September 29, 2025 • 28 mins
The unsung heroes of our military community often go unrecognized—even by themselves. Military spouses who manage their loved ones' PTS symptoms, administer medications, and coordinate care frequently don't identify as "caregivers," believing they're simply supporting someone they love. As COO Elizabeth Field explains in this powerful conversation, this revelation stands at the heart of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation's mission.
Field takes us behind the scenes of the Foundation's groundbreaking programs, particularly the Dole Caregiver Fellowship. This initiative transforms military and veteran caregivers into powerful advocates by providing comprehensive training, Capitol Hill experience, and ongoing support. With over 300 fellows nationwide who have helped advance critical legislation like the Elizabeth Dole Act, the program demonstrates how caregivers' voices can drive meaningful policy change when properly supported and amplified.
Perhaps most moving is the Foundation's focus on "Hidden Helpers" - the 5.5 million children living in homes with wounded, ill, or injured service members and veterans. These remarkable young people often assist with caregiving responsibilities while navigating their own unique challenges. Research shows they develop enhanced empathy and patience, but may struggle with mental health issues and school difficulties. Through specialized resources, awareness campaigns, and dedicated programming, the Foundation ensures these children receive the recognition and support they deserve.
The conversation reveals how the Elizabeth Dole Foundation continues to evolve, with strategic priorities focused on mental well-being, economic mobility, and systems improvement. Their emergency financial assistance through the Hope Fund provides critical support for caregivers facing crises. For anyone connected to the military community - whether as a caregiver themselves or knowing someone in that role - the Foundation offers a wealth of resources accessible through its website.
Looking for support or want to help? Visit elizabethdolefoundation.org to learn more about these programs or to contribute to their vital mission supporting military caregivers and their families.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Larry Zilliox (00:14):
Good morning.
I'm your host, Larry Zilliox,Director of Culinary Services
here at the Warrior Retreat atBull Run this week.
Our guest is Elizabeth Field.
She's the COO of the ElizabethDole Foundation.
She joined the foundation backin February of 24.
And before that she was a seniorexecutive with the GAO's
(00:38):
Defense Capabilities andManagement Team, and the reason
I mentioned that is many of ourlisteners may remember that we
did an episode back in Februaryepisode 94, where we discussed
really serious deficiencies andissues surrounding military
housing, both on base and offbase, with director at the time,
(00:59):
Alissa Czyz, and it was a greatepisode and I encourage any of
our listeners that come acrossany GAO reports about Veterans
Administration or militaryhousing or health care, things
like that, to read them, becausethey're just chock full of
amazing information and they dogreat work.
(01:21):
And anybody who's been operatingin the veteran service
organization space for anyamount of time recognizes that
the Elizabeth Dole Foundationreally sets the gold standard
when it comes to caregiving formilitary and veterans, and so
I'm really really happy thatshe's able to join us today and
(01:41):
talk about their programs andwhat the future looks like as
far as policy, all the issuesthat surround caregivers today,
and let me tell you there's alot.
We're not going to be able toget to all of them.
I have a few of their programsthat I really want to highlight.
But, elizabeth, welcome to thepodcast.
So, if you would, let's startwith telling us a little bit
(02:05):
about making the jump fromgovernment to private sector,
and then what led you to theElizabeth Dole Foundation.
Elizabeth Field (02:12):
Well, it's interesting that you did the GAO
and military housing, becausethat was a big part of the work
that I did before coming here tothe foundation, and one of the
key things that I learned inthat work was truly that an
individual serves in ourmilitary, the whole family
(02:35):
serves, and quite often, as Iwas uncovering housing that was
well below standard.
It would to come to theElizabeth Dole Foundation, where
(03:01):
we support families militaryfamilies, veteran families who
are, in some cases, dealing withenormously challenging
circumstances because theservice member has been injured
or come down with an illness dueto toxic exposure or what have
you, and until Elizabeth Dolecreated the foundation, there
(03:24):
was really no one dedicated tohelping these families, and so I
wanted to be able to be part ofthat in a more direct way than
I could be in government.
Larry Zilliox (03:36):
When you got to the foundation and you started
your work, what surprised youthe most?
Elizabeth Field (03:42):
You know, I think it has been surprising how
common it is for militaryfamily members to be caregiving
but not recognize that they arecaregivers.
We are talking about militaryspouses who help their service
(04:05):
member veteran manage symptomsof post-traumatic stress
disorder, and I can't tell youhow many times I talk to a
spouse who says I'm not acaregiver, I'm just doing what
I'm doing because I love myspouse.
Well, that person is acaregiver and what I try to do
(04:27):
at the foundation is to helpmilitary and veteran family
members and friends it's notalways a family member recognize
that what they are doing isreally invaluable.
It is part of continuing tosupport those who have served,
but also that there areresources available for them
(04:47):
that they deserve and that willhelp them.
Larry Zilliox (04:51):
So the programs that jump out at me, and because
here at the Warrior Retreatwe're all about families and and
families serve right alongsidewith the warriors, and we
recognize too that our focushere has always been, and
continues to be, tosurreptitiously convince the
(05:12):
warrior that their family's notbetter off without them.
