New York City

Adam and I had another opportunity to take an amazing trip with the Wounded Warrior Project  (WWP), this time to New York City.  It has been about a month now since our trip...just taken me a while to blog about it.  Adam has been to NY before, but I never have, so this was definitely a great experience for us both.  Like I said in my previous post about our trip to Montana, the WWP is a non-profit organization that raises money to provide all kind of programs to assist wounded warriors and their caregivers in the healing process.  Adam and I cannot say enough positive things about the project as they have helped so many warriors recover from their visible as well as invisible injuries from war.

This trip to NYC was specifically for their major fund-raising event of the year which is the Courage Awards and Benefit Dinner.  This year the dinner was held at the Waldorf Astoria which is an absolutely amazing hotel in the heart of Manhattan.  There were about 75 wounded warriors and their spouses/caregivers at the event and around 800 people total.  Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary under President G.W. Bush, was the MC for the event.  There was a silent auction with all kinds of merchandise and vacations for "sale" and you could donate monetarily as well.  Also, three awards were given out, two for community service/commitment to WWP and servicemen and women and one to a wounded warrior for courage.  We had an amazing time at the awards dinner and were so honored to be invited to this event.  Here are a few pictures at the Waldorf Astoria.

The WWP does a fantastic job of planning trips for warriors and caregivers.  The day after the Gala we were taken on a tour of NYC escorted by the NYPD.  We all loaded up on buses and toured the city including a ferry ride to see the Statue of Liberty and NYC from the water and a tour of the World Trade Center site and 9/11 Memorial, St. Paul's Chapel and the FDNY station next to the World Trade Centers.  That evening, we had dinner on the 40th floor of one of the buildings that has recently been rebuilt from September 11th.  Here is a picture of us with the view of the city in the background.

 

We had a little free time as well and did some shopping on 5th Avenue, went to a local Italian restaurant and spent some time with one of Adam's good friends who lives in NYC.  We had an amazing trip and will hopefully be able to go back and visit again soon!