Because of poverty, many women here in St. Louis never have the opportunity to get an ultrasound. ThriVe pregnancy resource center is out to change that by working ceaselessly to fight abortion and heal the lives of women affected.

“Our focus is to end abortion in the state of Missouri by sharing the love that our Lord Jesus Christ has for us and showering that love on the families involved in unplanned pregnancies,” said John Hartwig, Westminster father who has been on the board of ThriVe for the past four years.

ThriVe provides free ultrasounds and Christian counseling to pregnant women in the St. Louis area. Through a 16 month educational process called “Parent University” the organization encourages and assists moms to complete their GED, find employment, secure housing, and learn how to care for their newborn.  ThriVe has several locations in St. Louis and recently added a Mobile Medical Center, a bus with free pregnancy testing and ultrasounds.

In addition to assisting mothers and their babies, ThriVe works to encourage youth to engage in abstinence until marriage through a “Best Choice Program.” Preventing unhealthy relationships and unplanned pregnancies requires a total change in the mindset of American culture. And that begins with change in the hearts of young people.

“This year, the Best Choice Counselors have spoken to over 13,000 students in the St. Louis area. This program continues  to  reach more and more young adults each year,” said Hartwig.

Many of ThriVe’s services are free, so that the ministry can reach people in needy situations. To keep it this way, ThriVe needs volunteers. Students at Westminster have stepped up to support ThriVe’s efforts.

“Usually I help with big ThriVe events, like the upcoming 5K and events at Six Flags and at the Pageant. Sometimes I make phone calls in the office too! This organization is Christ-centered and truly loves their clients well,” said Annie Hartwig, junior, whose dad is on the board at ThriVe.

Christian Thompson, junior, also volunteers with the ministry, and encourages others to do the same.

“It’s something that I support because it’s run by Christians and they are concerned about things that I care about,” said Thompson.

In past years, a few students have chosen to do their senior service at ThriVe. This year, no seniors worked at ThriVe, but next year four seniors will work at one of the ThriVe locations on Thursday mornings.

“WCA students have been an absolute blessing to ThriVe. Students have volunteered at various events…such as Rock the Pledge at the Pageant and Rock the Family at Six Flags. In addition, baby items collected through ITSOG have been donated to ThriVe. We are so thankful for this support,” said John Hartwig.

Recently, ThriVe has supported pro-life legislation in the state of Missouri. On April 19th, the Missouri House of Representatives passed House Bill 1274, which makes it more difficult for women to receive RU 486 (a drug that causes an abortion). On the same day, the house also passed House Bill 1534, which declares that federal funding for abortion (under Obamacare) is unlawful, and that it exceeds the powers of Congress.

WCA students can be more involved in this ministry by donating baby supplies (diapers needed!) or by participating in the 5K at nearby Queeny Park on Saturday May 19th. Go to https://thrivealivestl.org to donate or find out more.

Honoring the students for their hard work is not the only reason why NJHS was started.

Mr. Walseth, who is in charge of NJHS, said, “NJHS highlights and encourages students who are and who desire to pursue academic excellence. This is truly to encourage students to not only pursue academic excellence but to do it for the love of learning.”

Being accepted into NJHS is not an easy task.  There are many requirements that need to be reached for a middle school student to be accepted into NJHS.

“A 3.75 cumulative GPA and an essay describing their desire to be involved with NJHS are the requirements to be accepted,” said Mr. Walseth.

Once accepted in NJHS new tasks are added to the schedule of these students.

“Students must serve 3 hours of service work in their community each semester. Students serve in various environments such as soup kitchens, nursing homes, and other service projects,” said Mr. Walseth.

For middle school students, the acceptance into  NJHS can mean a lot.

“It’s truly an honor to be accepted into NJHS, especially with my dyslexia and dysgraphia,” said Robert Davis, an eighth grader who was recently accepted into NJHS.

Often times, when a student is accepted into  NJHS this student feels as if all his or her hard work in school has paid off.

“I feel that NJHS  does give me the honor that I deserve for working hard for my grades, but the true reward for studying hard for me is getting a wide perspective on life in general, which will help me choose a career path.  But it is always nice to be rewarded for your hard work and NJHS does that,” said Davis.

These new NJHS inductees are excited and ready to complete their new tasks ahead of them.  They have all worked hard to receive the honor of being an inductee into NJHS and they all receive the honor they deserve for their hard work through their acceptance into this elite group of students.

“The highlight of our camp is the dynamic and professional instructors that we have,” said Abby Karsten, one of the main orchestrators of the camp in a television interview for Great Day St. Louis.