They very often come here invery dark places without them.
They very often come here invery dark places.
We've had a number of them tellus that, look, I was going to
give a vacation sort of thing tomy family and then I was going
to take my own life.
And they get this crazy thoughtin their head that if they just
(05:33):
take their own life, then theirfamily can go back home and be
normal again.
And that's just the mostridiculous thing.
But it sounds normal andreasonable to them until we get
them here and we focus in on thefamily and everything we do is
family oriented, and what wenotice is not only is it a
(05:56):
stress relief on the warrior,but it's a stress release on the
family too.
The family gets to be a familyagain.
And your Hidden Heroes campaign,which highlights the fact that
there are all these spouses inthis caregiving role that are
not recognized that are notgetting the help they need, and
(06:18):
because they don't recognizethemselves as caregivers, they
don't understand that theresources are out there.
And I think this is one of themost amazing programs that you
have is to educate them thattheir role is that of a
caregiver and to say, once theyrecognize they're a caregiver,
then they're open, hopefully, tounderstanding that there's
(06:43):
resources, not only within yourfoundation, but you know 50,000
other VSOs around the country.
What is the?
I mean, I know that ElizabethDole is a caregiver always, has
been for quite some time, andthat's the foundation.
But what do you think is thenumber one way in which you all
(07:04):
use this campaign to convincespouses and family members that
they are caregivers and toutilize the resources that you
have available?
Elizabeth Field (07:17):
Well, let me first just commend you and your
organization for that emphasison the family and supporting
families, because you're right,it is really just critical to do
that.
There are a number of programsthat we run that are designed to
raise awareness for caregiversand also to help caregivers
(07:37):
understand that they are, infact, in that role.
The one that I want to highlight, though, is our Dole Caregiver
Fellowship Program.
This is a program that has beenin existence almost from the
very beginning of the foundation, because what Senator Dole
realized and recognized was thatcaregivers are the best
(08:02):
communicators to othercaregivers.
They help others in theircommunity who are caring for a
service member or a veteranrecognize that they are in a
role that they may not haverealized, and they help them get
resources that they need, andthey also advocate for their
community.
(08:22):
There is a lot of advocacy workthat we do at a foundation at
our foundation, excuse me andbeing able to rely on the now
300 plus fellows across thecountry to help amplify our
messages is really, reallyimportant, and so it truly is a
family.
We talk about it a lot likethat here at the foundation that
(08:45):
our fellows are an extension ofthe Dole Foundation family, and
they truly are heroes to us.
Larry Zilliox (08:54):
Well, that was number three on my list of your
outstanding programs.
Number two was the HiddenHelpers Coalition, which we'll
sort of go back to here in aminute.
But I do want to talk a littlebit about the Caregiver
Fellowship, because one of theways that we see the fellows is
out there on the Hill and outthere advocating for the
(09:18):
community and putting caregiversfront and center, in front of
legislators, not only on thefederal level but state level as
well.
And that is a huge, hugebenefit to the caregiver and
veteran and military community,because it's one thing to call
your representative and thentalk to a staff member, it's
(09:41):
another thing to write them aletter.
But when you get in thereface-to-face with them, they see
you and you're a real personwho has a story that they can't
ignore.
(10:11):
I can't thank you all enough forthe work that you do in
educating these fellows so thatthey can go out and lobby on
behalf of not only thefoundation but the community at
large.
I mean it's so importantbecause without policy, without
getting the word out about whatthe issues are and what's needed
, nothing will happen.
The PAC Act would have neverhappened without veterans
advocating for it, caregiversadvocating for it come to
(10:44):
veterans and service memberscome because people like the
Dole Foundation fellows are outthere and they're in the
community and they're the voicethat says we need this, and so
that's an amazing program andit's now, like you say, over 300
.
Are you planning on expandingit anymore, or is this?
I know we know some fellowswho've been here at the retreat
(11:07):
and I know they sort of rotatein and out.
A lot of times it's based onfamily issues and a lot of
things but is there a plan toexpand it at all?
Elizabeth Field (11:19):
Well, we really do consider the fellowship
program to be one of ourflagship programs and what we do
is we have a process where weallow caregivers from across the
country to apply for thefellowship.
If you're interested, if you'rea caregiver and you're listening
and you're interested, you cango to elizabethdolefoundationorg
(11:40):
and you'll see a link therewhere you can learn more about
the fellowship program and howto apply.
But we will be continuing torun this program every year,
starting a new class every year,and then each class runs for
about two years in terms ofintensive training.
We bring the fellows to CapitolHill, as you noted, and we give
(12:06):
them resources that they maybehadn't had before, and then we
send them back out into theircommunities.
But this is something that wewill continue to do and really
rely on well into the future,because we know, as you
mentioned, that we've beenreally successful in working
(12:27):
with our fellows to advanceimportant legislation.
I had the pleasure last year ofjoining some of our fellows on
the Hill when we were advocatingfor the Elizabeth Dole Act,
which ultimately was signed intolaw at the very beginning of
this year, and the caregiverswho spoke with our members of
Congress were an instrumentalpart of that, so we will
(12:48):
continue to do that.
