MONTHLY RECAP

2022   2022   2022   2022   2022   2022  

Highlights, stories, and stats from around your Every Warrior Family from the month'S of OCTOBER and NOVEMBER 2022.

YOU GOT YOUR RUN ON

Every Warrior was honored to be one of the beneficiaries of the returning Brookshires + Super1Foods Heroes Run. On October 15, thousands of runners from across the area (and several from outside the area) gathered at the Brookshire's Grocery Arena in Bossier to participate in this 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon.

Together, with six other organizations working to support local military and first responders, over $70,000 worth of proceeds from this event is being invested to further the work of these missions.

  • Brookshires + Super1Foods: THANK YOU for allowing us to be one of the benefiting organizations. 
  • Runners and Walkers alike: Thank you for showing up BIG for us and our partners.
  • Volunteers: Thank you for coming out and helping us serve those who participated in the run.

STUDIO UPDATES

We're always tweaking things so that we offer the best for our Warriors. Why? Cause they deserve it. The new EveryWarrior Studio is no different.

It's amazing what a little paint can do to transform a space. Some of the updates you will notice immediately in our upcoming video releases, while some have taken place "under the hood" as we've pressed in and learned.

While capturing stories and spreading truth through our podcast and new Youtube channel is the goal,  this isn't just for us. Warriors who are working to start their own podcast of Youtube channels will be able to start chasing that dream right here...at no charge. 

Thank you
Litton-Mortgage,
Thaxton Title,
and Magee Resource 
for investing in this vision.

TWN UPDATE

As 2022 comes to a close, our soft launch of our brand new YouTube channel and podcast continues. Using the original name of our org (2015-2020), The Warrior Network (TWN) is where you will find all of our latest on-demand digital content where each episode brings you face-to-face with battle-tested wisdom from the life experiences of Warriors and leaders from around the world.

Get subscribed today, because the "grand opening" is coming with the beginning of 2023.

One of the first episodes you can expect is the premiere episode of "Conversations"...where Trey sits down with Dakota Hughes for an in-depth, raw talk about Dakota's journey as a Warrior, husband, and daddy...and how the twists and turns on this journey led him to the brink of suicide.

Check out our latest content below. 

SHREVEPORT CARD SHOW

For the fourth time in a row, the ever growing Shreveport Card Show hosted an event drawing hundreds of people. Proceeds from the show benefited our mission. Over the weekend, they raised $737.

These funds have already made a direct impact in the middle of the lives of several of our Warriors. 

LOCALS LOVE US

On November 20, at The Feast, we were presented with the Locals Love Us designation for the sixth year in a row.

Together, with some of our friends who were at the event, we were able to capture the moment. Thank you to each and every person who voted for us for this designation.

Every Warrior Network is proud to be one of the loved charitable and service organizations in the Shreveport/Bossier area!

for the ONE

YOU CAME THROUGH FOR THIS FAMILY

On Monday, October 24, A1C Matthew Sharp was one of four Warriors involved in a serious vehicle accident in East Texas. He remains in critical condition with life-threatening injuries in the Intensive Care Unit of a Tyler, Texas hospital. Two of the other members involved in the accident were treated and released, while the fourth Warrior, unfortunately, lost his life.

A1C Sharp's friend and co-worker, Andrew Tri said this about him: "Matthew Sharp is by far the most caring, determined, and unselfish airman I’ve ever met. Never, and I mean never, have I seen him unhappy or mad."  

In his early 20s, he was in the very beginning of his military career. Even though he has only been a member of the 2nd Maintenance Squadron at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana for a short time, we were honored to be able to support him and his family, along with his friends and fellow Warriors.
Over the span of just two weeks, 66 donors stretching between California to Florida, gave  $5,797.30 to help his family (116% of our $5,000 goal). Your generosity allowed us to present his mom with a check for $6,000 right before Thanksgiving, helping with things like travel between Texas and Florida, hotel expenses, food expenses, and more.

Today, we are thrilled to say that he is continuing to recover steadily. 


If you want to know what success looks like for our mission, look no further than this. This one Warrior. This one crisis. This one family. When they needed support...you provided it. Not only did you help meet a financial need, subsequently, you helped meet the need they had for love, care, and hope. 

