VetServe 2022: Share Your Service Success Stories Below!

My self I help Vets like my self who can not do repairs on there Homes . I still have skills in Electrical and Plumbing also down trees, roof gutters and weather stripping . At times i foot the Metals if there low income . It make me feel Good to help older Vets than my self I'm 67 years old and still kicking .

I reported aboard the U. S. S. Kearsarge in September 1964. I was on my active duty portion of my Naval Reserve Enlistment. My rank was E-3 Raman with a striker badge for Lithographer. I had been a Journeyman Printer in Chicago at the age of 5. My father was a printer and he was stuck with baby sitting me from the age of 4 until I was old enough to go to Kindergarten at 5 years old. I was bored with trying to find things to amuse myself so I decided to learn Typesetting. I already knew the alphabet and had to memorize where each letter went in a type case. The type case had 89 boxes for Capital and Lower Case letters, spaces, numbers, punctuation marks and things called ligatures. Those were combination letters like fi, fl, ffi, ffl and others. I passed the test just before I was able to go to kindergarten and became the youngest Journeyman Printer in the U.S. Because I had worked, either for my father or any print Shop that needed extra help, when I went aboard ship I had 16 years of printing experience.
When I entered the Print Shop I met the First Class Lithographer who was in charge. He was an E-6 and was close to his 20 years and retirement. I asked him why he was not at least a Chief Petty Officer. He said that he was brought up on Letterpress Printing and knew almost nothing about the NEW OFFSET PRINTING. I told him that I had been doing Offset Printing for a number of years and would be willing to teach him and possibly help him make Chief. He said NO. He would retire as a First Class in 18 months.
Within a week, I was running the Print Shop. The two 3rd Class Petty Officers knew far less about printing than I did and were willing to learn from me. Needless to say, I was advanced to Chief Petty Officer in 1972. I would have made it to Master Chief if it was not for Affirmative Action. In 1974, I was the only Chief Lithographer in the Navy who passed the Senior Chief's Exam. Because of Affirmative Action, a black Chief Lithographer in the Naval Reserve, who never took the exam that year, was advanced simply because he was black. I knew him and also knew that he had not worked as a Printer in more than 10 years. When he was advanced to Master Chief I felt that I would get his billet and get my advanced,ent to Senior Chief. I was not advanced. When I questioned it I was informed that the Senior Chief Billet was terminated and when the Master Chief retired, that billet would be terminated as well. So, I retired as a Chief Lithographer with 28 years and 9 months of service.

I was encouraged to work Community events the entire time I was on active duty, and I found it very rewarding. I still do Community work, but the most rewarding is working with Veterans. My job supports Veteran Owned Businesses, and I assist Vets with Disability claims in my free time, for free.

I'm active in my community VFW Post, which reaches out to help veterans and active duty, as well as non-military community members. We are establishing a program to help the veterans in a local rehab/residency facility. I am also active in our area DAV Chapter. I assist veterans in submitting claims for benefits. The Chapter is active in helping homeless veterans, incarcerated veterans, and other veterans in need.

Until health and financial issues came up, I used to volunteer to take people on trail runs in desert, forest, sand, and mountain terrain, getting them out to see parts of our country that most never see. We had/have a large contingent of active duty Sailors, firemen, and police officers, as well as Veterans and public safety retirees.
This often requires me to be out in the remote areas of the desert for a week or two at a time; twist my arm again.
I’ve been doing it since the mid nineties, and now one of those volunteer events has grown to 100,000 attendees this last year. We have a great relationship with the 29 Palms Marine Corps base, which does a flyby and holds Colors for the event.
Another one has the Blue Angels flying the entire weekend, it’s adjacent to an old bombing range.
My close circle is all Vets and cops, and we do take care of our own. It’s very uplifting to see a kid, or a Vet, who has difficulties light up when he sees nature. You can’t get that show on tv.

After serving in the United States Air Force for 26 years, I retired and knew that volunteering was something those of us who voluntarily served in the military would continue to do. I am now a volunteer with the American Red Cross of South Jersey as a member of the Disaster Action Team, Services to the Armed Forces, and Sound The Alarm programs. There is no limit to what you can learn, and the experiences you will share once you volunteer. Whether it's working as intake personnel at blood drives, teaching children about fire safety with the Pillow Case Project, or helping your neighbors recover from a fire or natural disaster. There's plenty to do, lots to learn, and satisfaction to be gained. Check it out at Redcross.org, and look for the tab for Volunteers.

I'm a volunteer at my local VA Hospital as well as supporting Fisher House and Army Emergency Relief.

Hello. I was in the Army for 8 years during the 90’s. So I’ve been out for quite a while. Since 2009 I’ve been a career volunteer. Mostly with veterans organizations. I’m currently volunteering as a veteran advocate for Habitat for Humanity and Michael’s Foundation in Florida.

Posting on behalf of Syndy Shelton, USMC Veteran (Ret.) - I was first introduced to Travis Manion Foundation (TMF) in San Diego in 2019, just as my retirement from the Marine Corps was approaching. I immediately connected with the mission and the “If Not Me, Then Who…” ethos as I knew that I wanted to continue to serve and thrive in the next chapter of my life. Since then, I have trained and connected with youth as a Veteran Mentor, participated in volunteer service projects, and led personal development workshops to reach other veterans. On April 9, I partnered with a fellow veteran to lead and organize a beach-cleanup at Fiesta Island here in San Diego in honor of Navy Corpsman Erich Craig “Doc” Allman (1976-2021). The project helped beautify one of our community’s popular family beach spots and it gave me the opportunity to partner with fellow veteran organizations. By serving others, we as veterans gain the sense of community and purpose that we need to feel fulfilled.

I'm a US Army veteran. I helped other Veterans with free computer support, and by rebuilding and giving away computers. I did this until I could no longer carry the equipment when I had to rely on a cane to walk. I have also driven other Veterans to their VA appointments, because they had no car. Not as much as others but I did what I could. I did it to help, not for recognition.