Larry Zilliox (12:50):
And just so our listeners understand too, if
you're a caregiver out there andthis sounds like something you
might be interested in, couldyou just take a moment to
describe the program and thesort of operational aspect of it
?
So I'm imagining that thefoundation covers the expenses,
so it's not like I'm inCalifornia and I want to do this
(13:13):
but I can't afford to get tothe training.
How does the whole thing work?
Elizabeth Field (13:18):
Well, you're absolutely right.
We know that caregivers, on topof managing a lot in their
day-to-day life, also just don'thave the financial means to
participate in something likethis independently.
We know, for example, thatmilitary and veteran caregivers
really take a pretty heavy hitwhen it comes to lost income and
(13:42):
having to take on a number ofcosts that they have to pay out
of pocket for.
So we go through, as Imentioned, the application
process.
We interview caregivers whohave submitted applications that
we think show that they're apromising fellow, and then, once
(14:03):
caregivers are selected, wework with them, initially
through a lot of virtualmeetings, which is good because
they can take those calls fromhome and they get a chance to
meet one another and learn moreabout the foundation.
And then that year we bring theclass of fellows in to
(14:25):
Washington for about a week, andit's a pretty intense week, but
it is also one of the mostmeaningful experiences that we
and the fellows have, where theyare participating in, for
example, full day workshops,learning more about our programs
, but also learning about thingslike how to be an effective
(14:48):
advocate, how to tell theirstory effectively, effectively,
and we sprinkle in there somefun social activities, which is
so important because, you know,for so many of them this is also
an opportunity to do somethingfor themselves and to have a bit
of respite, which is so oftenreally needed.
(15:08):
And we have them participate inour annual convening, which is a
huge conference that we holdevery year, featuring leaders in
the space but also caregivers,because we want their voices
front and center.
And then on the last day of thatweek, we have what we call our
Hill Day, and that is when wehead to Capitol Hill and have
(15:29):
our fellows meet with members ofCongress from their states,
something that continues tohappen.
One of our fellows, david Meyer, just recently met with
Governor Polis in Colorado, andcertainly the training that he
got in this intensive week-longprogram helped him be prepared
for that conversation.
And then we continue to supportour fellows after that week of
(15:55):
training and workshops andsocial activities through
additional work online, whetherit's helping them determine how
to use social media to to telltheir story, um, and one of the
the most fun parts about thefellowship program is that.
And one of the most fun partsabout the fellowship program is
(16:18):
that when a class graduates,they come and they participate
in our Heroes and HistorymakersGala, which we do every year and
it's a lot of fun to have amoment of celebration, because
(16:39):
you know caregivers do so muchand they deserve to be not just
recognized but celebrated.
Larry Zilliox (16:42):
Well, it certainly is an amazing program.
And, listeners, if you're acaregiver and you think this is
something you might beinterested in, go to the webpage
, which iselizabethdoublefoundationorg,
and check it out, contact them,get more information and then
decide if it's for you.
If you know of a caregiver whoyou think would be right for
this, certainly send them thelink.
(17:03):
For sure and my regularlisteners know what I'm going to
say right now you go to thatwebpage and you're going to see
it up there in the right-handcorner, like every other VSOs,
that red donate button.
Go ahead and bang on thatbutton and donate what you can,
because these programs aren'tfree and they need all the help
(17:24):
that they can get.
And let me tell you, there's alot of organizations out there
that you can give money to, butI don't think you're going to
find one where you can givemoney and get this kind of
return on your investment andthat really takes these
caregivers and provides themwith all sorts of support and
programs.
We're just talking about thisone, which is the fellowship
(17:45):
caregiver fellowship, butthere's a ton of other programs
and services that they provideto all the other caregivers who
aren't fellows, and so this is,this is an organization that is
is going to really use your,your donation, wisely for sure.
(18:05):
My other favorite program thatyou have is the Hidden Helpers
Coalition.
If you would just tell ourlisteners a little bit about
what that is.
Elizabeth Field (18:15):
Yeah.
So Hidden Helpers is the termthat we use for children in
military and veteran caregivinghouseholds.
We know that there are aboutfive and a half million kids in
this country who are living in ahome with an injured, ill or
wounded veteran or servicemember, and quite often those
(18:37):
kids help with caregiving,whether it is helping to
administer a medication orsomething that we hear quite
often helping their parent, whois the caregiver, manage their
experience as a caregiver andwhat we know from research,
(18:57):
which is really central to howwe do our work.
We always want to beevidence-based and data-driven.
What we know is that these kidshave some pro-social behaviors
in greater spades than theirnon-caregiving peers, so things
like being able to empathize orto make a connection with
(19:17):
someone or to be patient it'ssomething that they have learned
from caregiving.
But we also know that thesekids can struggle, that they are
more likely to have some mentalhealth challenges or to miss
school more often or to get intoconflicts at school.
(19:38):
And so we created this coalition, the Hidden Helpers Coalition
to do a couple of things.
