Air Force Veteran Thomas requested a Supply Crate for the University of Tennessee Veterans Success Center for the Veterans who come to them for support:
I am a prior Air Force F-16 crew chief. I served primarily on test mission based assignments, crewing and testing aircraft not yet seen on the battlefield. I developed tight bonds with my brothers and sisters. After my 6 year enlistment in 2014, I lost that camaraderie. The transition from military to civilian life was extremely difficult for me. I found myself isolated and unsure of my future. Flash to 2015, and I began using my GI Bill at the University of Tennessee. I began to find other vets on campus who shared that same loss of bond. We began forming a Veteran's group called the VOLFighters. After graduation, I found myself wanting to help more and was hired to work in the Veterans Success Center, certifying GI Bill benefits and creating programs to help veterans on campus. I am now the assistant director and 5 years into a full-time position helping vets on campus with their transition through various programming. As a disabled veteran myself and a former student veteran, I understand the challenges these students face. Often, they will come into our center just to get out of the "crazy" of the world. We always want to provide as much support as possible. While we have been supported through different donations, we have yet to acquire any video games. This has been requested for years, but have not been able to find the support to obtain. Getting this supply crate would support so many veterans from different walks of life and allow them to continue coming together, relieving stress, and ultimately graduating. I appreciate the consideration to help us continue helping veterans at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Having graduated from college on my own GI Bill, I remember visiting the Veteran Success Center to hang out in the lounge once in a while. All it had was a TV, a couple of lounge chairs, charging ports, and a couple of snacks. A gaming console would have been a welcome addition to the space and probably would've encouraged me to hang out more.
The supply crate arrived safe and sound yesterday and we couldn’t be more grateful! Thank you again! I’ve attached a few photos with some of our early birds this morning, but plan to take many more and will share those soon! We are working on getting everything connected/downloaded now.
We hope the Vets over at the University of Tennessee enjoy the console and games as much as they can!
The American Legion sponsored this Supply Crate through their Operation Comfort Warriors, granting Stack Up the funds to help Stack Up purchase the supplies for this Supply Crate and others. Thanks to the American Legion for their support.
We need funding to help support our programs into 2024! Support our mission of helping Veterans cope with their mental health through gaming and gaming communities by donating to our DonorDrive today. Hit the button below to show your support.
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