The siren call of summer beckons us outside. Many veterans, however, find it hard to answer.

The sacrifices made by these men and women to help ensure our continued freedom exact a great toll, physically and emotionally. For some, remaining active on their own is physically challenging if not impossible.  

Arkansas Freedom Fund was created to provide the help these veterans need. Its mission is simple – to get veterans outside and active. AFF targets those veterans – from all branches, all conflicts, injured or not – who aren’t eligible for assistance from other private organizations such as Wounded Warrior Project.

Arkansas Wild recently chronicled the non-profit organization. An excerpt:

Jason Lentz, a U.S. Navy veteran from Fort Smith, lost his leg in a post-service accident and heard about AFF through the Veterans Administration. Now he’s a regular participant in the annual AFF Arkansas Challenge bike ride held each October in Little Rock.

“When I first heard about it, I had just lost my leg and was depressed,” he said. “AFF provided me with a bike and invited me to come ride with them. That began my healing process and gave me a reason to get off the couch.”

These heroes deserve the opportunity to fully re-engage with society once they return home from duty, and AFF provides it. Good stuff. Read the full story here, and learn more about Arkansas Freedom Fund at ArkansasFreedomFund.org.