Marine Corps Marathon – For the past several years, the AFF has served as one of the charity sponsors for the Marine Corps Marathon, held every October. The event has expanded into the fourth largest marathon in the U.S., attracting over 22,000 participants.

The Armed Forces Foundation offers Morale, Welfare, and Recreational programs for wounded & active-duty service members and their families. Through its MWR programs, the AFF seeks to provide opportunities for service members to get off post or out of the hospital and out having some fun.

In the past year we have sent over 300 service members and their families to activities off-post including fishing trips on the Chesapeake and the Gulf of Mexico, sporting events in North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, Maryland, Illinois, Delaware, Alabama and Virginia, hunting trips throughout the Northeast, and countless events here in the Washington area for service members at Walter Reed and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda.

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Troops to the Track

The Troops to the Track has developed into one of the AFF’s signature programs. This program provides wounded & active-duty service members and their families the opportunity to get right in the middle of the action on pit row, thanks to NASCAR, team owners, and drivers.

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Outdoor Sports

Through its Classic Outdoor Sports Program, the Foundation plans hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreational events around the country for our brave wounded warriors and their families. These activities are termed "social reintegration" by therapists. They are not just the clinical rehabilitation in which injured military personnel usually participate in; they also provide disabled Veterans with hope that they can live active and productive lives. The program helps bolster their confidence and self esteem, while serving as a venue for them to assimilate with the public.

The Outdoor Sports Program started in 2005 when Lt.Col. Lew Deal, USMC (ret) teamed with the Armed Forces Foundation to establish an outdoor sports program. Lew brought years of personal experience of working with disabled veterans and the outdoor industry. What began as local outreach to the wounded at Walter Reed and Bethesda military hospitals quickly expanded to the national level. Through Lew's direction, the program gained national attention through popular TV outdoors shows Mossy Oak Hunting the Country and North American Hunter and sporting magazines such as Peterson's Hunting. For his work with disabled veterans, Lew was honored in 2009 by Outdoor Life as one of the Outdoor Life 25 "who changed the face of hunting and fishing."

The Outdoor Sports Program has a high profile thanks to interest from the media. The program has been recognized by Congressional Leaders, ESPN, ESPN2, Outdoor Channel, The Sportsman Channel, Pentagon channel, Fox News, and a host of other supporters for its dedication to our service members and their families. Millions of viewers have tuned in and gained exposure to the organization thanks to various television shows such as Mossy Oak Hunting the Country, and The North American Hunter.

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Marathons:

For the past several years, the AFF has served as one of the charity sponsors for the Marine Corps Marathon, held every October. The event has expanded into the fourth largest marathon in the U.S., attracting over 22,000 participants.

The AFF also participated in the Army 10 Miler. This race is held in October in Washington DC and is the largest 10-mile race in the United States.

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Sporting Events

Thanks to generous supporters nationwide, we also regularly provide Service Members with tickets to area major league sporting events.

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Holiday Giving

The AFF has teamed up with Aaron's for another successful toy drive effort this holiday season! Aaron's managers from across the nation collected toys which were then distributed by the AFF to military families identified as being in need of support.

Sponsors and volunteers came out in force for several holiday parties put on for military children. Food, drinks, arts and crafts, and toys were given out to military children in need, putting an exclamation point at the end of another great year of "serving those who serve" at the AFF.

Armed Forces Foundation Programs

Family Assistance Program

PTSD/TBI Outreach

Morale, Welfare & Recreation