Our mission is to enrich the lives of veterans by connecting them to their community through social and physical activity. So what we do is “connect veterans to their community” and how we do it is “through social and physical activity”. And I can tell you that we are the best organization to help veterans make the transition from military to civilian life, bar-none. There is no other organization that allows for everyone- civilians, veterans- literally anyone- to have an immediate impact in the lives of veterans WITHIN their community- it’s better than wearing a yellow ribbon, better than a “thank you” and better than cutting a check. Why “social and physical activities”? Remember- we want to “enrich the lives of veterans”, right? So one of the key findings of positive psychology is that true happiness and life satisfaction comes from relationships. So when we formed Team RWB we kept asking- “how can we create relationships?” Especially for veterans in their communities- a large percentage of whom do not return home when exiting the military. Then, of course the physical benefits of keeping fit are well documented- but it’s really important for veterans because while there are many different ways to treat the invisible wounds of war there is no answer, no one-size-fits-all template. Except physical fitness. In fact, studies show that exercise can be as effective as pills and counseling. And what’s even better is that when you conduct exercise in groups there is a multiplier effect to that effectiveness. So what we found is that if we can create relationships and if we can create group fitness programs then veterans’ lives will be greatly improved. So that’s what we do- we create consistent, local social and fitness programs all over the country to properly connect veterans to their community in a way that promotes building and forming natural relationships (networks). The results are pretty incredible, my life is a testament to that fact. Check out our website for more info and some success stories. www.teamRWB.org ~Written By: Chris Widell, Director of Team RWB Houston Chapter