Instructors range from Andy Benes, a former Cardinal pitcher to Steve Stipanovich former player from the Indiana Pacers in the NBA. The arts department is also well staffed. Jim Butz, a widely known actor who featured as Hamlet in the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival and who received the Kevin Kline Award for a previous role will be head instructor of the Drama camp.

“Whatever you like to do, you’re going to find someone who is an expert in that sort of camp,” said Karsten.

The camp offers both half day and full day sessions as well as a lunch break in the middle of the day and an Extended Care Program for both sessions.

The camp sessions include cooking, The Play, soccer, swimming, dance and cheer, art, musical theatre, wrestling, band, chess, tennis, moving making, improvisation, and a Readers Workshop where students will learn to flourish in his or her specific interests. From fundamentals to improving technique and beyond, these camps are created to aid kids as they work to master their God-given skills and abilities.

“Kids will be learning new things, getting to practice sports, art, drama, music, cooking, and more while building relationships with other kids and the camp counselors,” said Karsten.

Registration for these camps began in February and will continue through early June. Currently, there are two-hundred-sixty students enrolled, but the goal is six hundred kids or more. This would be in competition to the other camps around the St. Louis area that have been established for years such as MICDS Camp Pegasus.

One aspiration the camp hopes to achieve is to open the new campus to a whole new generation of kids throughout the entire community and present opportunities for the kids to grow.

“I’m so excited to see Westminster full of younger kids throughout the month of June.  We’ll have kids here from all over the community and we have so many different camps that there’s something to fit every kid’s interests,” said Karsten.

The schedule for the campers will be split into two parts. Students may stay for either the entire day and participate in two sessions with a lunch break in between, or attend only one session for half the day. For the younger kids who may be interested in a wide variety of subjects, the camp offers “Camp Wildcat” where kids will do a variety of sports, arts and crafts, and other fun activities.

In the past, the camps at Westminster were for specific areas such as soccer or cheerleading and kids were only able to participate in one or the other. This new factor widens the variety of students as well as presents more opportunities for Westminster to share its new campus.

“I think the camp is a good opportunity to open Westminster to the community and to invest in the lives of the younger kids that might attend this school one day,” said Kaylie Duke, Camp Westminster employee.

Another new feature is the hiring of student help. High school students can acquire paid jobs through Westminster to aid the children in different areas of the camp.

“The best part of the job is just being able to meet different people whether it’s the workers or the kids. It would just be a great chance to meet new people,” said Kayla Hampton, an applicant for the job.

Employees would work about four to five days a week in the various camps helping the adult session leaders.

“I am most excited to spend time with a bunch of little kids and help them grow in the area they are most interested in,” said Anna Gaffney, camp instructor.

The camp is an exciting new chance for a younger generation to enjoy the new Westminster campus and grow in their designated areas of interest.

“It is about opportunities for great people and great programs that impact families and students and the younger children,” said Zach Clark director of advancement.

Whereas the aerodynamic exterior features carbon fiber, gull wing doors and intakes and appears to be designed and built by NASA; the interior is crafted by a watch company. The result? A custom interior and sleek exterior in a rare mid-engine Italian super car with a price that exceeds one-million dollars (base model).

In addition to this super car’s tremendous price tag, between the years of 2012 and 2013, only seventy-five models will be manufactured. Therefore, a Huayra roaring past someone on a highway is an extremely rare sight, and most Westminster students will never see one in person.

However, this does not have to be the case. Westminster’s new investments in engineering curriculum is opening up a world of opportunities, a vast number of lucrative jobs, and maybe even one that offers hands-on contact with a Pagani Huayra. Curriculums and activities such as STEM, FRC, and special courses are contributing to the knowledge Westminster students attain in the field of engineering.

From a jobs perspective, more and more engineering careers are becoming available. As the world economy grows and more people throughout the world enter the middle class, growth in demand for automobiles is expected to grow.

The result is jobs for engineering are countless; in fact, the U.S. has a shortage of engineers.

“There’s a huge demand around this country for engineers… Where you’re seeing a lot of specialized demand is in engineering that’s related to the high-tech industries,” said President Obama during a Google Plus video conference, January 30, 2012.

Engineering careers can be quite lucrative. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average engineering job’s salary exceeds $55,000 a year.

“These (engineering) jobs are very, very high paying jobs,” said Bill Gates, founder, CEO, and chairman of Microsoft as he urged the U.S. Congress to allow foreign engineers into the U.S.

