11 Nov 2010 1 Comment

This Veteran's Day, the stories tell it all

This Veterans’ Day, we are struck most by the stories on our site. Fundraisers choose their causes because they have some connection to the cause, a person, or the organization. The connections are often personal, and always compelling. For Veteran’s Day, we read the fundraising stories behind the fundraisers and are highlighting a few. If you are looking for a way to honor US veterans today on Veteran’s Day, there are many, many fundraisers pages on our site sharing their stories, reasons for fundraising, and incredible efforts. Here are a few:

Student Veterans of America

The Student Veterans of America develops programs, policies, and resources to help veterans transition to the classroom. Since 2008, they have expanded from 20to more than 330 chapters in 44 states. During the entire month of November, student veterans and supporters from across the U.S. are rallying together to:

  • Help wounded veterans that are still in the hospital make the transition to college through SVA’s Veteran Education Transition (VET) Program.
  • Provide chapter grants and scholarships to student veterans that are struggling with their transition.

At FirstGiving, 34 people are raising money for Student Veterans of America. One fundraiser, Rodrigo Garcia, formerly in the Marine Corps, says it all. “Once I separated in January of 2006, there were challenges: the need to provide my family with a home, pay for utilities, pay for my education (before the Post 9/11 GI Bill was enacted into law), search for a job, juggle schedules between school, employment and my family, tackling military stereotypes in the classroom…or even navigating the myriad of benefits offered by the VA all while attempting to exceed in my coursework and in life….The peer support and camaraderie provided by the early cadrons of SVA members allowed me to succeed. I ultimately did by attaining both a bachelor and master degrees in finance summa cum laude in under 3 and a half years.” You can donate to Rodrigo’s page here.

US Veterans Initiative

The US Veterans Initiative is the nation’s largest provider of services to veterans facing challenges in their transition to civilian life. They serve over 2,100 veterans daily. At FirstGiving, 39 people are raising money online.

Christine van Eyck is running the LA Marathon March 20, 2011 and raising money for US Vets. Christine writes, “I run in honor of Veterans, especially the one in my life, my daddy. He left communist Czechoslovakia to fight communism by serving in Vietnam. He is retired by continues to aid the US government in locating missing US service members. For those servicemembers who need his assistance, this fundraiser is for them.”  Christine’s firstgiving page also features prize incentives: every donor is entered automatically into a raffle prize for an ipod (1 winner) and gift cards (5 winners) as a thank-you gift. You can donate to her fundraising page (and enter the raffle) here.

Special Operations Warrior Foundation

The Special Operations Warrior Foundation provides full college educations to the children of fallen Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations personnel.  The foundation also provides immediate financial assistance to special operations personnel who are hospitalized from severe wounds allowing their loved ones to be bedside while they recover. While there are no active fundraising events, many events have just been completed. What has impressed us is the number of different events on FirstGiving for the foundation, and the large significant amount of money each fundraiser has recieved, In total,  76 FirstGivers have raised $142,509.

The Warrior Tri Team has raised $31,501, far exceeding their goal of $20,000.  Six training buddies for the Patriot’s Half Ironman creatde a FirstGiving Page in honor of four Green Berets who lost their lives during Operation Iraqi Freedom. They write on their page that “every one of us on this team has known, served with, bled with, laughed with, worked out with, and/or cried over a Special Operations member who lost his life.  Many more of you who will read this site have done the same.  If you haven’t, you know someone who has.  Regardless if you have known a fallen Special Operations member or not, few of us have yet to be affected by the War on Terror, in some form or fashion.”

To find other veteran’s related causes on our site, visit www.firstgiving.com. Happy Veteran’s Day!

by admin in Spotlights Tags: , , , , , ,