MORE THAN A BRIEF

Every two weeks we get the honor of spending about 30 minutes with our newest Warriors at Barksdale...and once every three months (roughly) we get to spend an hour with some of Barksdale's newest leaders.

While we get to spread the word about the mission of the Network...more than that, we get to hear from these Warriors. We get their feedback, we hear their heart, we hear their dreams, and we hear their concerns. We're also able to advocate for the community in which we call home.

  • Fun Fact #1: In FTAC, throughout 2022, we have been able to meet an immediate need of an attendee the day of the brief each week but two.

  • Fun Fact #2: Through ALS, we have heard amazing feedback from attendees, some of which is currently shaping resources that we will launch in 2023. 

FOUR WARRIORS

In the article above, you read about how 66 donors helped support a Warrior involved in a horrific car accident. As with most things with us, there's more to the story.

Not only did you help us support Matthew Sharp, you also helped us support the other members involved. Whether it was a new cell phone for one survivor who, on top of his injuries, had lost connection with his family and much needed support system, or it was helping the mom of another Warrior with lodging so that she could be here with her daughter, you allowed us to make a laser focused impact in a horrific situation.

Know this, when we get a $750 donation for Warrior Support, it makes a difference. When we get a $25 donation for Warrior Support, it makes a difference. Bottom line, your financial support, whatever amount it is, makes a difference, and opens doors for ripple effects that we will never know. 

Trey NAMED HONORARY COMMANDER

As part of the ongoing relationship we have with our military installations, our Founder and Director was appointed to the position of Honorary Commander of the Barksdale Security Forces Squadron.

This program is one of the ways military installations connect with members of the community, helping spread awareness of the inner workings of the Air Force.

MORE THAN FURNITURE

All of the resources and partnerships we create, build, and sustain come from the inner workings of our relationships with our Warriors. In mid-October, we met a Warrior who was fairly new to the Air Force and had just gotten his apartment. The only problem was his apartment was completely empty... minus himself and some clothes.

Right here is where two things happened, almost simultaneously:

1. We were able to meet his need and supplied him with furniture for his bedroom.
 
2. At the Warrior's Family Center, we were hosting the wedding rehearsal dinner for the new Executive Director of a local organization called Renesting Project who was marrying a Warrior. Guess what they specialize in... yep... furniture... for people who are in need of it.  Guess who qualifies? Warriors. Guess what that means. Yep! New partnership coming soon. 

FOUR STORIES

REAL LIFE - REAL influence

If you attended the 2022 Warrior's Thanksgiving Feast, you experienced the stories of four people that we consider heroes. Following in the footsteps of Warriors who have shared their stories in year's past at the Feast, these four stories made the night special. Here's a brief glimpse of the stories of influence:

  • Chad Hardesty used his experience from his time as a young airman to help us understand the impact that can be made when we open our lives to those around us.

  • Natalie Cagle shared her story of being the mom of twin sons who both served as Marines. Following the loss of one of her sons to suicide, Natalie now influences the world around her by helping other mothers and families as they face the loss of their military loved ones.

  • Danny Talley shared how the traumatic life events he has experienced brought him to the brink of suicide. You'll learn how today he helps fight for the mental health of Warriors who have experiences similar to his...both from military experiences and life experiences.

  • Finally, as we closed the Feast, we had the honor of helping Dillon's family dedicate his awards and accommodations from his time of service to the 96th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale AFB. The video we produced that introduced the dedication segment of the evening helped tell the story of his untimely death earlier this year.

Click the pictures below to watch the videos, and as you do, you will notice a theme. Real people with real stories, who today are allowing their story to influence the world around them.

Chad hardesty

Natalie Cagle

Danny Talley

DILLON VAKOFF

FAMILY CENTER UPDATE

53 events hosted

We had the honor of hosting 53 events throughout the months of October and November, and as always, free of charge for our Warriors. The Warrior's Family Center saw retirements, promotions, meetings, off sites, birthday parties, baby showers, wedding showers, a car wash, and more.

Story Time

Ever wonder why we provide a free event space for military members? Here's an example of just one of the reasons:

We had a military family schedule their baby shower with us. The day prior to their scheduled event, the spouse called and said that they needed to cancel. When Cristina (our FC Manager) was talking with her, we learned that the day before they had actually been admitted to the hospital and their baby girl was born 3 months premature. If you know Cristina, you know that she sprung into action. Over the next few days, we were able to give financial support to help this family, and more than that, because of personal experience of some of our team members, we've been able to walk with them through life in the Neonatal ICU, which is one of the scariest seasons of any parent's lives. What started as a place for them to have their baby shower led to hand in hand support when they needed it most. 

