinelsofFreedom.org, be sure to check out the videos, or contact David Rose at David.Rose@Realtor.com.
As Mike Conklin would ask, does College Park have room for one more at our table?
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