One, just to raise awarenessaround Hidden Helpers we have an
ongoing public awarenesscampaign right now as part of
this coalition's work but alsoto galvanize energy around
(20:00):
helping these kids, supportchildren and often military
children through everything,such as camps that are just for
them to you know, workbooks thathelp child caregivers sort of
process and understand whatthey're going through.
(20:21):
It is one of our most excitinginitiatives and we are currently
actively planning to do morewith this coalition and to do
more for hidden helpers.
We issued a new strategic planat the beginning of this year
(20:41):
and if you or your listeners goto our website and read that
plan, you'll see that supportingkids and supporting military
and veteran caregiver familiesis one of our three, one of our
four strategic pillars.
It's one of our areas of focusand so lots more to come in that
space.
Larry Zilliox (20:58):
Well, that's one of the things that makes the
Elizabeth Dole Foundation sospecial is that there's been
resources.
There's the VA, there's stateresources, local resources for
veterans, for caregivers, butvery, very little for children.
It's not until recently thatorganizations such as the Dole
(21:22):
Foundation and others havestarted to recognize the stress
and the pressure that's put onchildren of wounded warriors,
and their childhood is differentbecause of the dynamic of the
family, depending on thecaregiver relationship, maybe
the injuries that a parent hassuffered, but it can be as minor
(21:44):
as I can't come out to playbecause I've got to stay home to
remind my mom or dad to taketheir medication.
It can be as bad as a parentwho is unstable and I can't have
friends over because I don'tknow if mom or dad is going to
yell or scream or a problem likethat.
(22:05):
For our listeners, we recentlydid an episode with the Azara
Sisters I'd like you to go backand listen to that and they are
14 and 16.
They were here at the retreat in2018 with their father.
They've now gotten older andthey started their own nonprofit
called we Signed Up Too, andit's an online community and
(22:30):
meeting space for children ofwounded warriors, so it's a
great episode to give you alittle bit of insight of what
it's like to be a child of awounded warrior and a veteran
who needs help, and so it's justan amazing program.
The work that you all do isreally, really incredible.
And listeners, go to thewebpage, check it out, look at
all the different programs, theresources, find a way to hit the
(22:52):
donate button and give what youcan.
And if you know a caregiverwho's struggling or doesn't
think they're a caregiver butyou can see that a lot of their
time is taken up in managingtheir spouse and their medical
situation, then direct them tothe Elizabeth Dole Foundation.
(23:13):
Say, hey, just take a look atthis webpage,
elizabethdolefoundationorg.
As we kind of wrap things up,elizabeth, where do you see the
foundation in, say, five years,seven years?
Elizabeth Field (23:27):
Great question.
You know, we've been doing alot of hard work internally and
with our partner organizations,thinking through where our value
add really is, where our timeand our resources are best spent
, and you're absolutely rightthat the more donations we
(23:48):
receive, the more work we can doto help our community of more
than 14 million Americans.
What we know is that we want tomake a real difference for
military and veteran caregiversand their families by focusing
in a few areas.
One is on supporting theirmental and emotional well-being.
(24:12):
Another is on supporting thesefamilies so that their economic
mobility is upward and healthy.
We want to focus on supportingkids, as we just talked about
the hidden helpers.
And then, last, we really wantto make sure that all of the
(24:33):
different organizations orsystems that caregivers and
their families experiencewhether it's a hospital system
or a school system or what haveyou that those systems are well
equipped to identify and supportcaregivers who they interact
with.
One of the most exciting thingsthat I am sort of really looking
(24:57):
forward to in the coming yearsis that, as we continue our
fellowship program, we will beleveraging that network of more
than 300 fellows, and we have afellow in every at least one
fellow in every single state,leveraging them to help bring
our programming into communities.
(25:19):
So right now, we run a lot ofprogramming that is online.
For example, we have mentalwellness workshops, we have
support for families who needsome help getting to the point
of financial stability, andthose programs have been very
successful.
But we want to make sure thatwe are really bringing them to
(25:40):
scale and bringing them intocommunities.
The other area that I am soexcited that we are really
amplifying and also expanding,and this is right now.
This was one of our toppriorities for 2025.
Based on that strategic plan, weare building out our resource
navigation and financialassistance program, and I really
(26:03):
, just as much as we need folksto go to our website and hit
donate, we also need caregiversout there who are experiencing a
financial emergency to come tous, because we have, through the
enormous generosity of the Boband Dolores Hope Foundation, a
(26:24):
very large emergency financialassistance fund we call it the
Hope Fund and that is there tohelp military and veteran
caregivers with expenses such as, you know, their car breaks
down and they can't get theircaregiver to a medical
appointment or they're justhaving a hard time putting food
on the table, we're here to help, and if you need a resource but
(26:47):
you're not sure where to findit, we do that too, so for
caregivers out there.
When you go to our website,you'll see a tab at the top that
says find help.
If you click that, that willtake you to information about
all of the services we provide,including that emergency
financial assistance, thatemergency financial assistance.
Larry Zilliox (27:09):
Well, I'll tell you, I can't thank you enough
for coming on and talking aboutall the amazing work that you do
there at the foundation andgiving people a really better
understanding of what thefoundation does, and hopefully
there's some caregivers outthere that are listening to this
that will say, hey, I need toreach out to them.