What’s more is anyone pursuing such a career is able to contribute to masterpieces, whether it is a Pagani Huayra, Lamborghini, the latest iPhone, or a computer. Engineers shape the world.

Westminster is providing engineering specialities, including the STEM program, FRC, the Introduction to Engineering class, and the Advanced Scientific Research class, for students that allow them to tap into engineering and technology-the very influences that shape everyone’s daily life. It is supplying bright futures for students, but also adding Christian influence to an industry that is reshaping the world.

So, engineering jobs offer availability, good pay, hands-on interaction, and contribution to masterpieces that will reshape the world; what more could someone ask for in a career?

With many engineering and technology programs becoming available, Westminster is becoming a factory of Christian adults that will reshape the world.

This film, done through the perspective of a handy cam, documents an unbelievable, riotous California high school party.  Philosophy teachers need only to show the trailer of this film to accurately portray hedonism.  It is a true “celebration of bad behavior.”

Thomas, the host of the party, whose parents are out of town, is left with millions of dollars in damages to the Pasadena neighborhood, popularity and a ninety nine thesis of police charges.  But what an incredible night.  The former “loser,” as stated by his father, is promoted to the coolest, most loved student at his school, all in one night.  Even the formerly rejected freshmen dance and drink their way to acceptance for a night.  Thomas burns down his house, bankrupts his parents, allows his father’s $100,000 Mercedes to be driven into the pool and loses his girlfriend, but he had thrown the best party known to man.

The movie portrays profligacy on every level, and the youth love it.

With a film like Project X, the viewer cannot go in with any sense of moral obligation to anyone or anything – even Thomas’ dog is left painted, high and intoxicated… twice.  When it comes down to it, there is nothing morally redeeming about Project X, but, wow, what a ride.  Viewers are taken from locker rooms to a dilapidated Russian drug dealer’s home – from a fifty person get together to a thousand strong binge – from a debaucherous blowout to a conflagrous, riot police fighting mob.

Project X clearly markets an appealing message to the generalized high school, American student – a wild night where social cliques are dissolved, “losers” have a shot at the most popular and most gorgeous, and everyone is accepted, even the freshmen.  But how realistic is this?  Over fifteen hundred high schoolers with a moon bounce, two DJ’s, a midget, kegs of alcohol, more drugs than the Medellin cartel and a flame throwing drug dealer.  There will always be high school parties with alcohol and drugs but never at the same level as Thomas’ birthday bash.

When it comes to theatrical elements, Project X hardly slips through door.  With scarcely a plot, short but saturated character development and little to no resolve, it is hard pressed to categorize Project X as a real film.  The characters are presented and aggressively race to establish their personalities in the initial twenty five minutes of film before the party begins.

Thomas is called a loser by his father, so he must be a loser with a frail personality.  JB, the fat and oblivious of the four, fits his role just by appearance.  Costa, the most outspoken of the group, knows the drug dealer, vainly speaks seduction to women and fears no authority, so he must be the extroverted funny man.  Dax, the one behind the camera during the whole bout, doesn’t live with his parents despite being seventeen, so he’s the weird, shadowy figure of the four.  And that’s it for the characters.  The party soon takes over and consumes the rest of the movie.

Project X does have a plot line, however thin and diluted it may be.  Thomas’ longtime friend, Kirby, contributes greatly to the story.  In fact, she, and maybe one other character, makes up the entirety of the story.  She was at the party before the popular and attractive even thought about it.  She puts up with Thomas’ awkwardness and smiles all the way through it.  Kirby genuinely likes Thomas, and Thomas likes her.  Though he is quickly seduced and led astray by the femme fatale, Alexis, via making out, dancing, body shots, making out, removing of clothes and making out.  Of course, Kirby walks in on Thomas in all his glory and, as of then, ends the friendship.  Don’t worry, he makes a sappy apology and gets her back in the last sixty seconds of the film.

What a story.

But then again, who wants a story?  Maybe high schoolers want to sit through eighty eight minutes of pure entertainment with a grin on their face and not have to worry about which level of which dream they’re in.

While the excessive indulgence should not be endorsed, that does not make it a pain to watch seeing as it starkly contrasts the monotonous day to day, weekend to weekend repetion that many high schoolers experience.  That may be exactly what kids want – an experience – which is exactly what they get with Project X.  It strays so far from the norm and tops even the craziest house parties that teens and young adults can’t help but submit to its appeal.

Project X breaks all the rules, and that cannot be ignored.  There is more alcohol, drugs, sex, profanity, nudity and destruction than in any other film shown in normal theatres.

