VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — We walked down to the beach with friends and family of our Everyday Hero.
The 22-year Navy veteran is a volunteer with the Wounded Warrior Project. She thinks she’s meeting us here for a volunteer assignment, but we had other plans.
“Hi, I’m Beverly from News 3.”
“You wonder why you’re here, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“We’re here to give you an Everyday Hero award. Thank you!”
“This is for all the work you do with the Wounded Warrior Project. We have a community partner, Southern Bank, and Southern Bank would like to give you $300, plus another $125 because it’s their anniversary — for a total of $425. "Thank you so much.”
The 22-year Navy veteran had a tough time transitioning from military to civilian life and reached out to the nonprofit.
“I was struggling mentally, and they helped pull me out of a very dark place," said Cheryl McIntyre.
Now back on her feet, our Everyday Hero is helping others who need it, like veteran Aldith Gray‑Morris, who’s become her best friend.
“Her heart is on her shoulders. Right now she wants to scream, but she’s keeping it in because she gives to others instead of receiving. So now it’s receive day — we’re giving it back to you, Cheryl, for all the love you give to the warriors, to everybody, your whole family. They appreciate you and they love you," said Gray-Morris.
“You’ve got to be so proud of her. I am. She does a lot for Wounded Warrior. She does a lot for everybody she cares about. She does a lot for me,” said Jamal, her son.
With help from volunteers like Cheryl, more than 300,000 military veterans and their families have received free services, including learning new skills like surfing, adaptive sports training, mental health counseling and much more.
“It gives me a sense of peace knowing that I can help somebody else. I’ve formed a lot of friendships through it, and I really enjoy doing it," said McIntyre.
Cheryl McIntyre is an American hero — our Everyday Hero and Positively Hampton Roads.
“There are a lot of people with smiles on their faces every day because of you,” said Gray-Morris.
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