New Event Coming Soon!
December 3, 2019
Mark the Date – It is an important one for sure! This event has the ability to help our Veterans Nationwide and it will start right here in Charlotte! We will need your help to spread the word!
Mark the Date – It is an important one for sure! This event has the ability to help our Veterans Nationwide and it will start right here in Charlotte! We will need your help to spread the word!
Video courtesy of Jason Weatherstein
Video courtesy of John White
Video Courtesy of Mayor Jim Taylor, Matthews, NC
Video Courtesy of Mayor Jim Taylor, Matthews, NC
Video from Overpass
Video Courtesy of Jim Shotwell & Family
An Army Veteran that served in Operation Enduring Iraqi Freedom recently contacted our foundation because she saw online that we offer grants to Veterans. She had been out of work for a while but she was a few months into working a new job. She was getting back on her feet again. She fought to keep a roof over her head, she kept the power on but her natural gas had been disconnected because of a past due balance.
I had the chance to talk to her on the phone a few times while reviewing her application. It became apparent to me that she had just fallen behind on some bills and she couldn’t get caught back up. I also found out that for about 3 weeks, her options for keeping clean were to either take a cold shower or boil water to get a hot bath.
We are thankful that she took the first step, which was making the decision to reach out and ask for help. The fact though is that many Veterans won’t ask for help because there are so many hoops to jump through when they do need assistance. How could we really blame them for feeling that way? Very little action has been taken to change that mentality so far during my lifetime.
Think about this for a moment, here is a war Veteran who came back home from serving in Iraqi. Is there ever a time where she or any other Veteran for that matter should have to go back to living without all the conveniences they fought to preserve? I say no, there should never be a time where a Veteran goes without shelter, without food or all the conveniences an American way of life offers. America is failing our Veterans. There is an ongoing debate on how to provide more assistance to them but the fizz has gone flat on enacting actions to help. We can sit down and understand how to help them as quickly as we can decide to send them into battle.
Thinking about this Veteran, I realized there are a few mentalities of service within our country. If you have ever been a civilian in a government agency, you know there is no customer service. You are a number and there is a job to do, so wait your turn “we will get to you”. When it comes to private enterprise, the customer is king! Serve your customer with excellence and they will reward you with new clients to serve. If we are ever going to improve care for Veterans, we really need to adopt an expectation of excellence in taking better care those who have served us all.
Our mission is to STAMP OUT PTSD! We meet a lot of people on the street who ask how this semi-postal stamp will help Veterans cure and treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I thought this would be a great place for me to explain some of the specifics that we have been working on to make sure this is one of the most effective research and treatment projects known in America. Keep in mind, this new semi-postal stamp to help Veterans still needs to be introduced into legislation but Congressman Robert Pittenger is going to introduce this idea to Congress early next year.
Semi-Postal means that Congress will authorize the sale of the stamp through the United States Postal Service (USPS) for a period of two years. The US Postal Service will handle the promotion and all sales of the stamp across America, you will even be able to buy them online. When Americans buy the stamp the proceeds will be disbursed to the Department of Defense who will then distribute the funds according to the specifics of the passed legislation. Congress will then re-evaluate the project every two years to determine how effective the project is in meeting it’s goal.
The Congressman has shared that the bill will detail the funds to be distributed by certain undetermined percentages. The largest portion of the funds will go to helping research and develop treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The remainder portion of the funds would be distributed to non profit organizations already making a difference for Veterans like The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Iraqi and Afghanistan War Veterans. The final legislation will outline all organizations that would receive the funding.
Regardless of what happens with the stamp legislation, we are making a conscience effort to Put Veterans First! If you look on the National Center For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder website is says “PTSD is the most prevalent mental health challenge faced by our Nation’s Veterans.”
Hillary Clinton came to Charlotte, NC on October 25,2014 to encourage voters to get out and vote early. Garland was invited by Senator Kay Hagen’s Field Office to attend the event and even arranged front row seating. After her speech, she shook hands with members of the crowd. She approached Garland and thanked him for his service to his country. Mrs. Clinton even took the time to stop her progression so that she could take a look at Garland’s picture collection. She seemed pretty amazed at all the people he has been in touch with to discuss his Veterans Petition.
Click here if you would like to see the photos of Garland Denny’s journey to help Veterans.
Garland Denny meets Hillary Clinton in Charlotte, NCCongressman Pittenger (NC-09) issued a press release recently announcing he intends to help Garland Denny gain new legislation in Congress on a bill that will be used to help Veterans without increasing the tax burden or the national debt.
Last week, Congressman Pittenger’s staff met with officials from the White House and United States Postal Service to discuss the latest proposal, which would create a semi-postal stamp raising money for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. Following that meeting, the White House encouraged Congressman Pittenger to proceed with legislation.
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Click here to check out the press release on the Congressman’s website!