2021 Winners

$50,000 AWARD:

Objective Zero Foundation

Objective Zero App Program, Fort Leavenworth, KS

The Objective Zero Foundation is a tech nonprofit combating suicide within the military and veteran community through peer support and wellness resources. The Objective Zero App is available on Google Play, the App Store, and our website for service members, veterans, their families, and caregivers to connect to a peer via text, voice, or video chat and to a range of mental health and wellness resources and activities from yoga and meditation to mental health care. Objective Zero App users can filter through our Ambassador network by age, gender, location, branch of service, affiliation to the military, military occupational specialty, deployment campaign, and ROTC/Service Academy to create a meaningful connection with a peer. The app is free to download, free to use, and is available 24 hours a day.

For more information, contact Betsey Mercado (betsey@objectivezero.org) or visit www.objectivezero.org

$37,500 AWARDS:

Homeless Not Toothless

Free Dental Care to Homeless Veterans Program, Los Angeles, CA

Homeless Not Toothless provides free dental care to homeless veterans and their families. Patients have made a commitment to be sober and seek employment. Our objective is to fix oral issues that would prevent our patients from obtaining work. In partnership with UCLA’s School of Dentistry, Homeless Not Toothless is able to train the next generation of doctors in the world of public health providing a benefit to both patients and providers. Homeless Not Toothless has provided over $7.7 million in free dental work to over 100,000 patients since 1991.

For more information, contact Dr. Jay Grossman (drj@hnt.dental) or visit www.homelessnottoothless.org

Yellow Ribbon Fund

Keystone Life Skill Development Program, Bethesda, MD

Yellow Ribbon Fund, a non-profit organization, that serves post 9/11 wounded, ill and injured veterans, their families and caregivers is honored to receive the 2021 Newman’s Own Award. This reward will help support our Keystone Life Skill Development Program, offered to military caregivers; an 8–10-week course that trains and educates each student in a job track that fits their professional desires and caregiver responsibilities. Both training and jobs are virtual and offer time flexibility, so caregivers are afforded financial independence and self-empowerment. Upon completion of the course, each student is provided with 1:1 live interview preparation, resume building, personal branding, and job-hunting instructions to solidify their desired career path. 

For more information, contact Gina Harrow (Gina@yellowribbonfund.org) or visit www.yellowribbonfund.org

Habitat for Humanity Riverside

CalVet REN Residential Enriched Neighborhood Program, Riverside, CA

Habitat for Humanity Riverside always provides a series of classes for new homeowners, such as budgeting, home repairs and insurance & wills, but this program in partnership with CalVet also requires us to surround the veteran families with 3 years of wrap around services such as Equine Therapy, Peer to Peer Counseling, Trauma Informed Art Therapy, PTSD Counseling and Domestic Violence counseling. These and other in-depth health related and money management services for the entire family will be provided as these Veterans and their families make the journey from renter to homeowner.

For more information, contact Matt Friedlander (mfriedlander@habitatriverside.org) or visit www.habitatriverside.org

Overwatch Project/FORGE Foundation

Veteran Family Member Suicide Prevention Program, Miami Beach, FL

The Overwatch Project is a suicide prevention initiative that is building the equivalent of the “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” campaign for veterans, only instead of talking about alcohol and vehicles, it is focused on guns and suicide. It works from within the veteran community to empower vets to intervene with at-risk buddies, asking to temporarily hold onto their guns or take protective storage measures – before it’s too late. Through this approach, the Overwatch Project takes lethal means safety, an evidence-based suicide prevention practice, out of a clinical environment and places it into real-world use via engagement and training crafted in a blunt, authentic veteran voice. The Veteran Family Member Suicide Prevention Program will expand the Overwatch Project beyond its peer-based focus to create training, tools and resources that empower veteran family members to effectively foster conversations about protective firearms storage when suicide is a risk. Nearly 70% of veteran suicides are with firearms, and this program will be the first in the country specifically focused on equipping veteran family members to have these lifesaving conversations.

For more information, contact Casey Woods (cwoods@joinforge.org) or visit www.overwatchproject.org