Frets 4 Vets Needs Your Help

The other night I met with Tom Baker the founder of Frets 4 Vets.  I wanted to see how they are making out and they could really use our help.  He and his board members have gotten a lot done with Frets 4 Vets, but they need the financial support from the community.  I always hear I’d like to help the vets or see more done for them, well here is your chance.  Frets 4 vets has gotten the go ahead for more chapters in Delaware and Maryland; Salisbury, Easton, Cambridge, Pasadena, and Baltimore.  They are hoping to have twelve set up and running by fall.  There will be a chapter in each county in Delaware.  Now they just need the money to get things rolling.  You can donate through your business and take a tax deduction.  Tom Baker knows that music can help many vets with PTSD, as it has helped his friends in the past.

Frets 4 Vets was started up last year by Tom Baker, Gordon Law, and Garth Miller a new non profit 501 c3 organization to help veterans with PTSD.  The goal of this non-profit organization is to treat PTSD and or depression by focusing the mind and emotional release through guitar instruction and ultimately music.  This is where they need our help with donations.  I have donated time and money from Delaware Surf Fishing and I am hoping you will too.  Tom Baker was recently presented with the  Mountaire Better Delmarva award for starting Frets 4 Vets. The Mountaire Better Delmarva Award highlights those who go above and beyond to assist others in their community or to improve/protect the environment.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is very real for many veterans.  On the Frets 4 Vets Facebook page they posted this message about PTSD …  ” When you are in the military, you may see combat. You may have been on missions that exposed you to horrible and life-threatening experiences. These types of events can lead to PTSD.  The number of Veterans with PTSD varies by service era: 
Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF): About 11-20 out of every 100 Veterans (or between 11-20%) who served in OIF or OEF have PTSD in a given year.
Gulf War (Desert Storm): About 12 out of every 100 Gulf War Veterans (or 12%) have PTSD in a given year.
Vietnam War: About 15 out of every 100 Vietnam Veterans (or 15%) were currently diagnosed with PTSD at the time of the most recent study in the late 1980s, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS). It is estimated that about 30 out of every 100 (or 30%) of Vietnam Veterans have had PTSD in their lifetime.  Other factors in a combat situation can add more stress to an already stressful situation. This may contribute to PTSD and other mental health problems. These factors include what you do in the war, the politics around the war, where the war is fought, and the type of enemy you face.”

Please consider donating to Frets 4 Vets and helping.   They are doing good things for our veterans that are often overlooked and taken for granted.

Fish On!

Rich King