I need to contact them becausethey may be able to help me.
It doesn, I need to reach outto them.
I need to contact them becausethey may be able to help me.
(27:30):
It doesn't hurt to reach outand ask some questions and find
out if there's something thatyou need that they might be able
to help you with.
So, listeners, please don'thesitate to go to the webpage
and check out all the resources.
Elizabeth, thank you again somuch for joining us.
Elizabeth Field (27:49):
Well, larry, thank you for having me and for
sharing this information withyour listeners, because we are
here to help and we know thatthere's a lot of need out there.
Larry Zilliox (28:00):
Well, listeners, we will have another episode
next Monday morning at 0500.
If you have any questions orsuggestions, you can reach us at
podcast, at willingwarriorsorg.
You can find us on all themajor podcast platforms.
We're on YouTube's and WreathAcross America Radio.
Until next time, thanks forlistening.
Good morning.
I'm your host, Larry Zilliox,Director of Culinary Services
here at the Warrior Retreat atBull Run this week.
Our guest is Elizabeth Field.
She's the COO of the ElizabethDole Foundation.
She joined the foundation backin February of 24.
And before that she was a seniorexecutive with the GAO's
(00:38):
Defense Capabilities andManagement Team, and the reason
I mentioned that is many of ourlisteners may remember that we
did an episode back in Februaryepisode 94, where we discussed
really serious deficiencies andissues surrounding military
housing, both on base and offbase, with director at the time,
(00:59):
Alissa Czyz, and it was a greatepisode and I encourage any of
our listeners that come acrossany GAO reports about Veterans
Administration or militaryhousing or health care, things
like that, to read them, becausethey're just chock full of
amazing information and they dogreat work.
(01:21):
And anybody who's been operatingin the veteran service
organization space for anyamount of time recognizes that
the Elizabeth Dole Foundationreally sets the gold standard
when it comes to caregiving formilitary and veterans, and so
I'm really really happy thatshe's able to join us today and
(01:41):
talk about their programs andwhat the future looks like as
far as policy, all the issuesthat surround caregivers today,
and let me tell you there's alot.
We're not going to be able toget to all of them.
I have a few of their programsthat I really want to highlight.
But, elizabeth, welcome to thepodcast.
So, if you would, let's startwith telling us a little bit
(02:05):
about making the jump fromgovernment to private sector,
and then what led you to theElizabeth Dole Foundation.
Elizabeth Field (02:12):
Well, it's interesting that you did the GAO
and military housing, becausethat was a big part of the work
that I did before coming here tothe foundation, and one of the
key things that I learned inthat work was truly that an
individual serves in ourmilitary, the whole family
(02:35):
serves, and quite often, as Iwas uncovering housing that was
well below standard.
It would to come to theElizabeth Dole Foundation, where
(03:01):
we support families militaryfamilies, veteran families who
are, in some cases, dealing withenormously challenging
circumstances because theservice member has been injured
or come down with an illness dueto toxic exposure or what have
you, and until Elizabeth Dolecreated the foundation, there
(03:24):
was really no one dedicated tohelping these families, and so I
wanted to be able to be part ofthat in a more direct way than
I could be in government.
Larry Zilliox (03:36):
When you got to the foundation and you started
your work, what surprised youthe most?
Elizabeth Field (03:42):
You know, I think it has been surprising how
common it is for militaryfamily members to be caregiving
but not recognize that they arecaregivers.
We are talking about militaryspouses who help their service
(04:05):
member veteran manage symptomsof post-traumatic stress
disorder, and I can't tell youhow many times I talk to a
spouse who says I'm not acaregiver, I'm just doing what
I'm doing because I love myspouse.
Well, that person is acaregiver and what I try to do
(04:27):
at the foundation is to helpmilitary and veteran family
members and friends it's notalways a family member recognize
that what they are doing isreally invaluable.
It is part of continuing tosupport those who have served,
but also that there areresources available for them
(04:47):
that they deserve and that willhelp them.
Larry Zilliox (04:51):
So the programs that jump out at me, and because
here at the Warrior Retreatwe're all about families and and
families serve right alongsidewith the warriors, and we
recognize too that our focushere has always been, and
continues to be, tosurreptitiously convince the
(05:12):
warrior that their family's notbetter off without them.
They very often come here invery dark places without them.
They very often come here invery dark places.
We've had a number of them tellus that, look, I was going to
give a vacation sort of thing tomy family and then I was going
to take my own life.
And they get this crazy thoughtin their head that if they just
(05:33):
take their own life, then theirfamily can go back home and be
normal again.
And that's just the mostridiculous thing.
But it sounds normal andreasonable to them until we get
them here and we focus in on thefamily and everything we do is
family oriented, and what wenotice is not only is it a
(05:56):
stress relief on the warrior,but it's a stress release on the
family too.
The family gets to be a familyagain.
And your Hidden Heroes campaign,which highlights the fact that
there are all these spouses inthis caregiving role that are
not recognized that are notgetting the help they need, and
(06:18):
because they don't recognizethemselves as caregivers, they
don't understand that theresources are out there.
