Tori and Sutton Barnett with Lane and Shelly Kirkland. PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS

The Riomar Country Club overflowed with appreciation for all current and prior members of the armed forces at the second annual Boots on the Beach fundraiser to benefit the nonprofit Boot Campaign, which provides individualized, life-improving care to struggling military members and their families.

“We were launched in 2009 by five Texas women who wanted to do something to give back and show gratitude to those who served and sacrificed for our freedom,” said Shelly Kirkland, Boot Campaign CEO, before speaking of the two main programs of the nationwide organization.

Their Health and Wellness program provides individualized treatment for the five invisible wounds of war – traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, self-medication and insomnia.

With Seasons of Service, Boot Campaign partners across the country nominate military families experiencing financial or medical hardship and provide personalized information so that curated, customized gift packages can be delivered to them.

Three areas, she said, set them apart from other organizations.

“The first is that everything that we do is individualized. How we work with every veteran, every military family, is tailored to them specifically,” said Kirkland.

“The second thing is that we are adaptable to the most pressing needs of the military community.

Our Health and Wellness program was born out of this crisis, where those who recently served needed help with the five invisible wounds of war. And then thirdly is that we’re financially transparent.”

She said every donated dollar is tracked, they are independently audited annually, and that 92 cents of every dollar goes into their two programs.

Two video presentations shared insights into the programs.

In one, a man said he was headed down a “horrible path,” attempting to alleviate his pain through pain shots, medication and alcohol, before Boot Campaign developed his own holistic, personalized treatment plan.

“It just didn’t have a positive effect on me. It had a positive effect on the entire community because it gave me the ability to go out and do good. That’s unmeasurable. It saved me. It saved my relationship with my family and my friends. It saved my life.”

With Seasons of Service, a man spoke of the despair of having to choose between buying necessities or giving a Christmas present to his child, adding that gifting that personalized present will be remembered by both of them for years to come.

“It’s not just a one-size-fits-all. Seasons of Service is absolutely magical,” he said.

The keynote speaker was Clint Bruce, a graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy who played in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints before deciding to become a Navy SEAL. As a member of SEAL Team 5, he was deployed three times at theaters around the world in direct support of counterterrorism.

“I think so much of life comes down to the questions we’re willing to ask ourselves and each other, and then how we answer those questions,” said Bruce.

“Because when you’re lost, sometimes all you got to do is just acknowledge it and ask for help and then the good people will find you and they’ll start helping you.”

Bruce said that’s what happened when he discovered Boot Campaign in 2009.

“The truth is, I had plenty of people I could call. I just didn’t know that I could call. I didn’t feel like I could. I didn’t give myself permission to.”

Fundamentally, he said, Boot Campaign is having people who say, “I got you.”

“That’s what Boot Campaign does every day. And that’s what you’re helping us do every day. I wanted to thank you, Shelly, and Boot Campaign for paving the way home. All the way home for me and somebody like me,” said Bruce.

For information, visit BootCampaign.org.

Photos by Joshua Kodis