As we focus this Memorial Day weekend on the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms, it's uplifting to know there are programs like The Wounded Warrior Project helping our veterans.

On the local front, Lehigh Carbon Community College, a strong supporter of veterans causes, actively encourages veterans of the armed forces to return to college and about 100 veterans are currently enrolled in a variety of courses ranging from general studies to the aviation program.Last April LCCC, along with Lehigh and Carbon Offices of Veterans Affairs, hosted a free Veterans and Families Symposium at the main campus in Schnecksville to show how to navigate benefits, educational opportunities and health care.Earlier this year in Schuylkill County, Clinical Outcomes Group of Pottsville, a nonprofit human services organization, announced it had applied for a grant to provide services to help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse, including those incarcerated in the county jail.On the national front, General Motors employs nearly 5,000 veterans and has close to 45,000 current retirees who have served in the military. After they return to civilian life, eligible transitioning Army soldiers with skills can become service technicians at GM dealerships through GM's Shifting Gears program.In addition to offering the Military Program, Chevrolet supports the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans which helps athletes who have overcome life-changing injuries compete in various cycling marathons across the country. Chevy engineers partnered with students from Michigan Technological University to develop a better, more efficient hand cycle for these wounded veterans.GM also supports Cell Phones for Soldiers Inc., which has been working to provide free communication services to active-duty military members and veterans for over a decade. The program was founded by Robbie and Brittany Bergquist, age 12 and 13 respectively, in Norwell, Mass.Not only did the charity's program prevent more than 11.6 million cell phones from ending up in landfills, its calling card program, Minutes That Matter, has provided servicemen and women with an estimated three million prepaid calling cards. That equates to more than 213 million minutes of free talk time.In July 2012, the Bergquist family launched a new program, Helping Heroes Home. This provides emergency funds for returning veterans to alleviate communication challenges as well as physical, emotional and assimilation hardships.As these these programs continue to flourish, they inspire other organizations and corporations to close ranks and help those who gave their all to allow us to live free.By JIM ZBICKeditor@tnonline.com