And I think this is one of themost amazing programs that you
have is to educate them thattheir role is that of a
caregiver and to say, once theyrecognize they're a caregiver,
then they're open, hopefully, tounderstanding that there's
(06:43):
resources, not only within yourfoundation, but you know 50,000
other VSOs around the country.
What is the?
I mean, I know that ElizabethDole is a caregiver always, has
been for quite some time, andthat's the foundation.
But what do you think is thenumber one way in which you all
(07:04):
use this campaign to convincespouses and family members that
they are caregivers and toutilize the resources that you
have available?
Elizabeth Field (07:17):
Well, let me first just commend you and your
organization for that emphasison the family and supporting
families, because you're right,it is really just critical to do
that.
There are a number of programsthat we run that are designed to
raise awareness for caregiversand also to help caregivers
(07:37):
understand that they are, infact, in that role.
The one that I want to highlight, though, is our Dole Caregiver
Fellowship Program.
This is a program that has beenin existence almost from the
very beginning of the foundation, because what Senator Dole
realized and recognized was thatcaregivers are the best
(08:02):
communicators to othercaregivers.
They help others in theircommunity who are caring for a
service member or a veteranrecognize that they are in a
role that they may not haverealized, and they help them get
resources that they need, andthey also advocate for their
community.
(08:22):
There is a lot of advocacy workthat we do at a foundation at
our foundation, excuse me andbeing able to rely on the now
300 plus fellows across thecountry to help amplify our
messages is really, reallyimportant, and so it truly is a
family.
We talk about it a lot likethat here at the foundation that
(08:45):
our fellows are an extension ofthe Dole Foundation family, and
they truly are heroes to us.
Larry Zilliox (08:54):
Well, that was number three on my list of your
outstanding programs.
Number two was the HiddenHelpers Coalition, which we'll
sort of go back to here in aminute.
But I do want to talk a littlebit about the Caregiver
Fellowship, because one of theways that we see the fellows is
out there on the Hill and outthere advocating for the
(09:18):
community and putting caregiversfront and center, in front of
legislators, not only on thefederal level but state level as
well.
And that is a huge, hugebenefit to the caregiver and
veteran and military community,because it's one thing to call
your representative and thentalk to a staff member, it's
(09:41):
another thing to write them aletter.
But when you get in thereface-to-face with them, they see
you and you're a real personwho has a story that they can't
ignore.
(10:11):
I can't thank you all enough forthe work that you do in
educating these fellows so thatthey can go out and lobby on
behalf of not only thefoundation but the community at
large.
I mean it's so importantbecause without policy, without
getting the word out about whatthe issues are and what's needed
, nothing will happen.
The PAC Act would have neverhappened without veterans
advocating for it, caregiversadvocating for it come to
(10:44):
veterans and service memberscome because people like the
Dole Foundation fellows are outthere and they're in the
community and they're the voicethat says we need this, and so
that's an amazing program andit's now, like you say, over 300
.
Are you planning on expandingit anymore, or is this?
I know we know some fellowswho've been here at the retreat
(11:07):
and I know they sort of rotatein and out.
A lot of times it's based onfamily issues and a lot of
things but is there a plan toexpand it at all?
Elizabeth Field (11:19):
Well, we really do consider the fellowship
program to be one of ourflagship programs and what we do
is we have a process where weallow caregivers from across the
country to apply for thefellowship.
If you're interested, if you'rea caregiver and you're listening
and you're interested, you cango to elizabethdolefoundationorg
(11:40):
and you'll see a link therewhere you can learn more about
the fellowship program and howto apply.
But we will be continuing torun this program every year,
starting a new class every year,and then each class runs for
about two years in terms ofintensive training.
We bring the fellows to CapitolHill, as you noted, and we give
(12:06):
them resources that they maybehadn't had before, and then we
send them back out into theircommunities.
But this is something that wewill continue to do and really
rely on well into the future,because we know, as you
mentioned, that we've beenreally successful in working
(12:27):
with our fellows to advanceimportant legislation.
I had the pleasure last year ofjoining some of our fellows on
the Hill when we were advocatingfor the Elizabeth Dole Act,
which ultimately was signed intolaw at the very beginning of
this year, and the caregiverswho spoke with our members of
Congress were an instrumentalpart of that, so we will
(12:48):
continue to do that.
Larry Zilliox (12:50):
And just so our listeners understand too, if
you're a caregiver out there andthis sounds like something you
might be interested in, couldyou just take a moment to
describe the program and thesort of operational aspect of it
?
So I'm imagining that thefoundation covers the expenses,
so it's not like I'm inCalifornia and I want to do this
(13:13):
but I can't afford to get tothe training.
How does the whole thing work?
Elizabeth Field (13:18):
Well, you're absolutely right.
We know that caregivers, on topof managing a lot in their
day-to-day life, also just don'thave the financial means to
participate in something likethis independently.
We know, for example, thatmilitary and veteran caregivers
really take a pretty heavy hitwhen it comes to lost income and
(13:42):
having to take on a number ofcosts that they have to pay out
of pocket for.
So we go through, as Imentioned, the application
process.
