Transformative Retreats with Wounded

A high school student athlete, Drew Farney plays quarterback at Hyde Academy in Maine. Outside his academic and athletic responsibilities, Drew Farney has gained experience working with veterans through the Wounded Warriors Project.

Providing critical support and resources for wounded veterans throughout the United States, Wounded Warriors offers a number of programs for individuals living with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and combat stress. The organization’s Combat Stress Recovery Program recognizes the effects of combat on mental health and addresses such issues through various rehabilitation services.

To foster connection and healing through physical challenges, veterans can participate in Project Odyssey (an outdoor retreat) or a 5-day Couples Project Odyssey retreat. Held in locations around the country, both programs promote recovery and help rebuild trust in relationships through adventurous outdoor activities such as rock climbing, white water rafting, and horseback riding. For more information about how Project Odyssey retreats draw on the healing power of nature, visit www.woundedwarriors.org.

Guitar Players Should Use Electronic

Based in Bath, Maine, Drew Farney is presently studying and playing football as a student at Hyde Academy. Passionate about music, Drew Farney enjoys writing songs, creating beats for use on Soundcloud songs, and playing guitar.

An electronic device, guitar tuners are helpful for recreational and professional guitar players for several reasons. Players who use tuners save hassle while tuning their instruments, allowing them to maintain their focus on playing.

Using a tuner ensures the instrument is truly in tune, whereas relying on the ears for tuning fools some players into believing they are playing in tune when they actually are not. Tuning by ear is problematic since it requires being able to detect minor variations in pitches and cannot be accomplished by someone with an untrained musical ear. Using an electronic tuner correctly trains players’ ears to recognize the different sound each note produces and helps them develop their ability to recognize proper tune much more quickly than someone who does not use the device. 

Lone Star Warriors Outdoors Encourages Veterans’ PTSD Recovery Process

With a background as a student-athlete in basketball and football, Drew Farney has a passion for the outdoors and activities such as hunting. He is a quarterback on the football team at Hyde Academy. Active in Texas as a volunteer, Drew Farney has volunteered as part of the Wounded Warrior Project’s Lone Star Warriors Outdoors (LSWO) initiative.

With a large percentage of combat veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to some extent, issues such as depression and suicidal tendencies can impact their lives for months and years. LSWO proactively addresses this issue by taking small groups of veterans on hunting and saltwater fishing excursions. When it comes to hunting, this is accessible in Texas from October through February at high-fence ranches. The primary game is whitetail deer, with exotic species also in the mix.

However, the real objective of the activities is not simply to hunt but to have a therapeutic experience of sitting with new and old friends around campfires and connecting. The bonding between the three to five people in these groups is similar to that with military settings, with veterans regaining a sense of normalcy and purpose through social interactions. In the process, they can work through persistent and often repressed psychological issues and return as better functioning members of society.

Three Ways to Help Support Veterans

Drew Farney currently attends Hyde Academy in Bath, Maine, where he serves as a quarterback on the football team. Outside of his academic endeavors, Drew Farney devotes his time to participating in charity work to support veterans.

As a result of the sacrifices they made during military service, veterans often have specific needs that require assistance from others. Some of the best ways to help support veterans are described here:

Volunteer to Transport Veterans

Help the veterans in your area by driving them to medical appointments. Consider joining the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) volunteer transportation network to learn more about serving veterans requiring transport, or to find out if you can donate your vehicle to the program.

Support Veterans Organizations

Donate your time to advocating to protect veterans from homelessness and eviction by volunteering with the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans and Homes for Our Troops.

Donate Food to Veterans

Many veterans are in need of nutritious, home-cooked meals. Reach out to a veteran’s organization such as Feed Our Vets and support their efforts to provide veterans with food.