The toughest battles don't always happen overseas. Sometimes they hit when you're back home, trying to figure out how to live with injuries, stress, or changes you never saw coming. Karen Hetherington knows this firsthand. She's part of the team at Semper Fi & America's Fund, and she has spent years walking alongside service members and their families during some of their most challenging moments.
In this conversation, Karen shares how The Fund got its start and how it's grown into a lifeline for thousands of veterans. We talk about the little things that make a big difference, like covering bills while a family sits through long hospital stays, and the big things, like connecting someone with life-changing medical treatment or helping them find a new purpose after leaving the military.
You'll hear about fast action that saved a Marine in crisis, the cutting-edge care that helped an amputee get back on his feet, and why listening closely matters more than any program on paper. The Fund restores independence, eases the weight on families, and proves that no veteran has to figure it out alone.
Timestamps:
- 00:03:15: The dining room table where it all began
- 00:07:45: Breaking through pride and asking for help
- 00:12:15: Losing purpose when service ends overnight
- 00:24:45: Saving a Marine before it was too late
- 00:29:30: New hope through groundbreaking prosthetics
Links & Resources
- Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1
- Website: https://thefund.org/
- For the 14th consecutive year, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation and Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) will partner with Semper Fi & America's Fund in the Double Down for Veterans Match Campaign. Through the end of the year, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation and PXG, will match every donation made to The Fund dollar-for-dollar up to $7.5 million.
- Follow The Fund on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/semperfiandamericasfund
- Follow The Fund on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/semperfiandamericasfund/
- Follow The Fund on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/semperfifund
- Follow The Fund on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/semper-fi-fund/
Transcript
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