Aiding Veterans' Families Helped Robin Kelleher Heal​ Veterans, Active Duty, and Military Families

Aiding Veterans' Families Helped Heal Robin Kelleher

When she organized an event to support a friend it started a chain reaction

Hope For The Warriors Robin Kelleher with two Marine Corps generals in 2009. My father served in the Army in Vietnam and was gone a lot. In 2002, I married a Marine and moved to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. My husband immediately deployed to Iraq. Again, I had a feeling of isolation. A close family friend suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving in Iraq, and I wanted to do something to help families struggling with injury and loss. We decided to organize a run for people to show their support for military families. Following that, we founded a nonprofit, , which focuses on well-being programs. Get instant access to discounts, programs, services, and the information you need to benefit every area of your life. We began in North Carolina and grew to serve more than 36,000 service members. The more I got to know other deployed families, the more I saw how they struggle. The divorce rate is so high. And my own marriage wasn’t immune. My husband and I got divorced in 2013. It wasn’t easy, but I had the community. By helping others, it helped me to heal. Plus, it gave me a different perspective on my dad. I was able to reconnect with him. These days my dad is my biggest supporter. Robin Kelleher, 56, of Annandale, Virginia, was a . —As told to Andrea Atkins

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