Nov 11, 2024
Supporting Those Who Served: POWER Partners with BraveHearts to Expand Healing Horsemanship for Veterans
In honor of Veterans Day, we’re sharing how POWER is deepening our support for Veterans and military spouses by partnering with BraveHearts— the leading equine rehabilitation program for Veterans in the nation.
Read on to learn how this partnership came to be, and how it will positively impact more Veterans and their families.
A Relationship Created from Shared Values
Through our company values of Care and Commitment, we practice selfless concern for others and we’re determined to support those around us — especially the communities we serve.
In 2023, a group of veteran employees in our Chicago office volunteered with BraveHearts to make a more tangible impact for Veterans in the area. Inspired by how deeply BraveHearts cared for and was committed to supporting Veterans and their families, the group of POWER vets started introducing more employees to the nonprofit and deepening their involvement.
In addition to volunteering with BraveHearts through stable restoration and beautification projects, POWER also started supporting their annual Trail to Zero ride. This equine trail ride is held in various cities across the country that commemorates the number of Veterans lives lost to suicide, while cultivating a conversation around the mental health crisis plaguing those who have served and educating those in need about the benefits and healing effects of equine-assisted services.
Making it Official
As POWER’s relationship with BraveHarts grew, so did our community impact efforts. Earlier this year, we created Power for Good — our philanthropic initiative that turns traditional corporate responsibility on its head, giving more voice and choice to employees who have a say in how and where 100% of our corporate funding is deployed.
As part of Power for Good, each one of POWER’s employee resource groups (ERGs) were given the opportunity to partner with a nonprofit that’s addressing an issue that’s important to their respective community, by providing a $180,000 grant and hours of volunteer time from employees.
James Boscia, POWER’s Vice President of People Development and Air Force Veteran explains why the Power Veterans Initiate (PVI) chose to partner with BraveHearts:
“PVI chose BraveHearts as its national charitable partner because of who’s on their team. When you visit their ranch in Illinois, you noticed there’s quite a few vets on their staff, but when you dig deeper, you discover that almost all of those vets had previously come to BraveHearts not looking for a job, but looking for help through their services. By going through that process and utilizing the services that BraveHearts offers, they fell in love with the mission and decided to change their career and join the team, and that is just a hallmark of a beautiful organization.”
Joining Forces to Expand Impact
The grant provided by POWER helped BraveHearts bring their best-in-class healing horsemanship program to more centers across the country. But that’s not all. Because POWER employees are heart-forward and purpose-fueled, members of PVI continued to donate volunteer time throughout the year to create small, but tangible change for the nonprofit and the Veterans they serve.
This past July, POWER hosted their Northeast Vet Expedition just outside of Chicago. These expeditions are weekend-long retreats for our Veterans and military spouse employees focused on forming deeper connections and living out their service mindset by volunteering with local veteran charities or organizations.
The service project of this expedition included a trip to the BraveHearts ranch where POWER employees helped with beautification and restoration of the stables and pastures.
POWER has a keen understanding of the veteran community, so it was important to partner with an organization like BraveHearts who shares that same understanding. We not only want to ease the transition from service to civilian life, but have a positive impact on their lives.
To learn more about the Power Veterans Initiative, check out our page here. If you’re interested in supporting BraveHearts, click here.