We interview caregivers whohave submitted applications that
we think show that they're apromising fellow, and then, once
(14:03):
caregivers are selected, wework with them, initially
through a lot of virtualmeetings, which is good because
they can take those calls fromhome and they get a chance to
meet one another and learn moreabout the foundation.
And then that year we bring theclass of fellows in to
(14:25):
Washington for about a week, andit's a pretty intense week, but
it is also one of the mostmeaningful experiences that we
and the fellows have, where theyare participating in, for
example, full day workshops,learning more about our programs
, but also learning about thingslike how to be an effective
(14:48):
advocate, how to tell theirstory effectively, effectively,
and we sprinkle in there somefun social activities, which is
so important because, you know,for so many of them this is also
an opportunity to do somethingfor themselves and to have a bit
of respite, which is so oftenreally needed.
(15:08):
And we have them participate inour annual convening, which is a
huge conference that we holdevery year, featuring leaders in
the space but also caregivers,because we want their voices
front and center.
And then on the last day of thatweek, we have what we call our
Hill Day, and that is when wehead to Capitol Hill and have
(15:29):
our fellows meet with members ofCongress from their states,
something that continues tohappen.
One of our fellows, david Meyer, just recently met with
Governor Polis in Colorado, andcertainly the training that he
got in this intensive week-longprogram helped him be prepared
for that conversation.
And then we continue to supportour fellows after that week of
(15:55):
training and workshops andsocial activities through
additional work online, whetherit's helping them determine how
to use social media to to telltheir story, um, and one of the
the most fun parts about thefellowship program is that.
And one of the most fun partsabout the fellowship program is
(16:18):
that when a class graduates,they come and they participate
in our Heroes and HistorymakersGala, which we do every year and
it's a lot of fun to have amoment of celebration, because
(16:39):
you know caregivers do so muchand they deserve to be not just
recognized but celebrated.
Larry Zilliox (16:42):
Well, it certainly is an amazing program.
And, listeners, if you're acaregiver and you think this is
something you might beinterested in, go to the webpage
, which iselizabethdoublefoundationorg,
and check it out, contact them,get more information and then
decide if it's for you.
If you know of a caregiver whoyou think would be right for
this, certainly send them thelink.
(17:03):
For sure and my regularlisteners know what I'm going to
say right now you go to thatwebpage and you're going to see
it up there in the right-handcorner, like every other VSOs,
that red donate button.
Go ahead and bang on thatbutton and donate what you can,
because these programs aren'tfree and they need all the help
(17:24):
that they can get.
And let me tell you, there's alot of organizations out there
that you can give money to, butI don't think you're going to
find one where you can givemoney and get this kind of
return on your investment andthat really takes these
caregivers and provides themwith all sorts of support and
programs.
We're just talking about thisone, which is the fellowship
(17:45):
caregiver fellowship, butthere's a ton of other programs
and services that they provideto all the other caregivers who
aren't fellows, and so this is,this is an organization that is
is going to really use your,your donation, wisely for sure.
(18:05):
My other favorite program thatyou have is the Hidden Helpers
Coalition.
If you would just tell ourlisteners a little bit about
what that is.
Elizabeth Field (18:15):
Yeah.
So Hidden Helpers is the termthat we use for children in
military and veteran caregivinghouseholds.
We know that there are aboutfive and a half million kids in
this country who are living in ahome with an injured, ill or
wounded veteran or servicemember, and quite often those
(18:37):
kids help with caregiving,whether it is helping to
administer a medication orsomething that we hear quite
often helping their parent, whois the caregiver, manage their
experience as a caregiver andwhat we know from research,
(18:57):
which is really central to howwe do our work.
We always want to beevidence-based and data-driven.
What we know is that these kidshave some pro-social behaviors
in greater spades than theirnon-caregiving peers, so things
like being able to empathize orto make a connection with
(19:17):
someone or to be patient it'ssomething that they have learned
from caregiving.
But we also know that thesekids can struggle, that they are
more likely to have some mentalhealth challenges or to miss
school more often or to get intoconflicts at school.
(19:38):
And so we created this coalition, the Hidden Helpers Coalition
to do a couple of things.
One, just to raise awarenessaround Hidden Helpers we have an
ongoing public awarenesscampaign right now as part of
this coalition's work but alsoto galvanize energy around
(20:00):
helping these kids, supportchildren and often military
children through everything,such as camps that are just for
them to you know, workbooks thathelp child caregivers sort of
process and understand whatthey're going through.
(20:21):
It is one of our most excitinginitiatives and we are currently
actively planning to do morewith this coalition and to do
more for hidden helpers.
We issued a new strategic planat the beginning of this year
(20:41):
and if you or your listeners goto our website and read that
plan, you'll see that supportingkids and supporting military
and veteran caregiver familiesis one of our three, one of our
four strategic pillars.
It's one of our areas of focusand so lots more to come in that
space.
Larry Zilliox (20:58):
Well, that's one of the things that makes the
Elizabeth Dole Foundation sospecial is that there's been
resources.
There's the VA, there's stateresources, local resources for
veterans, for caregivers, butvery, very little for children.
