[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 127 (Monday, September 8, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 RECOGNIZING THE CAMARADERIE FOUNDATION

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                          HON. DANIEL WEBSTER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 8, 2014

  Mr. WEBSTER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to recognize the 
Camaraderie Foundation, a Central Florida nonprofit organization that 
offers counseling, emotional support and spiritual guidance for 
military service members, veterans and their families.
  The Camaraderie Foundation was founded in 2009 by Captain Michael 
Waldrop and his wife, Marnie. Following Capt. Waldrop's deployment to 
Afghanistan, the Waldrops sought counseling and found it to be vital to 
the wellbeing of their marriage and reintegration into the community. 
Capt. Waldrop noticed that stigma associated with counseling often 
dissuaded military members from benefitting from it. Believing that 
private counseling and spiritual community can alleviate post-
deployment issues, the Waldrops started the Camaraderie Foundation to 
serve the military community.
  The Camaraderie Foundation provides counseling scholarships to 
military service members and their families, community-building 
programs that create support networks before and after deployment, and 
a mentorship program that assists military members with their 
transitions back into civilian life.
  According to the Camaraderie Foundation, 84,803 service members have 
been deployed from Central Florida since September 11, 2001. To these 
men and women, we owe a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. I 
thank them for their service, and I commend the Camaraderie Foundation 
for their extraordinary leadership and dedication to serving our 
nation's military.

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