Hand-tool woodworking program offers six-day scholarships to combat-wounded veterans, organizers say

The Purple Heart Project runs six-day, hand-tool woodworking workshops in Grand Bay, New Brunswick, Canada, and provides scholarships that cover travel, lodging, tuition, a set of professional-grade hand tools and a workbench, organizer Rob Cosman said in a recorded segment aired on the Community Works program.

Cosman, who appears in the program’s video with co-leader retired Colonel Luther Sheile, described a class schedule that focuses on traditional joinery and hand skills — sharpening on Monday, dovetails and planes midweek and project completion by Saturday — and said the curriculum intentionally avoids noisy machinery so participants can concentrate in a low-stimulus environment. “When we take one of them and teach them how to do something like cutting a dovetail ... it literally takes them to a different space, a place of peace and comfort and joy,” Cosman said in the video.

On the studio portion of Community Works, guest Dr. Barry Weiss — introduced by host Bernardet Welsh as a longtime supporter of the project — said the program aims to help combat-wounded U.S. veterans who continue to struggle with traumatic stress. Weiss cited a veterans report presented on the show that listed 6,398 U.S. military veteran suicides in 2023, which the program rounded to about 17 per day; the show attributed that figure to a veterans report discussed on air.

Organizers described the program’s logistics and access: PHP offers 36 scholarships per reporting period, pays for travel and lodging, furnishes a full set of hand tools and sends each participant home with a workbench. Cosman said each six-day class includes six civilian slots intended for participants who can work well in a mixed group and contribute to the peer environment. “The results we see as they get into this are amazing,” Cosman said.

Funding comes from several streams described on the program: the sale of tools created by the organizers and supporters, individual donations, and participant-driven fundraisers; the hosts said the PHP website lists donation and fundraising options. Weiss and Cosman asked viewers to nominate veterans who might benefit and to spread the word; the show said website and application information would be displayed for viewers at the end of the broadcast.

The program emphasized that organizers are not medical professionals. In the video Cosman said, “We’re not doctors. We have no expertise in treating those types of people. But what we do have expertise in is woodworking and teaching others how to do it.” The guests framed the course as supportive, skill-based work that can complement professional care or social supports.

Community Works host Bernardet Welsh and Weiss closed the episode by encouraging donations and nominations, and by noting that Barry Weiss raises funds for the project by making and selling handcrafted pieces. The program directed viewers to the Purple Heart Project website for applications, donation instructions and guidance on organizing local fundraisers.