It's not until recently thatorganizations such as the Dole
(21:22):
Foundation and others havestarted to recognize the stress
and the pressure that's put onchildren of wounded warriors,
and their childhood is differentbecause of the dynamic of the
family, depending on thecaregiver relationship, maybe
the injuries that a parent hassuffered, but it can be as minor
(21:44):
as I can't come out to playbecause I've got to stay home to
remind my mom or dad to taketheir medication.
It can be as bad as a parentwho is unstable and I can't have
friends over because I don'tknow if mom or dad is going to
yell or scream or a problem likethat.
(22:05):
For our listeners, we recentlydid an episode with the Azara
Sisters I'd like you to go backand listen to that and they are
14 and 16.
They were here at the retreat in2018 with their father.
They've now gotten older andthey started their own nonprofit
called we Signed Up Too, andit's an online community and
(22:30):
meeting space for children ofwounded warriors, so it's a
great episode to give you alittle bit of insight of what
it's like to be a child of awounded warrior and a veteran
who needs help, and so it's justan amazing program.
The work that you all do isreally, really incredible.
And listeners, go to thewebpage, check it out, look at
all the different programs, theresources, find a way to hit the
(22:52):
donate button and give what youcan.
And if you know a caregiverwho's struggling or doesn't
think they're a caregiver butyou can see that a lot of their
time is taken up in managingtheir spouse and their medical
situation, then direct them tothe Elizabeth Dole Foundation.
(23:13):
Say, hey, just take a look atthis webpage,
elizabethdolefoundationorg.
As we kind of wrap things up,elizabeth, where do you see the
foundation in, say, five years,seven years?
Elizabeth Field (23:27):
Great question.
You know, we've been doing alot of hard work internally and
with our partner organizations,thinking through where our value
add really is, where our timeand our resources are best spent
, and you're absolutely rightthat the more donations we
(23:48):
receive, the more work we can doto help our community of more
than 14 million Americans.
What we know is that we want tomake a real difference for
military and veteran caregiversand their families by focusing
in a few areas.
One is on supporting theirmental and emotional well-being.
(24:12):
Another is on supporting thesefamilies so that their economic
mobility is upward and healthy.
We want to focus on supportingkids, as we just talked about
the hidden helpers.
And then, last, we really wantto make sure that all of the
(24:33):
different organizations orsystems that caregivers and
their families experiencewhether it's a hospital system
or a school system or what haveyou that those systems are well
equipped to identify and supportcaregivers who they interact
with.
One of the most exciting thingsthat I am sort of really looking
(24:57):
forward to in the coming yearsis that, as we continue our
fellowship program, we will beleveraging that network of more
than 300 fellows, and we have afellow in every at least one
fellow in every single state,leveraging them to help bring
our programming into communities.
(25:19):
So right now, we run a lot ofprogramming that is online.
For example, we have mentalwellness workshops, we have
support for families who needsome help getting to the point
of financial stability, andthose programs have been very
successful.
But we want to make sure thatwe are really bringing them to
(25:40):
scale and bringing them intocommunities.
The other area that I am soexcited that we are really
amplifying and also expanding,and this is right now.
This was one of our toppriorities for 2025.
Based on that strategic plan, weare building out our resource
navigation and financialassistance program, and I really
(26:03):
, just as much as we need folksto go to our website and hit
donate, we also need caregiversout there who are experiencing a
financial emergency to come tous, because we have, through the
enormous generosity of the Boband Dolores Hope Foundation, a
(26:24):
very large emergency financialassistance fund we call it the
Hope Fund and that is there tohelp military and veteran
caregivers with expenses such as, you know, their car breaks
down and they can't get theircaregiver to a medical
appointment or they're justhaving a hard time putting food
on the table, we're here to help, and if you need a resource but
(26:47):
you're not sure where to findit, we do that too, so for
caregivers out there.
When you go to our website,you'll see a tab at the top that
says find help.
If you click that, that willtake you to information about
all of the services we provide,including that emergency
financial assistance, thatemergency financial assistance.
Larry Zilliox (27:09):
Well, I'll tell you, I can't thank you enough
for coming on and talking aboutall the amazing work that you do
there at the foundation andgiving people a really better
understanding of what thefoundation does, and hopefully
there's some caregivers outthere that are listening to this
that will say, hey, I need toreach out to them.
I need to contact them becausethey may be able to help me.
It doesn, I need to reach outto them.
I need to contact them becausethey may be able to help me.
(27:30):
It doesn't hurt to reach outand ask some questions and find
out if there's something thatyou need that they might be able
to help you with.
So, listeners, please don'thesitate to go to the webpage
and check out all the resources.
Elizabeth, thank you again somuch for joining us.
Elizabeth Field (27:49):
Well, larry, thank you for having me and for
sharing this information withyour listeners, because we are
here to help and we know thatthere's a lot of need out there.
Larry Zilliox (28:00):
Well, listeners, we will have another episode
next Monday morning at 0500.
If you have any questions orsuggestions, you can reach us at
podcast, at willingwarriorsorg.
You can find us on all themajor podcast platforms.
We're on YouTube's and WreathAcross America Radio.
Until next time, thanks forlistening.
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