Spring Cleaning + Outdoor Fun

In an battle of epic proportions, a dedicated team of SOWW volunteers clawed down every tethered cobweb, swept every saw-dusted corner, and trimmed every blade of the traitorously grassy hillsides that stood in their way.  In the process, they made the Bull Run Warrior Retreat look better than ever!   

SOWW volunteer Special Operation Rock Team (SORT) on the ready

It wasn’t all work though.  They laughed often and drank their fill of fresh lemonade, but their favorite part was the camaraderie and the feeling of fulfillment that comes from serving others. 

the yard team

we're all in this together!

JROTC cadets pose before hammering the stones to bits

The Retreat sits on a 37-acre property and we are very fortunate to have a volunteer who keeps the grounds mowed.  He arrives bright and early before the intense sun hazes down the hillside and cuts the lawn every week without fail. So when he mentioned that the rocks that hid in the grass were dulling his blades, we formed a special task group that simply relished the opportunity to get their hands rocking and a rolling ... (pun intended). 

John Dominick, the Vice President of Serve Our Willing Warriors, spoke this group of primarily local high school Junior ROTC cadets beforehand.  He jokingly told them that after they were done picking up all of the rocks and making a pile with them in the front yard, they were to take giant sludge hammers and pulverize the rocks until it could be made into gravel for the driveway. 

Jokingly intended or not, our Special Operations Rock Team (SORT) took their job seriously. It did not take long after the collection of all of the rocks for John to notice the volunteers actually forming up with sledgehammers in front of the rock pile! 

Luckily for us, John's first thought was to grab a camera and record this earth shattering event (pun intended) for all of us to view. Please enjoy!

This bull dozer knew no bounds on clean-up day

the scouts gathering the mulch for the garden

pulling weeds never looked so good

SOWW Volunteer Ryan practicing his lawn mowing skills

mulching the fences of the Bull Run Warrior Retreat

Some Battlefield JROTC cadets posing in the Spring heat

a team of strong women holding their own 

the volunteer ladies showing the riveter inside them

Window Campaign + Open House

As many of you know, we were blessed with amazing weather for the Open House this month. Serve Our Willing Warriors hosts an Open House at the beginning of every month and this was definitely one to remember.

Between the tulips fully blossomed and the freshly cut grass that rippled in the wind outside of the retreat home, the Bull Run mountains never felt so serene.

We had freshly baked cookies and briskly brewed lemonade waiting for all of our guests that arrived on the property. This was the first event however, that a majority of our visitors wished to stay outside as opposed to indoors.

As for the donated jungle gym in the front yard of the home, it was the first time that anyone other than the faithful girl scouts enjoyed its monkey bars and 3 level swings. It truly brought back childhood memories where there was not a care in the world other than that moment in time. And I believe this is how many other visitors felt too as we made over $700 just from holding the open house.

We simply expressed to our visitors about our recent discovery of the condition of the windows on the property. It turns out that all 76 windows in this retreat home originally built in 1977 have to be replaced. Each window will cost the non-profit $250.

$250 x 71 windows =  $17,750

with labor adjustments it would roughly be $20,000

Can you say yieks!? This price alone is double what it takes to install the elevator for the wheel-chair visitors of the retreat home.

Gladly by the end of the open house at least 2 windows were completely covered.

This inspired us to begin a Window Campaign. We would like our followers to pledge to one window a piece! One window at a time, we will make this dream a reality for our wounded vets.

Help keep the cold out and the sunshine in for our nations heroes. A window of opportunity for the Bull Run Warrior Retreat. 

Can we count on YOU for 1 of the 76 windows needed?

Sponsor one of these windows today for $250! here

http://www.gofundme.com/warriorwindows

the beautiful tulips of the retreat garden

architecture plans for the Bull Run Warrior Retreat

SOWW Volunteer Nancy giving an insightful tour of the property

Nancy leading the group through the BB&T sponsored room

alas! we have an elevator shaft

our refreshments for the afternoon

the basement den coming along nicely in the Bull Run Warrior Retreat

firewood to last the Bull Run Mountain's harsh winters

we are open for business!

the elevator shaft side angle; just beautiful!

lovely way to end the day swinging in the yards of the retreat home

Which window will you sponsor? :)

Haymarket Earth Day + Spring Festival

The town of Haymarket hosted the Annual Earth Day Celebration and Spring Festival this April.  Serve Our Willing Warriors had a booth at the event, which was located close to the infamous Cupcake Heaven of our old town. The rich history in this small town is absolutely compelling.

