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Organization Celebrates 100 Scholarships
(October 10, 2008) |
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| WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2008 –
Operation Life Transformed honored six scholarship
recipients, including the recipient of the 100th “Caregivers
of War Wounded Training Scholarship,” during its “Celebrate
100” reception held here recently.
Operation Life Transformed provides education and resources
to wounded-warrior caregivers and military spouses through
private and corporate entities. Its focus is to enable
caregivers and military spouses to create a portable
lifestyle.
“Forty-three percent of our applicants are moms and dads
that move across several states [and] give up their jobs so
that they can sit bedside with the loved one,” said Tania
Mercurio, chief executive officer of Operation Life
Transformed, during the Sept. 17 event. “We need to lift
just a little bit of pressure off our [servicemembers']
shoulders.”
The last thing deployed servicemembers should be concerned
about is the state of their family finances back home, she
added. “We want them to concentrate 100 percent on the job
at hand and returning to their loved ones,” she said.
“That's why we need to support these families.”
The 100th scholarship was presented to Dimitrios Panagakos,
whose wife, Lillian, an Army reservist, was severely injured
in a mortar attack in Iraq 2005. She is continuing treatment
at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here.
Linda Betancur, another recipient honored at the reception,
said the scholarship offers her family a brighter future.
“It's an honor, and an answer to our family's prayers,” she
said. “The opportunity [Operation Life Transformed] and its
sponsors have provided us with has helped us with having a
hopeful future during our difficult time.”
The event was held aboard the USS Sequoia, a yacht that has
served more than nine presidents. The 83-year-old vessel,
which Congress has designated a national historic landmark,
is privately owned and its use was donated for the
reception.
Operation Life Transformed is a supporter of
America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and
companies with servicemembers and their families serving at
home and abroad. | |
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2008
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