rivers of recovery

This weekend is the first weekend of the year that Rivers of Recovery is taking our beloved disabled veterans down the green river.  We have blogged about Dan T Cook’s organization before and wanted to revisit how unbelievable this organization is and all the good they are doing.  Dan just finished the Heart of America Float where he raised awareness for the Rivers of Recovery cause.  This float was a world record drift starting in Three Forks, Montana and ended up in the Gulf of Mexico, consisting of 3,700 miles.  Again we thank Dan for doing good in this world.  Please check out the site and support this cause.

Here is some info from the Rivers of Recover site:

Rivers of Recovery is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Since its founding in early 2008, Rivers of Recovery has been recognized as one of the premier recreational rehabilitation programs in the United States. Our program has been universally embraced by veteran’s support organizations and has garnered the attention of national and local media. Our commitment to disabled veterans compels us to continually improve our program and ensure that it is available to every service member that can benefit from it.

Rivers of Recovery distinguishes itself from traditional veterans support organizations in many critical facets:

1. Our sole purpose is to design, test and implement rehabilitative programs in the outdoors.
2. We recognize the need to reinforce pre-existing support networks. Including the entire family strengthens bonds and provides a positive, proactive environment where each member can contribute.
3. Our programs combine idyllic settings with the therapeutic benefits of a cohesive group of individuals that have faced similar experiences and challenges.We provide veterans with a temporary sanctuary, free of stresses and uncertainties, a place where they can relax, enjoy themselves and their surroundings. The fishing trips allow veterans to demonstrate abilities and build skills while reinforcing their self-confidence and resolve.
4. We endorse the concept of “veterans helping veterans.” Our clients are drawn from around the United States; from diverse locations and backgrounds. During their trip they spend many hours in each others company and have opportunities to share their experiences, difficulties, victories and accomplishments. These opportunities are invaluable by allowing the veterans to form new friendships and inspire, support and motivate each other.
5. ROR’s personal attention and a family atmosphere achieve a guide-to-veteran ratio of 1 to 2 and an overall staff-to-participant ratio of 2 to 1.
6. The symptoms of psychological disabilities are sometimes not immediately apparent. ROR recognizes the complexities and inconsistencies of these disorders and adjusts eligibility accordingly.
7. ROR’s follow-on interaction and support:
* We utilize the military-inspired “buddy system,” which enables us to receive feedback and monitor the progress of our participants after their program.
* We utilize a psychologist-designed “scale” which allows us to measure the immediate impact of our program as well as follow-up measurements at one and three months.
8. Family: Perhaps the single most inspiring aspect of ROR, as is consistently reflected in the testimonials, is that the staff and guides of ROR are a “family” bound by a common purpose and committed to help veterans and their families.