Last fall, Army veteran Aaron Baca and a group of coaches with the Timonium-based Catch A Lift Fund nonprofit decided to make their annual retreat a visit to Arlington National Cemetery.

There, they visited the gravesite of Christopher J. Coffland, a Gilman alum killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in 2009 at 44, and the man who inspired their organization. They spoke about Coffland’s big personality and free spirit, the military service he signed up for at a later age than most, his athletic career (captain of the Washington & Lee football and lacrosse teams, a pro football stint in Finland, then coaching in Australia and Germany), and his legacy.

“We reflected,” says Baca, Catch A Lift’s head coach. Then they signed a football as a team and placed it at Coffland’s white marble headstone.

Catch A Lift was founded in 2010 by Coffland’s grieving older sister, Lynn, and niece, Jess.

“I’m going to catch a lift,” Chris Coffland would famously say to his friends and family when he went to work out. Chris was dedicated to his physical fitness, knowing it led to strong mental health, wherever he was.

“He worked out because he believed it changed your life,” says Lynn, pictured above. And for the past 15 years, Catch A Lift has provided more than 15,000 combat-injured, post-9/11 veterans a chance to do just that.

Each year, more than a dozen coaches—all veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan deployments—lead eight-week virtual trainings with personalized fitness, wellness, and nutrition programming for hundreds of vets throughout the country. The participants can then have access to free at-home workout equipment or a one-year gym membership, as long as they log at least 180 minutes of movement weekly.

Some have lost limbs and are now competitive adaptive athletes, like double-amputee U.S. Army veteran Jason Smith, who won six gold medals at the 2025 Warrior Games in Colorado. Many have PTSD, anxiety, or depression, and others, like Baca, have shrapnel in their body from a long-ago mortar attack.

They face “holistic” needs, Lynn says, often unmet by the Department of Veterans Affairs, another reason for the organization’s creation. “We want them to be in charge of their health for the long term,” she says, adding that the average participant loses 25 to 100 pounds their first year, dropping two to 35 medications daily.

Catch A Lift operates through donations and corporate sponsorships. It employs six full-time and 18 part-time staff and hosts five fundraisers nationwide each year. This year’s local event was on October 5 at Onelife Fitness in Hunt Valley, where veterans led a family-friendly, boot-camp-style workout.

A good sweat for a life-changing cause, just as Chris Coffland believed possible.

When Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Major was wounded in 2006 while deployed in Afghanistan, he not only lost both of his legs, but also his optimism for life. As a double amputee, his honorable discharge from the military was only a small comfort for the long road of recovery ahead.

But in 2014, he heard about Catch A Lift Fund (CAL)—an organization designed for post 9/11 wounded veterans to help them regain their physical and mental health through fitness—and has since changed his perspective.

“Part of my recovery process is working out,” Major said. “Working out is like therapy for [veterans]. For me, it helps me take my mind off the negative stuff in my life—my injuries, my setbacks—it helps me keep a positive outlook on life.” 

After Baltimore native and Army Cpl. Christopher Coffland was killed in action in 2009 during a mission in Afghanistan, his sister Lynn founded CAL. Inspired by the outpouring of messages and calls she received about how much her brother helped others through exercise, Lynn decided this would be a great way to help veterans heal. In fact, program’s name is based on something her brother would often say.

“He believed that if you were physically fit, then you were mentally fit,” she said. “That’s how he lived his life from an early age. He would work out no matter where he was—whether running around the block or pushups in the living room—he would say, ‘I’m going to catch a lift.’” 

Since 2010, CAL has been providing yearly gym memberships, fitness programs, and in-home gym equipment to veterans anywhere in the country. Although the nonprofit is based in Baltimore, it services veterans in all 50 states and has helped thousands of vets nationwide see improvements with weight loss, sleep habits, medication reduction, and personal relationships. 

Because physical injuries aren’t the only types of wounds veterans experience, the program also includes group counseling, weekly motivational texts, and peer support. 

“These wars have created invisible injuries like post-traumatic stress disorder,” Lynn said. “But that is now considered a combat injury. Traumatic brain injury happens often—it affects your brain in many different ways.”

Most of the program’s funding comes from individual donations and grants—90-percent of every donation goes directly to the program—with the rest generated from yearly fundraising events. For the past six years, the foundation has hosted a benefit in Baltimore to help raise funds so they can continue to service the veterans in need. This year’s event was held at the American Visionary Art Museum where the foundation debuted a new promotional video to show donors how their support has saved lives. But there is still more work to be done.

“The need outweighs the funds that we’ve been able to raise,” Lynn said. “These men and women served us so selflessly, now we have to fight for them.”

For Major—who is featured in the video—the program has helped him find his second wind. Since joining three years ago, he’s become more active—he currently runs a military rugby club team—has grown as a leader, and feels like he’s getting back to who he was before he was injured.

“It’s been fantastic,” he said. “Seeing other vets with smiles on their faces, feeling proud of themselves, makes me feel proud. It gives me the purpose I thought I lost when I retired from the military. With this program, I’ve found out I’m not alone.”