Announcements & Media Coverage
Rebuilding Veterans
The Almanac - Menlo Park, CA - September 23, 2009 - The economy appears to be getting up off its knees, Silicon Valley's entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well, the weather is pleasantly Mediterranean, and the options coming with new luxury sedans and sports coupes are probably better than ever. Life as we know it in upscale communities along the southern border of San Mateo County could hardly be more distant from the shocks, hazards and everyday cruelties of war that U.S. soldiers have experienced half a planet away in Iraq and, increasingly, in Afghanistan.
Menlo Park resident Dana Hendrickson, 60, is not a soldier and not a party to a soldier's experiences, but through his 16-month-old nonprofit Rebuild Hope, he is trying to do his part for those men and women, mostly from the Army and National Guard, who come home disabled and find a government bureaucracy that offers help, but at a price: months, sometimes years, of waiting. (page 1)(page 2)
(Stanford Biz School) Alums Help U.S. Veterans Re-enter Civilian Life
Stanford Business Magazine - Stanford, CA - September 2009 - Reading the war news from Iraq and Afghanistan, Dana Hendrickson, MBA '77, felt he was not shouldering his share of the burden. He had visited the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital looking for ways to help but found no volunteer opportunities that fit his particular skills. "I thought I could do something with technology," he recalls, "but I couldn't think what."
Then he learned about Kiva, an online site where potential investors meet entrepreneurs in the developing world who need financial help. Hendrickson's nonprofit, Rebuild Hope, is built on that model, offering a site where donors read the stories of military service members who need a financial boost to get their lives in order.
Successful applicants are post-9/11 veterans or service members who received life-altering injuries while in active service and who demonstrate a realistic plan to balance their budgets over 6 to 12 months. Recipients are offered counseling - financial or otherwise - and awarded up to $3,000 total, paid in monthly installments, to help them overcome their short-term financial problems. The stipends may be small, but they are meant to act as a stimulus to get the recipient past an emergency situation.
Each situation is different. Awards may pay for a car to carry a veteran to school for job training, allow distant parents to visit a hospitalized soldier, provide vital home repairs for an injured vet who can't yet do it himself, or help straighten out a troubled credit history.
Simply compiling an application can be a first step toward getting a life - or a military family - back on track. "We're trying to change the model," Hendrickson says. "Assuring a 12-month cash flow helps them see where they are going."
Rebuild Hope cofounder Wes Rose, MBA '80, helped with the organization's incorporation and remains on the board of directors. Silicon Valley venture capitalist Jim Anderson, MBA '77, came aboard in January as an advisor on fundraising strategy.
Rebuild Hope Receives Generous Google Grant
Menlo Park, CA - March 20, 2009 - Rebuild Hope learned today that it has been selected by Google, Inc. to receive a Google Grant. "Google Grants is a unique in-kind donation program awarding free AdWords advertising to select charitable organizations. The Google Grants program empowers non-profit organizations to achieve their goals by helping them promote their websites via advertising on Google. Google AdWords ads appear when users search on Google and when you click on one of the ads, you are brought to the website being advertised." This program will boost Rebuild Hope's efforts to reach veterans who can receive financial aid and donors who wish to help them.
Twitter Enables Users To Follow Rebuild Hope In "Real-time"
Menlo Park, CA - March 8, 2009 -Twitter has grown into a real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices. Now people can follow the sources most relevant to them including Rebuild Hope and access information via Twitter as it happens. To follow Reduild Hope The economy appears to be getting up off its knees, Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well, the weather is pleasantly Mediterranean, and the options coming with new luxury sedans and sports coupes are probably better than ever. Life as we know it in upscale communities along the southern border of San Mateo County could hardly be more distant from the shocks, hazards and everyday cruelties of war that U.S. soldiers have experienced half a planet away in Iraq and, increasingly, in Afghanistan. Menlo Park resident Dana Hendrickson, 60, is not a soldier and not a party to a soldier’s experiences, but through his 16-month-old nonprofit Rebuild Hope, he is trying to do his part for those men and women, mostly from the Army and National Guard, who come home disabled and find a government bureaucracy that offers help, but at a price: months, sometimes years, of waiting.
Rebuild Hope Joins GoodSearch and GoodShop
Menlo Park, CA - February 15, 2009 - Rebuild Hope is now a member of both GoodSearch and GoodShop. GoodSearch is a search engine with a unique social mission. It's powered by Yahoo!, so users get great search results, and each time they search, GoodSearch will make a donation to Rebuild Hope. To learn how one can automatically help Rebuild Hope when they search the internet just as they normally would, go to GoodSearch.com.