THank you to the coordinating and development corporation for making the warrior's Family center possible.

WARRIOR WAREHOUSE UPDATE

27 families served

We're continuing to see exciting growth in the temporary household goods department. Here are a few highlights:

  • In September we saw our first set of household goods made available in the San Antonio area. 
  • In October, we now have two complete sets available in Colorado Springs. 
  • We're currently working with a lead in San Diego, which will come available in early 2023.
  • Jean Collazo and Ed Blanco have began the process of stepping into leadership of this resource, working with Eric to provide stellar service.

As we expand this resource, if you'd like to sponsor a set of supplies, you can do so here. A donation of $750 purchases one complete set of temporary, portable household goods. 

SUPPORT UPDATE

This has been the largest season of support needs we've ever seen. Collectively, you helped us give over $35,000 in support over two months to our Warriors and military families.
Here is just a small snapshot of ways we saw support given:
  • Financial support for a military family who had a pre-mature baby. 
  • Bedroom furniture for a new young Warrior who had none.
  • Counseling support for multiple Warriors dealing with very real issues like addiction, loneliness, PTSD, and grief. 
  • Response following a vehicle accident impacting the lives and families of four Warriors. 
  • Travel expenses for a Warrior to attend the funeral of a family member who died unexpectedly.

* Confidentiality between everywarrior and the warriors we get to serve is one of the foundational elements of our dna.


NEED SUPPORT? CLICK HERE.

DO SOMETHING NOW

Do Something Now is our approach to volunteering! Our goal is to help Warriors find where they can serve in their respective communities AND empower community members to serve our Warriors.

While this is a brand new approach, and we're still creating the structure and strategy that will help accomplish the mission, over these two months, we saw volunteers step up in big ways to serve.

Here are a few ways:
  • Over 125 community members and Warriors served at the Feast, including a group from Barksdale's Airman Leadership School that helped set up. 
  • 11 individuals served at the Brookshire's Heroes Run, helping raise funds not just for us, but for 6 other local organizations fighting for the good of Warriors and First Responders. 
  • When called upon, we were able to send a group to help prepare wreaths that would be placed on each grave at the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery.


WANT TO DO SOMETHING NOW? CLICK HERE.

THE RETURN OF THE FEAST

A NIGHT WE WON'T SOON FORGET

Thanks to partners like Barksdale Federal Credit Union, we saw the return of our annual flagship event, the Warrior's Thanksgiving Feast.  

From the opening pyro to the final goodbyes, this night was one to remember. Jam-packed with everything from laughter and tears to moments and memories, the Feast was so much more than just a great meal. For starters, the Shreveport Convention Center ROCKED IT with the amazing turkey and dressing dinner. Add that to the stories that were shared, the army of volunteers who showed up to serve, the Christmas Cards that attendees and volunteers wrote to deployed Warriors, the live music by Lyle Bernard, the games, pumpkin pie, and everything else, we'd say it was a great night.

This year, we also partnered with with Surfari Pals (another local non-profit) and provided something special for your kiddos. Surfari Pals brought Camp Surfari to the Feast.  This day-camp style, ocean-themed program led by Kip and Jennifer Cummings saw our elementary-age children learn things like life skills and respect.

Through our #EWGivesBack program, we collected cold weather gear for residents of the NWLA War Veterans Home and toys and gift cards for children and teens in foster care, supporting our friends at Geaux4Kids.

To close the night, we had the honor of helping Dillon Vakoff's parents dedicate his awards and accommodations from his time of service to the 96th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale AFB.

Since the event, we've received tremendous feedback from both attendees and volunteers, sharing their experiences and helping us shape the way forward for future events. While this was not our first Feast, this year was a learning experience for sure. With approximately 75% of attendees who came in 2019 (the last Feast pre-Covid) having moved away, and about the same number of attendees this year having moved to our area since the beginning  of 2020, we were faced with opportunities that we never expected. What's amazing is the fact that as we looked across the sea of humanity in the room, we saw Warrior after Warrior and family after family who were there that we had met through the support we have been able to give over the past couple years...more so this year than any year in the past. 

