For New Year's eve, charity sponsors 'bucket list' trip to NYC for veterans and military families

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Organization helps veterans celebrate New Years in NYC

Hope for the Warriors CEO Robin Kelleher on how her organization is giving back to veterans this New Years

The nonprofit organization Hope for the Warriors will be sending a group of 40 veterans to New York City for a New Year's Eve experience in Times Square.

The trip is a tradition that began over a decade ago, said Robin Kelleher, CEO and co-founder of Hope for the Warriors during an appearance on Tuesday, Dec. 27, on "Fox & Friends."

Hope for the Warriors works with the FDNY and NYPD to "celebrate and ring in the New Year with military families from across the country," Kelleher said. 

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The military families will be arriving in New York City in the coming days, said Kelleher. 

Then they'll be treated to a New Year's Eve experience unlike any other, she indicated. 

Hope for the Warriors, a nonprofit ,will offer a "very VIP" treatment for American veterans to watch the ball drop in Times Square on New Year's Eve. (Fox News)

"We will celebrate and eat dinner at one of the firehouses, and then be escorted out to the ball drop," she also said on "Fox & Friends." 

At Times Square, the group will be in a "roped-in area that's very VIP and special for them." 

This will allow the group to be close to the event's action but without the risk of crowding, she explained.  

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Going to New York City for New Year's Eve is a "bucket list" item for many people, said Kelleher, but it "may have dropped to the bottom of that bucket list because they were afraid they weren't going to be able to do it." 

Watching the ball drop is a "bucket list" item for many of the trip participants, said Kelleher (not pictured) during a "Fox and Friends" appearance.  (Fox News)

Kelleher said that the NYPD and FDNY officers who partner with Hope for the Warriors make the trip happen. 

"Our escorts make it possible for them to enjoy an evening without fear, without anxiety. We're able to bring dogs, we have wheelchair [seating], whatever they need," she said. 

The FDNY and NYPD are "constantly opening up their hearts and their firehouses to our families, Gold Star families," said Kelleher.

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"Anything that we ask, they're there to help."

A group shot of a previous Hope for the Warriors trip for military veterans in New York City to watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve. (Fox News)

Aside from organizing once-in-a-lifetime trips, Hope for the Warriors works to assist veterans with "critical needs." 

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"I think everyone in the country would agree that there's a priority on making sure military families have food on the table, rent and mortgages are paid, that they have automobiles, so they can have meaningful employment — those are the things right now that are our major priorities," said Kelleher.

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Additionally, Hope for the Warriors provides scholarships for military spouses and assists with transition into civilian life and employment support, she said. 

To learn more, watch the video at the top of this article, or click here to access it.