Though maddeningly entertaining, many people do not consider it appropriate to put such explicit content into movies and market it toward teens.  And they’re right.  Is this a movie to see with mom and dad?  No.  Should the youth that Project X markets towards see it?  Probably not.  The irony that makes Project X work is this: The glamorized hedonistic allure attracts teens to the film but also is the reason why they should not see it.

The Westminster Garden club will start next fall and meet once every other week, working with the garden and learning preparation methods for food in the kitchen. Volunteers are currently growing tabletop type herbs, including sage, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, basil, and chives.

The WCA Community Garden teaches students where food comes from, how it is grown, and how the foods and herbs may be used in preparation of outstanding meals. Students will receive help and guidance from the professional campus cuisine staff, all of whom are certified chefs from L’Ecole Culinaire.

“The goal of the garden is to help educate the students from a seed to table type concept. All of the things that you see on the Food Network, we are going to be doing in the kitchen,” said Cunningham.

The garden will be a hands-on learning experience for all involved, and corresponds with Jim Marsh’s, Head of School, vision for health and wellness: not just about the food in the café or the fitness programs, but encompassing beyond the school into the community as a whole.

“Coming in, I knew I wanted to be much more than just a food partner. The garden is a real community effort, but the students are going to be able to be directly involved,” said Cunningham.

Cunningham contacted various parents and faculty members to see if anyone was interested in helping with the garden. The garden now consists of an eight-person committee, including Katie Mohler, wife of Jacob Mohler, upper school math teacher. The garden is in partnership with Seven Gables Farm located in a small town near Washington, Missouri. The owner, Mechelle Ortmann, teaches and mentors students involved in the club and donates some of her own foods for the club to cultivate. Deborah Davis, owner of D. Davis Designs, is also on the committee and designed the layout of the garden.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the garden was on March 17th at 10 a.m. Volunteers and future members gathered to enjoy refreshments and to start planting the herbs. Cunningham gave a speech and Ortmann directed students in the planting process.

“We are excited to report that all produce planted, despite the storms  that same day, are doing great. A big thank you to the students and volunteers who came out to support and help,” said Cunningham.

The freshly grown produce from the garden cannot be served in the school café, so the harvested foods will be utilized in the WCA summer camp and donated to WCA’s neighbors, such as Delmar Gardens.

On April 19th and May 10th, famous chefs from St. Louis, including Mike Damico, Executive chef at LÉcole Culinaire, and Jim Fiala, chef and founder of fialafood.com (which consists of four restaurants in the St. Louis area), will come to Westminster. The entire Westminster community is invited to these free but limited events, so those who hold interest must RSVP to the email invite. The garden will be featured in these events, followed by tasting and demonstrations.

Students who are interested in joining the culinary club next fall or volunteering to maintain the garden this spring and summer should contact Holly Cunningham at holly@hollyberrycatering.com.

“The Choir Trip is a great time to put together everything that we’ve learned. We take our songs and put them on stage multiple times, in front of different audiences. It gives us a chance to do what we want to do, to refine our music, and to perform,” said Allen Schwamb, Choir director.

“It was an awesome trip. It was fun to sing at all the different venues, and I really enjoyed all of the time that we spent around the city of Chicago going to places like Michigan Avenue, the Lyric Opera House, and seeing the Blue Man Group,” said Caleb Krumseig, sophomore.

The choir sang at a host of different venues, ranging from high schools, to retirements homes, a church service, and a musical clinic at Wheaton College. However, in addition to homing their own musical skills, the choir also enjoyed attending performances by the Blue Man Group and the Chicago Civic Opera.

“Every tour we do, we try to take our choir to an opera, or some kind of piece of ‘high culture.’ I really enjoy that because most of us have not been to an opera. Even though there are many orchestras and musicals in St. Louis, a lot of us don’t do that sort of thing. I really love seeing students react to this sort of thing and enjoy it, or at least appreciate it,“ said Schwamb.

However even with a very musically ambitious schedule to maintain, the choir found some time to hit up Michigan Avenue, and explore some other cultural hubs of downtown Chicago.

“Even though it was a school trip, we had a great balance of singing and free time to enjoy the highlights of the city with some friends,” said Avery Anderson, senior. On the Saturday of St. Patrick’s day, the concert choir took to the streets of downtown Chicago and enjoyed an afternoon of good food, shopping, and sight-seeing.

