Catch A Lift Fund

he Catch A Lift Fund (CAL) enables post-9/11 combat-wounded veterans across the United States to regain and maintain their physical and mental health by providing them with granted gym memberships, fitness programs and/or in-home gym equipment. Once veterans are enrolled in CAL, they also benefit from our MAPS (Motivation, Accountability and Peer Support) Program, which tracks their progress and offers motivation, camaraderie and emotional support from small squads of fellow CAL veterans. Since CAL’s founding in 2010 in memory of fitness enthusiast and Army Cpl. Chris Coffland, who was killed in Afghanistan, we have enrolled over 2,500 veterans in 50 states and Puerto Rico in the program. These vets have had great success, shedding an average of 40 pounds, reducing or eliminating their prescription drugs adding 2.5 hours of solid sleep a night and increasing their overall feeling of well being on a scale of 1-10 by 3-5 points. Family and personal relationships are overwhelmingly improved as well. CAL empowers veterans to actively contribute to their physical and mental health on a daily basis by providing them with fitness programs that meet their individual needs and MAPS mentors who understand the challenges of rehabilitation and reintegration and fill the void created by leaving military service. As we target solutions for isolation and non-communication within the veteran population, many of our successful CAL veterans mentor new CAL members, fostering a positive veteran community with a proven track record for success. Testimonial after testimonial has shown us that CAL is not only changing lives—we are saving lives as well. VA clinicians and hospitals report that CAL, which was rated as a 2015 and 2016 Top Non-Profit by www.greatnonprofits.org, is the most frequently requested program by their veterans; we receive over 200 new applications each month.