GoodShop is a new online marketplace that donates a percentage of your purchase to the nonprofit or school of your choice. You can choose from hundreds of popular merchants and the experience of shopping through GoodShop is exactly the same as going to the retailer's websites directly. You will be amazed by the number of retailers that participate in Goodshop. To support Rebuild Hope go to GoodShop.com
Rebuild Hope Is Now a Facebook Cause
Menlo Park, CA - February 15, 2009 -- Through its partnership with Causes (www.causes.com) Facebook offers users the opportunity create a cause, recruit their friends into that cause, keep everybody in the cause up-to-speed on issues and media related to the cause, and, most importantly, raise money. Credit card donations are automatically processed, results tallied, and donation activity reported via a public "scorecard".
To support Rebuild Hope add Rebuild Hope to your "causes" and invite your facebook friends to join, as well.
Rebuild Hope Featured in The Private Bank of the Peninsula's Quarterly Newsletter
Palo Alto, CA - November 20, 2008 -- View story on page 3 of newsletter
NEWS FLASH - October 31, 2008 --Today Rebuild Hope Received A $4,500 Check From California Congressional District 4 Candidate Charlie Brown's "Promises Kept Veterans Charity Challenge". That's a total of $14,500. Charlie, thank you!
Rebuild Hope Joins eBay Giving Works
Menlo Park, CA - October 10, 2008 -- Rebuild Hope announced today it has joined the eBay Giving Works program which enables sellers to give proceeds from their sales to Rebuild Hope and anyone with a PayPal account to donate to Rebuild right away without buying or selling anything. These are the latest online donation capabilities now supporting Rebuild Hope. The ebay Giving Works program is administered by MissionFish. Also a non-profit, MissionFish certifies that participating nonprofits are tax-deductible and meet eBay Community standards against hate, violence and intolerance; collects donations from eBay users and delivers them to nonprofits as intended, manages the tax benefits of giving through eBay Giving Works; and powers the technology that makes it all possible. (Learn More)
Rebuild Hope to Benefit From The Tabard Theatre Company's Production of
Antigone (In the Oval Office)
San Jose Mercury News - September 21, 2008 -- View Flyer
(Sal) Pizarro: Site helps soldiers rebuild
San Jose Mercury News - August 31, 2008 -- As U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq raged into their fifth year, Dana Hendrickson decided to do something about it. What really bugged him was the inefficiency of many non-profit groups and the red tape that created barriers for veterans and active servicemen and servicewomen seeking benefits. But the Peninsula resident, who spent his career in the tech industry, didn't pick up a protest sign. Instead, he started a non-profit group.
With the help of Silicon Valley investors, in June he launched Rebuild Hope, a volunteer network that uses the Web to directly connect donors with the military personnel who apply for help through the site (www.rebuildhope.org). The bios of more than 15 beneficiaries are up on the site, and donors can direct their contributions to any of them.
Hendrickson sees this as a way to give back after a successful career in Silicon Valley. The point, he says, is to provide veterans with transitional financial assistance to get them back on their feet. And he's trying not to step on toes, working with the Veteran's Administration and other agencies to find potential beneficiaries.
"Time and time again, Americans have demonstrated unmatched compassion and generosity, helping millions of people around the world who experienced major hardships," Hendrickson said. "It's hard to imagine a greater humanitarian cause than helping our own U.S military families who personally suffer from lasting wounds of war.
NEWS FLASH - Sept. 4, 2008 --Today Rebuild Hope Received A $10,000 Check From Charlie Brown's "Promises Kept Veterans Charity Challenge". Charlie, in behalf of our families, thank you!
Charlie Brown To Donate $30K in Campaign Funds to Three Area Veteran Service Providers
Retired USAF Lt. Col. to Present Checks with General Wesley Clark on Thursday in Roseville
Roseville, CA - September 3, 2008 -- The Congressional campaign of Retired USAF Lt. Col. Charlie Brown has announced the newest round of beneficiaries in its historic "Promises Kept Veterans Charity Challenge" program, and will present $30,000 in new donations at an event this Thursday afternoon in Roseville. As was the case during Brown's last Charity Challenge giveaway back in March, for the past week, Brown"s website has conducted an online poll to determine how much of the funds slated for distribution would be received by three finalists---Rebuild Hope, the Greater Oroville Homeless Coalition, and Cottage Housing. More than 2000 votes were cast.
"It's important to call attention to the challenges war fighters and their families face when they come home. However if history has taught us anything, it's that we can't let the conversation end there, and too often it does," Brown said. "The Promises Kept program is about bringing people together to keep that dialogue going and take action, because we can all be part of the solution here in our community."
