Operation Stand Down Tennessee: Empowering Veterans for Successful Transitions

This weekend, the Bob Woodruff Foundation will join our longtime partners, Operation Stand Down Tennessee (OSDTN) for the Music City Ruck March and Got Your 6 VetFest. Since 1993, OSDTN has supported Tennessee veterans in their transition to civilian life through a wide range of programs that provide essential support on topics from housing to employment. OSDTN makes a significant  impact on the lives of veterans across the state by instilling a sense of community and self-empowerment in those they serve. 

Both events are an opportunity to  celebrate and honor the service and sacrifice of service members, veterans, their families, and the organizations who serve them.  

The Bob Woodruff Foundation’s relationship with OSDTN predates the Got Your 6 VetFest. As a Got Your 6 Network partner, OSDTN supports the  Foundation by collecting data on veterans needs, and actively participating in programming opportunities, like virtual webinars and in-person conferences, and is a recurring funding recipient.  Our years-long partnership reflects the breadth and depth of both the Bob Woodruff Foundation and OSDTN: 

1. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, OSDTN received stimulus funding through the NFL-BWF Salute to Service partnership to ensure they could keep their (virtual) doors open to meet veterans urgent needs, including utility support and mortgage relief.
2. From late 2020 into 2021, OSDTN launched Operation Commissary to combat the rising food insecurity among veterans. The initiative provided over 400 veterans with grocery store gift cards, and its success paved the way for further projects benefiting another 500 veterans and their family members, including “Venison 4 Veterans”. The effort  brought together local hunters and a meat processing company to provide large quantities of meat to veterans in need.
3. In 2022, BWF selected OSDTN as the  inaugural winner of the Got Your 6 Event Contest – a grant awarded for an exceptional event that both supports the veteran community and raises awareness of the unique challenges that military service creates. This year, we are partnering again to support OSDTN’s  Music City Ruck March.  

Deirdre Armstrong, director of partner engagements at the Bob Woodruff Foundation, commends OSDTN, “Operation Stand Down Tennessee is an invaluable leader serving veterans and service members across Middle Tennessee. Through the Got Your 6 VetFest, we hope to highlight the important programmatic work they do every day for local veterans – and to ensure veterans and service members in Middle Tennessee know where they can turn if they need additional support.” 

Learn more about OSDTN here.