Marines and Veterans Ride Waves to Reconditioning With Their Families at Del Mar Beach

March 21, 2014 /3BL Media/ - Injured Marines, veterans and their families took to the waves at Del Mar Beach at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base this morning as part of a special reconditioning program to help them heal from their wounds.

The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation’s Ocean Therapy program combines occupational and recreational therapies with the sport of surfing in the healing environment of the ocean. Ocean Therapy is believed to assist recovery and rehabilitation for people affected by Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), traumatic brain injuries, and other emotional, mental and medical conditions, and is gaining greater recognition among military members. The program for today’s event was made available to recovering service members, veterans and their families through financial support from UnitedHealthcare and in partnership with CBS EcoMedia.

UnitedHealthcare’s support will fund Ocean Therapy sessions for one year, as well as a “Family Beach Day” supporting over 200 military members and their families.

Today, UnitedHealthcare employee volunteers assisted recovering service members, veterans and their families participating in interactive ocean therapy sessions, paddleboard and yoga lessons. Attendees also enjoyed beach games such as volleyball and bocce.

Hosts of today’s volunteer event included Tony Lonigro, CEO, Southwest Region, UnitedHealthcare Military & Veterans; Paul Polizzotto, President and Founder of CBS EcoMedia; Jeff Miller, President & Board of Directors for the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation.  

“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation to provide for these recovering service members and veterans an opportunity to participate in Ocean Therapy as part of their reconditioning,” said Lonigro.

The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Manhattan Beach, Calif., dedicated to the life of Jimmy Miller, a Southern California native and avid surfer. It provides free ocean therapy surf sessions to veterans from the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, recovering service members, and youth from care and shelter facilities for abused and foster children.

“We celebrate the opportunity to join efforts with UnitedHealthcare and EcoMedia to continue to provide Ocean Therapy and other related events free of cost to our injured servicemen and women and their families” said Miller. “We look forward to a long-lasting partnership with the USMC Wounded Warrior Battalion and it is a privilege and an honor to serve those who served our country.”

“It’s an honor to be here today to express how deeply grateful we are to those who serve our country, particularly when they find themselves in times of need,” said Polizzotto. “We thank UnitedHealthcare for funding The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation’s Ocean Therapy program. This important program may assist in the reconditioning of recovering service members through the incredible sport of surfing. This project is particularly meaningful to me as I’m an avid surfer who grew up surfing in Southern California. I’ve found the ocean to not only possess therapeutic powers, but it’s a tremendous source of strength. I’m confident that when each recovering service member paddles out, their resilience and focus in the ocean will bring them closer to better health.”

The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation Ocean Therapy project is the latest in UnitedHealthcare’s “Do Good. Live Well.” employee volunteer initiative, whose mission is to inspire service and encourage volunteerism.  For more information about the benefits of volunteering and to find local opportunities to get involved, visit www.DoGoodLiveWell.org. Follow @DoGoodLiveWell on Twitter or “like” Do Good. Live Well. on Facebook. 

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 800,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. Globally, UnitedHealthcare serves more than 45 million people in health benefits and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.

Last year, UnitedHealthcare became the managed care support contractor for the West Region of the U.S. Defense Department’s TRICARE program, serving nearly 2.9 million military service members retirees and their families in 21 states. More information can be found on uhcmilitarywest.com.

About The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation
The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation (JMMF) is a non-profit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization based in Manhattan Beach, California, which provides, Ocean Therapy, a therapeutic surfing program to assist individuals coping with mental and physical illness in accessing the healing effects of the ocean environment. The purpose of our program is to increase perceived self-efficacy and transition skills in our participants, by combining focused group discussion sessions with the dynamic activity of surfing, as well as other ocean-related activities. The JMMF serves disadvantaged youth of the Los Angeles area as well as recovering service members and Veterans serviced by the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. Our programs operate both at El Porto in Manhattan Beach and year-round at Del Mar Beach on base at USMC Camp Pendleton. www.jimmymillerfoundation.org

About CBS EcoMedia Inc.

At EcoMedia, we’re propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that’s been our mission since we founded the company in 2002.  In 2010, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media. 

Through our patent-pending EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd programs, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local projects which in turn creates jobs, saves taxpayer money and improves the quality of life in communities nationwide.  In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial – and media, in general – into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change.  Please visit ecomediacbs.com, like us at facebook.com/EcoMediaCBS or follow us at Twitter.com/EcoMediaCBS

By participating in EcoMedia’s EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd advertising programs, EcoMedia’s advertisers agree to provide funding for projects we believe will have a beneficial effect upon the environment, health and/or education within local communities.  EcoMedia’s advertising programs are not certification programs nor are the EcoAd, WellnessAd or EducationAd logos seals of approval. EcoMedia does not in any way certify, endorse or make any representations about EcoMedia program advertisers, their products or services.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Courtney Johnson

UnitedHealthcare

courtney_t_johnson@uhc.com/ 612.702.7703

Lindsay Brown

CBS EcoMedia

Lindsay.Brown@ecomediacbs.com/212.975.1989