Sentinels of Freedom Returns the Favor to Veterans

While countless men and women who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces sustain life-altering injuries doing what they can for our country, a foundation headquartered in San Ramon does what it can to help them transition back to civilian life.

It was the day after September 11, 2001, when Mike Conklin, a father of three Army Rangers, began laying the groundwork for the Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation.

"I started putting it together realizing that we were going to have casualties," said Conklin, who is now the foundation's national director. "Sure enough, Jake Brown was a casualty coming back so we were able to react pretty quickly."

As the first sentinel, or scholarship recipient, U.S. Army Spc. Brown received a year of rent-free housing and help applying to college and landing a part-time supervisor job with UPS. The aid was just what he needed after being crushed by a tank while serving in Germany in 2003 and undergoing 26 surgeries.

"They helped me make sure everything was taken care of because I was trying to recover from my injuries at the time," he said. "It means a lot."

Brown, 28, now works as the operations manager in purchasing for SYBASE in Dublin and is planning to pursue his master's degree. His success story was the blueprint for what has become one of the most comprehensive programs assisting injured veterans.

The scholarship covers about $15,000 a year over four years and includes rent-free housing, new furniture and household supplies, career placement assistance and training, new adaptive vehicles, educational opportunities and financial and personal mentorship.

"Injury takes a huge chunk of life away for them so in essence we're buying back time for them that they've lost time by sitting in military hospitals," Conklin said. "After we got Jake stabilized we said, 'Why don't we do this again?'"

In 2005, Manny Valencia, 29, became the next sentinel in San Ramon. The foundation helped the U.S. Army Sgt., who lost both his legs while serving in Iraq, with the four-year scholarship and getting employed as a project manager with AT&T.

"If I didn't have this I'd probably be living at home with my parents," Valencia said. "Most of us with impediments and disabilities just really want to go back to somewhat of a normal life or what we had before we were injured, so programs like this really help us come back on our feet and feel welcome in the community."

The foundation's philanthropy soon came under the radar of San Ramon Police Chief Scott Holder, who facilitated a connection between the sentinels and the city that transcended mere residence.

"I saw them placed in other locations in the city and I thought that it would be a good opportunity for a sentinel to become a city employee and work for the police department," Holder said.

As a result, Manny Del Rio, 23, who accepted the scholarship in August 2007 after being crushed by an F18 jet in the U.S. Navy, became the first sentinel to work for the city as a police department office technician.

"I was so used to being around a group of people who were supportive and had my back no matter what, so coming back to society I didn't know whether I was going to find something like that," Del Rio said. "Being placed in the police department there was camaraderie in the station and I enjoy being a part of the group now."

The foundation welcomed its sixth San Ramon sentinel Matthew Carhart and Elizabeth Wafflard of Pleasanton at a ceremony on Feb. 26.

Since receiving nonprofit accreditation and going national in early 2007, the foundation has expanded to include 13 teams of business professionals who have given 53 sentinels the means to remake their lives.

The scholarships are funded solely through foundation grants and donations. One of the biggest corporate donors is Shapell Homes, which has provided rent-free housing at its Gale Ranch complexes ever since the late Nathan Shappel, a Holocaust survivor, became devoted to the cause.

"This is one of the better ways to serve, help out not just the community but these young men and women that are putting their lives on the line for the country and the war," said Dan Coleman, vice president of Shapell Homes.

Conklin said the foundation plans to add 10 more teams this year and set the example for other communities.

"I knew I wanted to do something more substantial than put a yellow ribbon on the side of my car," he said. "I never dreamed it would have grown to this."