Soccer Clubs Hosts First Capelli Cup Game to Support Wounded Warrior Project

HARRISBURG, Penn. (Aug. 29, 2017) – Recently, the Rochester Rhinos and the Harrisburg City Islanders hosted their inaugural Capelli Sport Hero Cup, supporting Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP). The cup was awarded to the Rhinos for their 1-0 victory over the Islanders.

Warriors served by WWP came together at the game for a night of camaraderie and a chance to connect with other local warriors who share their life experiences. These relationships can be instrumental in building support systems that help with recovery from the wounds of war.

“At this soccer game, I met another warrior who I was with for two months in the Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center in their post-traumatic stress disorder program,” said Stephen Moyer, an Army veteran and wounded warrior. “It was good to talk to him again. Although neither of us remembered each other’s names at first, we remembered the faces.

“I'm not nervous about meeting new people when I'm with Wounded Warrior Project. Ordinarily, I’m not the most social guy, but these events are always so well run and organized, I rarely feel that anxiety.”

For Stephen, WWP has done more than just help him meet other local warriors – it’s challenged him to move beyond his comfort zone.

“For two years after my last deployment, I did nothing but sleep 18 hours a day,” Stephen said. “I didn’t want to be outside and around people. Wounded Warrior Project basically made me interact with other people, and I’m really glad they did. You can’t become complacent with bad habits. It is a struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder because you lose a lot of hope and do not care about much.”

A sense of loneliness or isolation is one of the biggest challenges wounded warriors deal with after discharge or medical retirement from their military service. In a WWP survey of the injured warriors it serves, more than half of survey respondents (51.7 percent) said they talked with fellow veterans about their mental health issues.

“Something incredible happened at the game that I wasn’t expecting,” said Edwin Fleming, a Marine Corps veteran. “At one point during the game, I went outside for a smoke, and I came across a homeless Marine vet. He was playing his bugle, so I asked him to play ‘Taps’ for me. I sat down and talked with him for a while, telling him a bit about how Wounded Warrior Project helped me. We brought him back to our suite and encouraged him to eat as much as he wanted. This soccer event in all seriousness quite possibly saved a veteran’s life. It does not get any better than that.”

Thanks to generous donors, WWP veteran programs and services are offered free of charge to warriors, their caregivers, and families, and they assist with mental health, physical health and wellness, career and benefits counseling, connecting warriors with one another and their communities, and long-term care for the most seriously wounded.

To learn more about how WWP’s programs and services connect, serve, and empower wounded warriors, visit https://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org.

Contact: Mattison Brooks – Public Relations

Email: MBrooks@woundedwarriorproject.org

Phone: 904.646.6897

About Wounded Warrior Project
Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP) connects, serves, and empowers wounded warriors. Read more at https://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/about-us.