We wanted to share the success of our Veteran Meditation Retreat Project! Although we had to make the difficult decision to drop the number of Veteran participants for our 2023 retreat, the event was a great success. We served a total of 35 Veterans, including the VMR project staff. Participants continue to meet weekly on Zoom to practice meditation and check-in. Many participants expressed gratitude for the project and felt the connection and camaraderie with fellow Veterans, which was the best part, and the awareness of slowing down to concentrate on the breath.
Research supports that meditation interventions benefit veterans' mental health and overall well-being, and we witnessed the benefits Veterans gained by participating in the retreat.
We are deeply grateful for all the support of time, money, and energy to have a successful 2023 retreat. Because of your donations, we were able to support the entire project with funds from our generous donors this year.
Due to the success of our inaugural retreat, we will continue to raise funds for our 2024 Veteran Meditation Project for 50 Veterans.
Please look for our 2024 Donorbox or webpage to donate directly: https://tinyurl.com/VMR-donation to share with your connections for continued support.
We are deeply grateful and appreciate all your support!
May your year's end be filled with family, joy, love, and reflection as you begin a new year filled with hope and renewal.
With deep respect and gratitude,
The Veteran Meditation Retreat Committee Team
“We learned about gratitude and humility - that so many people had a hand in our success." ~Michelle Obama
“When eating fruit, remember the one who planted the tree.” ~Vietnamese Proverb
"Enough' is a feast." ~Buddhist Proverb
Hello, Donors and all who visit our page. We have had to make the difficult decision to drop the number of Veterans we are serving to 50 participants due to not having the grant funding and donations in time to sign the contract with the hotel. Therefore, the total amount of money needed to see the Veteran Meditation Project to fruition for 50 Veterans is $90,000. We currently have $48,848 in our account minus the hotel contract ($5,000), consulting, Guide Star, and grant writing assistance so need $41,150 more in funding and donations to reach our $90,000 goal. Please consider sharing with your connections and encourage donations to help us serve our fellow Veterans—much gratitude to you all.
We are gearing up to introduce meditation to Veterans in New Mexico this October and are so thankful for all our donors! Ralph is an awesome teacher and Vietnam Veteran. The Veteran participants will experience his teachings and deep wisdom with somatic meditation!
A participant in his 7-week course shares how impactful it was for her: "I did a 7wk somatic meditation class with him (Ralph). It was once per week through Zoom, and it was amazing! Any veteran that gets the opportunity to attend will be blessed! And so will their families 
We are extending our June 1st deadline to July 31st to reach our $160,000 budget goal. Please share and support our DonorBox page with your network.
with Gratitude,
The Veteran Meditation Retreat Advisory Board Team.