Southport Central School recently welcomed U.S. Army veteran and international speaker Travis Mills of the Travis Mills Foundation, a retreat for post-9/11 veterans and their families based in Mt. Vernon, Maine.

The school donated $2,000 to the organization as part of its annual philanthropic project. The funds were provided by Bill and Emery Royall, and the Leland family, whose goal is to teach kids about the benefits of giving back.  

Each year, students in grades 4-6 are tasked with researching and writing an essay on a charity of their choice and then presenting their findings to the rest of the school. The students then vote on which organization to support. The winner was sixth grader Duncan Scott, who was also behind last year’s donation to the Veterans Emergency Temporary Shelter (V.E.T.S.) 

The foundation specifically caters to “recalibrated” veterans, a term Mills coined after losing a portion of all four limbs in an explosion during his third tour in Afghanistan. He is one of only five quadriplegics from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to survive.  

He was 25 at the time of injury, which he described as “devastating.” “The only reason that I was even able to find the drive to get better was because of my family.” 

This was partly why it was so important for Mills to create a retreat that focused not just on service members, but their families. It can be an important experience for kids to see that other people have parents like theirs, as well as show them that just because their parent may be missing a limb, it doesn’t mean they’re not capable. Mills has two children himself: Chloe (who was 6 months old when he was injured), and Dax.  

“Our biggest mission, and our hope, is to get the families acclimated to their new normal.” 

What started as he and his wife doing care packages at their kitchen table in Texas has grown into a multi-branched facility with robust adapted athletic and mental health programs, which has raised over $49 million to date. According to their website, they have served over 2,270 families from 47 states at no personal cost. “It does not get done without people out there caring and giving back. So, for that, I can't be more thankful to be here today.” 

Mills' quick wit kept the audience on their toes. He wasn't afraid to show off the ins and outs of his prosthetics either, including a “magic trick” where he rotated his left hand 360 degrees, gears whirling.  

The students were also bursting with questions. Where is the furthest he’s traveled? Mexico. Favorite color? Blue. It brings out his eyes. How does he use the touchscreen on his phone? His nose, mostly. 

However, Mills' biggest piece of advice for the assembled students ties back to his foundation’s motto: “Never Give Up. Never Quit.” There’s no use living in the past, and while sometimes you can’t change your situation, you can control your attitude about it, he said. 

“I'm going to have arms and legs like this for the rest of my life. But I have to be positive, because I'm in control of that.”