“It was a great experience. I had a great time hanging out with friends, as well as getting to know some people in my choir class that I did not know very well going into it. It was a great bonding experience, and it was good to share our music with kids from other schools, and see how they do music. Overall, I think it was a very good experience,” said Cole Norman, senior.

Exceeding the normal, Adrienne Horn, freshman, crafts and perfects cakes as a hobby and a commonplace.

“I have never heard of any other person my age making cakes like me, but I am sure there are some out there. I do think it is pretty rare though,” said Horn.

Horn’s baking expertise radiates with uniqueness, but baking and decorating cake was not always  easy as pie; one must start somewhere.

“I first watched people on TV   doing it and thought it looked super fun to do so I decided to teach myself how to, and I learned by watching youtube videos and trial and error,” said Horn.

Subsequently, Horn’s cake baking talents and enthusiasm arose. Horn can draw things on cakes that most cannot even draw on paper.

With the talent and the patience it takes to turn a plain cake into an embellished masterpiece, Horn could possibly have a future in the business.

“I would love to make this my profession because I enjoy it so much,” said Horn.

Although the economy has negatively affected many job markets, customized cakes is still a great and successful profession because people still pay good money for a professionally and delightfully crafted cake for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and other holidays.

Although designing cakes does pay good money, Horn is not necessarily in it for money; she simply loves crafting cakes for her own enjoyment and for others’  enjoyment.

“Making cakes is much more tedious than some people think of it to be, but it almost works as a stress reliever for me. I sit down with a bare white cake as my canvas and I can design whatever I want on it, unless it is custom ordered. There is no limit to what can be done to make cakes look so life-like. I can pipe intricate designs or airbrush it to look like a sunset or really whatever,” said Horn.

Baking cakes is one thing, but eating cake is a whole other story.  Every teenager loves a good piece of cake and although most teens have never professionally decorated a cake, when a cake comes out, teens fight over who gets the best or most pieces.

“I make cakes about once every week or two and bring them into school,” said Horn.

After hours of slaving over the masterpiece, seeing her friends enjoy her work is like icing on the cake.

“When it’s all said and done, it’s how others enjoy what I make and watching others enjoy my cakes just brings me reassurance that I am doing the right thing,” said Horn.

It’s shocking, but according to a study shown in Advances in Child Development, cited in Dr. Madeline Levine’s book The Price of Priviledge, 30 to 40% of 12-18-year-olds from affluent (wealthy) homes have or are experiencing troubling physcological symptoms. These symptoms could be anxiety, extreme stress, or depression. Kids often  turn to eating disorders, drug use, or self-injury to try to alleviate this internal distress. Some go so far as to say that these well-to-do teens are more at risk for depression and anxiety than kids with lower socio-economic status. Many wonder how this could be true.

In her book, Levine explores several theories as to what causes this distress among some of the most privileged kids in the world.

There are definitely biological reasons for depression or anxiety; some people are more prone to become depressed because of inherited chemical imbalances.

However, there are also other reasons today’s teenagers are struggling with depression. One that stands out is the pressure put on these adolescents to be “excellent.” In West County culture, this might mean being involved in three select sports, having an outstanding GPA, or being the most liked student in  class.

“[Teens] are believing the lie that their worth is at stake based on how well they perform.  Performance pressure can range from how they look to how well they perform academically or athletically,” said Sherry Coggin, a professional counselor at New Hope Counseling Services in Chesterfield.

Coggin has counseled many teenagers from upper-middle class families who struggle with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and self-injury.

Not only does culture put pressure on kids, but parents can have expectations for their children. Kids can feel as if their parents won’t love them unless they live up to the expectations their parents have set. This can lead to high amounts of pressure and despair. Often, this high-pressure parent overlaps with what experts have dubbed the “helicopter parent,” a parent who “hovers” over his or her child, in an effort to protect and manage the details of their child’s life.

“Sometimes parents are so consumed with micromanaging their child that the child doesn’t learn how to handle stress and anxiety on their own. It can really handicap them,” said Kathy Karigan, upper school counselor.

Another reason for depression is strained relationships and disconnection from family members and friends.

“My suspicion is that the lack of human interaction between us has created [these issues],” said Larry Hughes, upper school Biblical Ethics teacher.

Competition to be the best, dysfunctional family systems, and pressure put on high achievement has created kids who feel anxious, angry, disconnected, burned-out, or depressed, despite their material blessings. While these kids live in a  material paradise, having all they could ever ask for and more, their world has too often  become a relational wasteland, full of loneliness and a loss of purpose.