Serve Our Willing Warriors booth in downtown Haymarket VA

True or False: Our town of Haymarket is often referred to as "the crossroads: in the 1700's.”

TRUE!

Many of the historical buildings you see standing in the town of Haymarket have been standing there for three or more centuries. Now, during the transition into the technological era of the 21st century, the town is more important to local commerce than ever.  Yet, just a stone's throw away from the farms of Virginia's "horse country," the town takes great pride in preserving its historical buildings and even more importantly, its greenery and hillsides. And from this appreciation, the Annual Earth Day Celebration was born!

And don't we live in such a grand city?

the cutest little Haymarket residents enjoying a ice cone on this beautiful day!

Everyone was reveling in the beauty of the day like a bear awakening to a beautiful spring day after a long winter's hibernation. The beautiful weather brought out the most beautiful flowers. And you better believe that the great weather also brought out some of the most beautiful bikes!!... Motorcycles that is. 

rough riders for wounded warriors!

Tom Roselius promoting the Motorycle Poker Ride to an observer

the most rad and patriotic logo and headband to match

The SOWW team united their powers behind the booth to promote and inform everyone about our upcoming Motorcycle Poker Ride to benefit the renovation work now underway at the Bull Run Warrior Retreat.  The Retreat is located a few miles north of downtown Haymarket on Waterfall road and so we had a number of spectators who became openly interested in getting a tour of the property and donating towards the cause.

The best part of the day was simply being able to use the event to bring awareness to our neighboring community about what is going on right in their back yards! And remember, this is your back yard too. Don't be shy! We welcome anyone to come by and get a tour of the property.  In fact, please stop by the Retreat’s next Open House on June 8 from 1 – 3 p.m.   Just send us an email at info@willingwarriors.org to let us know you are coming.

SOWW Jazz Benefit Concert

On Friday, May 2nd, the Gainesville United Methodist Church hosted another benefit concert by Dave Detwiler + his band Prelude for Serve Our Willing Warriors.  In addition to the beautiful weather that greeted us at the Evergreen Country Club, the majestic scenery which accompanied the music was absolutely breathtaking.

Founder Shirley Dominick spoke as always great passion and emotion about the need to help our wounded warriors and the amazing progress Serve Our Willing Warriors has made to establish the Bull Run Warrior Retreat.  As a result of her talk, we had a marked increase in our participants at the SOWW cleanup day + Open House that same weekend!

We owe so much to Dave Detwiler and Pastor Patterson from Gainesville United Methodist Church for having this event for us.  By the end of the evening, SOWW had received more than $6,500 in donations and many more pledges to donate towards our cause in the future.

Dave Detwiler, is one of the most sought after “first call” lead trumpet players and music educators on the East Coast, yet he has been so humbling by showing his support SOWW.  His career has spanned over 32 long + masterful years and he continues to give back, never forgetting the 26 years he spent serving our Nation’s Armed Forces.

Pastor John Patterson of Gainesville United Methodist Church has also given to SOWW in ways we can never fully repay. The church as a whole has been a blessing to our organization and we thank them and look forward to working with them for the betterment of our home community!

Dave Detwiler and Prelude jazzing it up at the Evergreen Country Club

Shirley Dominick speaking about SOWW to the audience

ShirleyDominick and Mark Shifflette jazzing it up at the country club

doing the jive

and a big swing finish!

conversing all around :)

the SOWW jazz group!

Julie Burke and Shirley Dominick enjoying the jazz

John Dominick and Mike Burke strategizing for SOWW

and just when you thought the dancing was over...

she calls for another partner

beautiful sunset over the Bull Run Mountains at Evergreen Country Club

We would like to send out a special thanks to Prelude and the hospitable staff of Evergreen Country Club of Haymarket for the wonderful concert and all of their support.  Another great event for our Nation’s heroes!