Brown's Veterans Challenge program is unprecedented---and reflects a pledge Brown made upon announcing his candidacy back in September of 2007, to donate 5% of every dollar raised for his campaign to area organizations serving veterans and families in need. Brown also challenged all other candidates---running for any office under the banner of any political party to match this commitment. And while 2008 has set records in terms of campaign cash receipts across the country, so far, there haven't been any takers. (Read Entire Release)
Rebuild Hope Launches Innovative Financial Support Network for Severely Injured U.S. Veterans
100 Percent of Donations Distributed to Beneficiaries
Business Wire - Menlo Park, CA - June 10, 2008 -- Rebuild Hope, a new national "not-for-profit", today announced the introduction of the first online humanitarian service that directly connects injured U.S. servicemen and women with Americans who wish to financially help them. The Rebuild Hope website (www.rebuildhope.org) displays the personal profiles of current and former military personnel who suffer life-altering injuries from the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and enables individual donors to address specific needs not met by existing government and private-sector organizations. At a time of growing concern about the donor efficiency of many U.S. not-for-profits, Rebuild Hope ensures that 100 percent of beneficiary donations are distributed to qualifying recipients. (Press Release)
HEALTH MATTERS: High-tech execs rebuild hope for injured veterans
Daily News - Palo Alto & San Mateo County - June 3, 2008 -- There was little common ground, ostensibly, between several successful Silicon Valley executives and wounded American soldiers who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan. But Menlo Park businessman Dana Hendrickson and co-founders, Wes Rose and Patrick Corman, decided to find common and higher ground by launching Rebuild Hope. (Full Story)
Silicon Valley Meets The Military
Palo Alto Weekly - Palo Alto, CA - April 30, 2008 -- It's a philanthropic model that makes sense: executives with high marks in technology and marketing savvy marshalling their resources to the aid of those in need. But the model only works if you can find the people you want to help. That's the unusual situation in which Dana Hendrickson, Wes Rose and Patrick Corman have found themselves. Their budding nonprofit, Rebuild Hope, launched last summer helps injured U.S. servicemen and women and their families through a person-to-person Web site. Based on micro donations accepted through www.rebuildhope.org , donors can browse a list of recipients, find out what their needs are, and send money with a secure online payment.
Hendrickson, Rose and Corman, who have a combined resume that reads like a who's who of high-tech, built the site without much technical or financial grief. It was the next part that would be the group's big challenge. (Full Story)
Grassroots Aid Growing For Iraq Vets
San Francisco Chronicle Cover Story - San Francisco, CA - April 6, 2008 -- " There is no shortage of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who need help adjusting to civilian life. And, unlike during the Vietnam War, there is no shortage of civilians who want to embrace the nation's returning warriors, even if they don't support the war.
The challenge is how to connect the two groups, both of which often feel frustrated or intimidated by the military bureaucracy in their efforts to help or be helped. That is evolving, as civilians - including many in an anti-war area like Northern California - are finding creative ways of connecting to the more than 1.6 million men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Full Story)
Rebuild Hope Joins Palo Alto Stage of 2008 Soldiers Ride
Palo Alto Daily - February 21, 2008 -- Sponsored by the Wounded Warriors Project, the first regional Soldier Ride in California kicked off at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and will finish next Tuesday in San Diego. A total of 25 veterans, including six from the Palo Alto hospital's brain trauma unit, are making the trek, many on bicycles specially adapted to their war injuries. One of the Rebuild Hope founders joined them on their ride through Stanford and Palo Alto, the first leg of the multi-day event. Can you spot him in the photo? (Full Story)
Proud To Be A Member of the California Statewide Collaborative
Rebuild Hope is now an proactive member of the California Statewide Collaborative, an informal group of individuals representing the private sector, military and the Veterans Administration Healthcare System who share the belief that a "wholistic" and compassionate continuum of health and human services must be provided to the military and their families. We are working together with the "like-minded" to achieve this objective. Learn about our members and services.
Rebuild Hope Introduces New Partner Program
Our strategy to selectively partner with other military not-for-profit organizations will enable our donor community to help even more military families. Existing not-for-profit organizations already provide free specialized services on either a local, regional or national basis. However, their service capacity is limited by their own fund-generating capabilities. Through Rebuild Hope donors can now help these organizations with the knowledge that 100% of their donations can be used only to cover the direct costs of delivering services to a beneficiary. Rebuild Hope creates a sponsorship for each potential partner beneficiary, collects donations and then distributes them to our partner once expenses have been vetted.