To all who attended, to all who served, and to all who gave, THANK YOU doesn't begin to express our sincere gratitude.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS: 
  • Over 550 Warriors were in attendance.
  • Over 125 Volunteers helped make it happen.
  • 106 Gift Cards donated
  • 52 Organizations sponsored the event. 
  • 49 kids participated in our Surfari Pals Kid's Experience.
  • 10 large boxes full of toys and cold weather gear was given.
  • 9 blankets made by our kids for the NWLA War Veterans Home.
  • 4 stories were shared (see above article).

Thank You to our Partners

WHO HELPED MAKE THE FEAST HAPPEN

  • Allied Family Chiropractic
  • Asbury United Methodist Church
  • Barksdale Spouses Club
  • Bellaire Baptist Church
  • Better Hearing Systems of NWLA
  • Broadmoor Baptist Church
  • Brookshire's+Super1 Food's Heroes Run
  • Carter Federal Credit Union
  • Church at Red River
  • Clint Davis Counseling
  • CODE
  • Cosse & Silmon Orthodontics
  • Covenant Church - Shreveport
  • Crazy Ceff's Cheesecake Madhouse
  • CSC Productions
  • Dale's Paving
  • David Lawler Construction
  • Designer Products and Installation
  • Duvall's Amusement Rentals
  • Ed Blanco, Realtor
  • Elite Family Dentistry
  • Genesis Hearing Center
  • GDIT
  • The Healing Place
  • Herofront Podcast
  • The HERO Program - Dutchie Blanton
  • Hester Oil Field Services
  • Jamie Morris, Realtor
  • Jenny Rogers
  • Jim Shiffrin
  • K-9 Nation
  • The Family of Kris Smith
  • KSLA News 12
  • Lionheart Moving
  • Litton Mortgage
  • Mark Hicken
  • The McGuire Family
  • Micah Brant, Keller Williams NWLA
  • Michael Sean Powell, Realtor
  • Mickey Jordan and Family
  • Morris Dewitt
  • Northrop Grumman
  • Phillip Hamilton
  • The Premieux Family
  • Pyromania Fireworks
  • Riverpark Church
  • Roger Daughtery
  • Rusty Dog Design Company
  • Santa's Magical Memories
  • Sarah Trippel, Shelter Insurance
  • Surfari Pals
  • Surfari Salsa
  • Team Stacy Berry
  • Texas Roadhouse
  • Thaxton Title
  • The Wartime Leadership Podcast

Feast Fun Fact

This whole thing we call our Every Warrior Family was born out of our very first Thanksgiving Feast that happened back in 2014 when we took over an old abandoned boat store in south Bossier with a couple hundred Warriors and some good ole home cooked turkey and dressing! That night, after it was all said and done, a few of us were sitting around and the question was raised…”What would it look like if we did this all the time?!”

FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT

OCTOBER
OCT. SUPPORT GIVEN
$12,045.46
OCT. INCOME
$12,240.86
OCT. EXPENSES
$18,263.37
YTD INCOME
$139,759.95
YTD EXPENSES
$128,840.77
* Current as of Oct 31, 2022.
NOVEMBER
NOV. SUPPORT GIVEN
$23,263
NOV. INCOME
$24,136.80
NOV. EXPENSES
$28,409
YTD INCOME
$163,896.75
YTD EXPENSES
$157,249.77
* Current as of Nov 30, 2022.

ONLINE UPDATE

OCTOBER
EW App
1,886 Downloads
LinkedIn
44,217 Followers
Facebook
6,621 Followers
EW Family Group
2140 Members
Instagram
1,165 Followers
YouTube
1,210 Subscribers
* Current as of Oct 30, 2022.
NOVEMBER
EW App
1,931 Downloads
LinkedIn
44,574 Followers
Facebook
6,731 Followers
EW Family Group
2,175 Members
Instagram
1,175 Followers
YouTube
1,224 Subscribers
* Current as of Nov 30, 2022.

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DID YOU KNOW?

Our online store is available 24/7 at everywarrior.org/store. Purchases made are printed on-demand and shipped anywhere in the world. We're continuously adding new gear so keep watching for all the latest products.

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WHAT'S COMING UP

Do you want to help support a military family this Christmas? Are you a Warrior that is in need of support? If either of these are you, click the link and learn about how you can get involved. 
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