Courage Caps Raise $147,000 for TAPS

ARLINGTON, Va. - Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson and forward T.J. Oshie along with Telos Corporation CEO John Wood presented Bonnie Carroll, president and founder of Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), with a check in the amount of $147,000 following a recent Capitals' practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex.

The money was raised through Courage Caps presented by Telos Corporation. The Capitals sold team-issued Courage-branded hats and T-shirts to benefit TAPS for the sixth-consecutive season. Since the program launched during the 2007-08 season, the Courage campaign has raised nearly $925,000 for charity through the sale of 25,763 Courage hats in ten years and 13,683 Courage T-shirts in eight years.

One hundred percent of the proceeds from the 3,266 Courage hats and 2,434 Courage T-shirts sold during the 2016-17 season benefitted TAPS, a national nonprofit organization that provides comfort and care for anyone who is grieving the death of someone who died while serving in the military. The funds raised help TAPS provide peer-based emotional support, regional seminars for adults, good grief camps for children, casework assistance, grief and trauma resources and a 24/7 resource and information helpline for bereaved military families.

"I think it's very important, especially for us here being in D.C., to support TAPS and support the families and the kids," said Oshie. "It's a hard situation. For us to be able to put a smile on a family's face, or on a kid's face, it really elevates what we do for a living."

To launch the 2016-17 campaign, Capitals players hosted nearly 150 children and adults who have lost a loved one in military service and found healing through TAPS for a skating party at Kettler Capitals Iceplex on Dec. 22.

Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) is the national organization providing compassionate care for the families of America's fallen military heroes and has offered support to more than 70,000 surviving family members of our fallen military and their caregivers since 1994. TAPS provides peer-based emotional support, grief and trauma resources, healing seminars and retreats for adults, camps for children, casework assistance, connections to community-based care, online and in-person support groups and the 24/7 National Military Survivor Helpline at 800.959.TAPS (8277) available for all who have been affected by a death in the Armed Forces. Services are provided free of charge. For more information go to
www.taps.org
or call TAPS at 202.588.TAPS (8277).

Telos Corporation empowers and protects the world's most security-conscious enterprises with solutions and services for continuous security assurance of individuals, systems, and information. Telos offerings include cyber security solutions and services for IT risk management and information security; secure mobility to protect globally connected enterprises; and identity management to establish trust in personnel and continuously monitor for insider threats. The company serves military, intelligence and civilian agencies of the federal government, allied nations, and commercial organizations around the world. For more information, visit
www.telos.com
.