News reporter injured in Iraq recognizes wounded warriors and their families

BOSTON, Thursday, May 20, 2010 – Bob Woodruff has had his fair share of challenges over the past four years. Shortly after becoming anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight, Woodruff was critically wounded from a roadside bomb while covering a story in Iraq. His own road to recovery – and the impact on his family including wife Lee – was difficult and represents that of thousands of service members serving our country overseas and their families back home.

Recognizing these challenges being faced by those returning from war, the Bob Woodruff Foundation is donating $100,000 to the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program. With René Carbone Bardorf, Executive Director of the Bob Woodruff Foundation, the Woodruffs will present their gift to Home Base leadership on Thursday, May 20 at 6:30 PM on the field at Fenway Park before the Red Sox play the Minnesota Twins.

Home Base, which works in cooperation with the Department of Veterans Affairs, was created in September of 2009 to treat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who are affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). The donation will help further the Home Base Program’s mission to:

• Provide outreach, diagnosis and clinical care for veterans with PTSD and TBI
• Offer outreach, support services and counseling to families of affected veterans
• Conduct innovative research to deepen the understanding of the disorders and develop better treatments for them
• Educate veterans, families, health care and community providers about diagnosis and treatment of these disorders.

“We are truly grateful for the support of the Bob Woodruff Foundation,” says Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of the MGH.  “Their voice is strong and enables the mission of the Home Base Program to be heard by veterans who may be hesitant to seek treatment.  Their gift will help further all the program does to improve the lives of those who have risked so much for our country.”

“It is our honor to be a part of the Home Base Program,” says Bob Woodruff.  “It took time, dedication and compassion from the very best professionals to get me to where I am today.  Every veteran returning from war should have the same opportunity for a successful road to recovery, and the Home Base Program is helping to make that possible.”

“Bob Woodruff’s remarkable life inspires all of us and enables him to identify with the challenges that our men and women in uniform face day after day on the frontlines to keep us all safe,” says Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner.  “We are incredibly grateful to Bob and Lee for the Woodruff Foundation's generous contribution to the Home Base Program, which will provide much needed support to the far too many veterans who 

About the Bob Woodruff Foundation

The Bob Woodruff Foundation provides resources and support to service members, veterans and their families to successfully reintegrate into their communities so they may thrive physically, psychologically, socially and economically.  Through a public education movement called ReMIND.org, the Bob Woodruff Foundation helps educate the public about the needs of service members returning from war — especially the 1 in 5 service members who have sustained hidden injuries such as Traumatic Brain Injury and Combat Stress, including Post Traumatic Stress, Depression and Anxiety — and empowers communities nationwide to take action.   Across the country, the Bob Woodruff Foundation collaborates with other organizations and experts to identify and solve issues related to the return of service members from combat to civilian life and invests in programs that connect our troops to the help they need — from individual needs like physical accommodations, medical care and counseling, to larger social issues like homelessness and suicide.   To date, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has spent $5.8 million on Foundation programs, reaching more than 500,000 service members, support personnel, veterans and their families nationwide.

About the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program

The Home Base Program is a new philanthropic partnership between the team charity and Massachusetts General Hospital dedicated to improving the lives of veterans returning from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars with deployment-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or traumatic brain injury (TBI). The program includes clinical care, family support, research, and educational outreach.

For information about the Red Sox Foundation and Mass General Hospital Home Base Program, visit www.homebaseprogram.org. For more information about the Red Sox Foundation, the award winning team charity of the Boston Red Sox, please visit www.redsoxfoundation.org. To learn more about Massachusetts General Hospital, please visit www.massgeneral.org. To learn more about the Bob Woodruff Foundation, please visit www.remind.org.

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