A VHWF + CHC STRATEGIC INITIATIVE
Honoring her service.
Healing her journey.
Women veterans are the fastest-growing - and most underserved - veteran population in America. This is where the community rises to meet them.
The community is the medicine. Brick-and-mortar clinics are essential, but they are not suEcient. Healing - true, whole-person healing - happens through relationships, through belonging, through a community that refuses to let her journey go unwitnessed.
— Dr. Evelyn L. Lewis, MD, MA, FAAFP, DABDA · President & Chair, VHWF
THE CHALLENGE
Women veterans are rising.
The systems are not keeping pace.
Nearly two million women have served in the United States military. They return to systems that were not built for them - and too often, they fall through the cracks that no one designed a safety net to catch.
THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
VHWF + CHC: Creating Healthier Communities
Why this partnership is not accidental
For nearly 70 years, CHC has worked to address barriers to health and create resilient communities. VHWF brings clinical expertise and a deep commitment to veteran wellness. Together, they operationalize the conviction that the community itself must become therapeutic.
Care for those who have borne the battle demands more than institutional medicine. It demands that the community itself become therapeutic. CHC supplies the architecture for that community. VHWF supplies the clinical and wellness commitment to the veteran.
CHC impacts more than 5,000 nonprofits every year, partners with 1,300 organizations, and is a founding partner of the Combined Federal Campaign — reaching directly into the federal workforce, active-duty military, veterans, and government civilians.
VHWF × CHC
Whole-person healing through whole-community activation — the shared DNA of both organizations.
Government Recognition
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich issued an official Proclamation honoring women veterans — calling the entire community to action.
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Grammy-Winning Artistry
Three-time Grammy winner J'Nai Bridges performed alongside conductor Victor Simonson and violinist Stephen Spottswood.
Partnership in Action
CHC co-presented the inaugural Vital Ground Award — a living demonstration of mission-aligned organizational partnership.
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200+ Gathered
Physicians, attorneys, nonprofits, community leaders, elected officials, and veterans filled a room that reflected this mission's reac
Inaugural Vital Ground Award
Dr. Leslie Dillard, 35-year Army veteran and community healing leader, received the first-ever Vital Ground Award.
More than 200 people gathered - healthcare leaders, government officials, Grammy Award-winning artists, and advocates - to honor women veterans and commit to their healing
MARCH 31, 2026 · MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE
The night a community said yes to her healing.
⸺ INAUGURAL VITAL GROUND AWARD ⸺
A leader who answered the call
Presented jointly by Veterans Health & Wellness Foundation and CHC: Creating Healthier Communities — honoring the conviction that community is medicine.
LOOKING AHEAD
The serenade doesn't end here.
From one night to an ongoing commitment.
The Serenade for Strength was a beginning — not a conclusion. Through the VHWF-CHC strategic alliance, this initiative is building sustained community infrastructure for women veteran health and wellness.
Gender-specific health programming in partnership with CHC's network
Expanding trauma-informed, MST-sensitive community support
Building peer connection circles specifically for women veterans
Advocacy for gender-responsive VA policies and funding
~2M
Women veterans - fastest-growing veteran population
200+
Gathered at Strathmore, March 31, 2026
70 yrs
CHC community health infrastructure — now aligned with VHWF
5,000+
Nonprofits in CHC's network - reaching veterans nationwide
You Are Not Alone. Support Is Available Right Now.
Veterans Crisis Line: Call or text 988, press 1 · Text 838255 · Chat online · 24/7
SUPPORT THE MISSION
The serenade has begun. May it never end.
The women in this room — and the thousands more we have yet to reach — are counting on a community that shows up long after the music fades.
$50
Mental wellness resource kit for one veteran
$150
One month of peer support circle access
$500
Community health workshop for 10 veterans
$1,000+
Named sponsor of the Healing Her Journey initiative