Chris Coffland never settled – in both senses of the word.
Always active and searching for new challenges, the Baltimore native played professional football for the Helsinki Falcons in Finland, later coaching teams in Australia and Germany. He hunted crocodiles at night with the Pygmies in Gabon, Africa.
And in 2007, a month before he turned 42, he signed on with the Army Reserves. The move didn’t shock his family, as he’d spoken of his call to serve throughout his adult life.
“What surprised me was that he had never conformed, but he was choosing a life that was all about conforming,” his sister Lynn Coffland told a newspaper reporter. “What he said was that he lived his life as a free spirit but conformed when necessary. And this was necessary to him.”
Little over two weeks after arriving in Afghanistan, roadside explosives, the kind he’d been trained and sent to investigate, took his life. He was just 43 years old.
Inspired by her brother’s grit, bravery and commitment to going above and beyond expectations, Lynn Coffland founded the Catch a Lift Fund (CAL) in 2010. The organization – unique as her brother – enables post-9/11, combat-injured veterans across America to recover and rehabilitate physically and mentally through physical fitness, motivation, and support.
From coast to coast, gyms, spin centers and more welcome vets, helping them find wellness and peace in their new normal. Adam Vengrow, managing director of Stifel Bank, and certified personal trainer Andy Berman, owner of Mental Grit Fitness, make sure they have a second home here in Westport.
“They have a language that we’ll never speak,” Andy says of the dozens of vets who’ve traveled to town around Veterans Day each year to spread the word on CAL and seek solace in a good, healing workout and the support of new friends. “This town comes together. It’s synonymous with overcoming adversity.”
The men and women who have passed through Westport have dealt with all manner of challenges during combat – from amputations and traumatic brain injuries to post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction to prescription painkillers.
“They come from every race, gender, age group,” says Adam. “We support them all.”
In its first dozen years, CAL has helped thousands through gym memberships, home gym equipment, personalized fitness and nutrition programs and a vital peer support network stretching across the United States. The results? Dramatic weight loss, medication reduction, improved sleep and strengthened relationships with family and friends due to a healthier lifestyle.
More than 85% of all donations go to veterans' programs for over 6,000 veterans currently benefiting from CAL, which has served more than 11,000 people in its 13-year history. More than 8,600 grants have been awarded over time from more than $6.7 million raised for the organization.
The core pillars of CAL are things everyone should focus on for healthy living – nutrition, fitness, emotional wellness and community. Inspired by Coffland’s lifelong belief that through fitness one can reach his or her highest potential mentally and physically, CAL believes fitness is a personal choice. The group offers veterans the choice of how and when to work out, with possibilities for coaching and mentors to make sure the vet achieves unique, personal goals.
In Westport, that might mean a day spent lifting weights or kayaking. In other parts of the country, CAL participants climb mountains or participate in yoga sessions.
“It could be anything in the world,” Adam says.
Andy, who helped mobilize several fitness centers across town to participate, says the experience is as gratifying for the volunteers as it is for the veterans. He remembers talking with a veteran who was guarding a medical unit full of injured Afghanis and servicemen when a person holding a baby detonated a bomb just outside.
“He sees that explosion every night,” Andy says.
The local volunteers hold fundraisers to enable traveling vets to workout locally as well as enjoying dinners sponsored by local hosts and visits to the VFW, where they enjoy meaningful conversations with fellow veterans.
“One guy wrote a letter to Lynn saying, ‘I’m forever in your debt for the Westport hugs,’” Andy remembers. “He says he never had closure on the war until he came to Westport.”
Though never in the military, Adam, who worked in finance during 9/11, has had experience with the sudden loss of close friends. He attended 40 funerals in the space of about three weeks in the aftermath of the fall of the World Trade Center.
Now in its ninth year, the local group has raised more than $1 million for their efforts, largely through fundraisers usually held around 9/11. Among the top supporters are Christy and Justin Charise of Saugatuck Financial, who host a meal at their home for the visiting vets. The group also holds a workout at the Westport Police Department and receives strong support from First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, Police Chief Foti Koskinas, the Staples Gridiron Club and others.
“It’s a full community event,” Adam says. “It’s a real welcoming.”
catchaliftfund.org