“While we have physical needs, we’re more than physical creatures. Students must ask: Where am I really connecting with someone? How am I feeding myself in terms of my relationships?” said Karigan.

“I believe that these struggles stem from feelings of isolation, abandonment and loss of purpose. Affluence is not answering the deep questions of their heart and the “things”  that their parents are buying them are not satisfying to them,” said Coggin.

Many people have tried to ignore the issues of troubled teenagers from affluent families as the plight of overindulged or spoiled kids. But the emptiness and darkness is greater than that, and our community must love these kids better. Many students here at WCA  have struggled with depression or know a friend who has.

“I think that a major part of it is that sometimes kids don’t think that anyone cares about them, and they forget that  people love them,” said Haley Weinberg, 8th grader, who says she has had friends who have struggled with depression.

Westminster students could be a part of the healing process by being sensitive and perceptive to the struggles of other students, realizing that under the surface, their peers could be sinking into despair. Students must seek to encourage one another on a deeper level and care for each other’s hearts.

“To be healthy, students must practice the art of slowing down and the spiritual discipline of meditation on who God is, remembering that he is in control, and truly asking for God’s wisdom,” said Karigan.

“Teenagers can recover [from depression and other issues] with the help of healthy adults who can help them figure out what the deep questions of their heart are and that there are answers that will satisfy their soul.  Ultimately, they need to know that they are made with divine purpose, that they are loved by their heavenly father and that they can have purpose and life in Christ without having to perform or prove their worth.  There is nothing they can do to make God not love them.  This brings teenagers hope,” said Coggin.

As soldiers return home, they are expected to pick back up in their lives where they left off before they were deployed overseas or to fight in the war. Many of the men and women have watched some of their best friends die next to them and have seen horrific events that most American citizen’s minds cannot even comprehend.

Some become physically wounded and suffer from the repercussions of those injuries, but the most common problems soldiers face are the mental traumas from replaying events they experienced in their minds. They have flash backs and their once normal lives become not so normal anymore. New worries and fears weave their way into their every day lives. Regular sounds and sights can stir up emotions within the soldiers and remind them of past events.

The issue of wounded soldiers has become very prevalent because all of the United State’s troops have been brought out of Iraq and many are being taken out of Afghanistan. With all of the men and women  returning home, more veterans are needing aid than many times in the past for them to be able to go back to a typical civilian’s life.

Especially with the soldiers coming back in masses, the need for people willing to help has grown immensely.

Because these soldiers are willing to go off to war to fight and ensure the safety of the country, they should be taken care of once they get home and be provided with whatever resources are needed to help them cope with their struggles and get better. Soldiers fight so that people can go about their regular activities and not worry about their safety. That is a big gift so the least everyone else can do is help them rebuild their lives when they come home.

Many of the wounded warriors have families that they have to come home to and have to be a husband or wife to their spouse and a dad or mom to their kids. They cannot fill those roles if they are suffering from the war and are not getting the help they need. The American society as a whole suffers if these soldiers can not carry on after fighting.

More organizations and groups need to get involved in helping these soldiers by raising money for counseling and medical attention. Also, they can help by reaching out to the soldiers and their families so that they do not have to feel alone through the recovery process.

The Wounded Warrior Project focuses on helping soldiers that come home physically hurt or struggling to get back to a normal life that they are used to.

The mission of the project is “to foster the most successful, well- adjusted generation of the wounded service members in our nation’s history.” If people saw this mission as important as they view having a military, then caring for soldiers would be more of a priority.

Many responsibilities come with having a military, and one of those is taking care of the veterans.

“The greatest casualty is being forgotten” and that is the focus that The Wounded Warrior Project is built on. They do not want any soldiers that go into war sacrificing everything they know and love to ever fear they will be forgotten, but will instead go down as a hero when they eventually pass away. The best way to show that they will not be forgotten is to show them that they matter even when their bodies or minds cannot handle another day in battle.

In addition to organizations like Wounded Warriors, the government funding has helped over 9.5 million service members and continues to work to increase funding to help wounded soldiers and their families. 30.9 billion dollars is set aside for overall medical care for soldiers and 699 million dollars is provided for treatment for soldiers with traumatic brain injuries and that need help with their psychological health. 250 million dollars has been added to help soldier’s mental health with post traumatic stress and suicide prevention.

Billions of dollars are being used by the government to help soldiers struggling after the war, but operations and procedures are very expensive and with the amount of hurt soldiers that amount of money is not enough. There are still many soldiers fighting to recover from the war that need more counseling and medical attention than they are receiving.