NEXT18: Veteran Support Through Golf

Julie Provost

3 years ago

Veteran Support Through Golf with NEXT18

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Are you a Veteran with disabilities or a first responder? Do you like golf? Next18, a nonprofit organization, that uses golf as a means to assist disabled Veterans live a more wholesome and fulfilling life.

“Our mission is to use the sport of golf as a conduit to provide transformational mental health resources and holistic life resource training to veterans with disabilities and first responders.”

The Next18 Camp Program

By using week-long golf camps, Next18 offers mental health and holistic training modules each evening with a focus on teaching veterans and first responders how to live a healthier life.

The camps, currently held only at the Fire Ridge Golf Club in Grafton, Wisconsin, run from Tuesdays through Fridays. Additionally, the staff at Next18, a number of whom are themselves OIF/OEF veterans, have designed a curriculum that incorporates golf with mental health training.

A typical Next18 training day includes:

Breakfast
Stretching exercises let by physical therapists or instructors
Group lessons at various instruction stations
Mental health training
Holistic lifestyle training
A boxed lunch
And, of course, golfing!

At the end of each training week, participants also compete in an 18-hole scramble, followed by a banquet and a closing ceremony.

Apply for a Next18 Golf Camp

To participate in a Next18 golf camp, follow this link and fill out the form on their website.

Once you’ve submitted the application, the Next18 staff will respond as quickly as they can with the next open camp dates.

For more information, you can connect with Next18 via Instagram, or by contacting the Executive Director, Army veteran Matt McDonell, via email at matt@next18.org.

So, if you are a disabled Veteran living in or near Wisconsin, or if you are willing and able to travel, then I encourage you to take advantage of these Next18 golf camps.

While your service may have ended, our appreciation for you has not.

“The next hurdle, the next challenge, the next mission, the next 18 holes…NEXT 18!”

(Image courtesy of sattahipbeach via Shutterstock)