Whitby, Ontario
Captain Johnston is a Reserve Captain in the Canadian Forces. In 2006, as the result of his duties as an assisting officer assigned to severely wounded CF soldiers sent from Afghanistan to recover in Germany, Captain Johnston was motivated to found the nationally acclaimed charity, The Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund (www.woundedwarriors.ca). An assisting officer helps the families of severely wounded or killed soldiers through the difficult times that lie ahead. While at the German hospital, Captain Johnston provided comfort to Sapper Mike McTeague, who was severely injured in a roadside suicide bomb in Afghanistan. The fund began because Captain Johnston noticed that Canadian troops at the German hospital had very little in the way of personal items and he wanted to provide these troops with something to take their minds off their pain and suffering. To date, more than 1.4 million dollars has been raised, with funds going directly toward soldiers recovering in Germany; funding Segway mobility devices to CF members; funding assistance toward mental health and operational stress injuries; funding for homeless Veterans and individual support to Canadian Forces members and their families whenever and wherever needed.