Support My Veteran Community!
Tax deductible
Help for Today. . . Hope for Tomorrow!
My Story: Hello and thank you for viewing my campaign! I am Justin Sowell, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served 4 1/2 years as a 0311 Rifleman with 1st Batallion 1st Marines (1/1) out of Camp Pendleton, California. I conducted two tours of duty overseas. My first deployment was with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) where we traveled to many countries in Southeast Asia, the middle east, and east Africa. My second deployment was an eight-month stint in Afghanistan with the R4OG Element where we assisted in cleaning up and shutting down FOB's and PB's and helped in gear retrieval and retention.
Upon my return, I received a two-week crash course in becoming a civilian before receiving my honorable discharge and setting off to enjoy my newly gained freedom. I quickly went to work in the oilfield and bounced around between a few different companies trying to find something that offered a decent future for my family and I. As my job perspective started to look grim, I started trying to find resources to help me find something decent. I was also having a difficult time trying to navigate through the VA system and find resources that offered a decent mentoring program to help figure out what to do with my life. The more veterans I talked to, the more I realized I was not alone. The majority of veterans I spoke to were having a difficult time transitioning, connecting to resources, and navigating the VA system. It's like jumping through flaming hoops just to survive. We were all starting over from square one while everyone else had moved on with their lives. Did I think surely there was an organization that could point me in the right direction or something? I kept drawing blanks or getting minimal results.
After failing to secure a job that was adequate enough to build a career, I decided I needed to go back to school in order to have any real future. I started brainstorming an idea for an organization that would help veterans connect to existing resources. Shortly after, my wife and I found work at a local nonprofit that assists children, which offered us financial stability and the ability to focus on furthering our education in the process. After seeing what it took to run a successful nonprofit, I further developed my plan and launched My Veteran Community, Inc.
I held a local fundraiser that raised $3,500 to pay for our incorporation and 501(c)3 filing fees. I then set out to further develop my plan and how to properly assist the military and veteran community so they don't have to go through the same flaming hoops I did.
My Veteran Community, Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization incorporated within the state of Texas which is intended to help veterans, service members, and their families.
Our mission is to create, connect, and unite our members with life-empowering resources during and after civilian transition.
Our vision is for all veterans, service members, and their families to have access to the resources they need to achieve success during and after service.
Reasons for Fundraising: I am raising funds to pay for startup costs, a website, liability insurance, further development of our programs, and any other costs needed to get this organization operational so we can start assisting members of our community. Your funds will go directly towards building the infrastructure needed to properly connect veterans, service members, and their families to existing resources that are difficult to find.
List of Programs to be Offered:
Interactive Website: Most websites are basically online brochures. Our website will connect members to resources all over the nation, pinpoint their location on a map, offer detailed information about the resource, ways to connect with the resource, and a way to rate and post reviews on resources to lead other members in the right direction. We will also host blogs and forums where members can discuss important topics and issues to help overcome obstacles. Additionally, we will have a community calendar where members can search local events hosted in a specific area (city, state, zip code). We are also looking at a host of other tools that will be useful to our members on a daily basis like free educational courses, a way for employers to post job listings, a living memorial (a calendar that posts a bio of deceased veterans and service members on the anniversary of their death), and more!
Advocacy Program: This program will help members connect to an appropriate resource for a specific obstacle. (i.e. if a member cannot find a job then we would connect them to a resource like NextOp, LSVA, Operations Job's, etc. so they can find a job).
Mentoring Program: Most mentoring programs only focus on career development and enhancement. That is great and all, but what about the whole picture? My mentoring program is based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and creates an individualized experience that focusses on meeting the member's definition of success. We look at where the member is when they start, where they want to be in say 5 to 10 years, and then develop S.M.A.R.T. goals to help them achieve success as they defined it. We will connect them to resources along the way and track their success, re-evaluating goals as needed.
Community Charter(s): The Community Charter is a committee board formed by local community leaders who lead local organizations, businesses, and so on into working together as a team to better serve the local military and veteran community. The idea is to identify the major issues the community faces, identify possible solutions, and then collaborate to make it happen. The Charter can also serve as a way to assist new or existing resources that might be struggling to serve their mission due to lack of support and/or resources.
Community Engagement Team (CET): A CET is a group of members formed with a specific purpose in mind that helps facilitate camaraderie, community involvement, and to help raise funds for the organization as needed. They can be formed for a number of things like running marathons, cycling, competition shootings, a bowling league, a Bible study, coping with TBI and PTSD, and so on. The main goal is to get our members out of their homes and involved in life to network and build a support base.
Emergency Fund: A fund set up as a last ditch effort to assist members in need that cannot find the assistance they need from other resources.
Community Outreach Center(s): A facility that offers onsite assistance, a family friendly atmosphere, social events, and a safe place for our members to relax.
Click the link below to verify our 501(c)3 nonprofit status:
https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/pub78Search.do?ein1=47-2508085&names=My+Veteran+Community&city=&state=All...&country=US&deductibility=all&dispatchMethod=searchCharities&submitName=Search
Thank you for your support and donation!
For more information visit us on:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MyVeteranCommunity/
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/10092076/
LinkedIn/Groups:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8467933
RallyPoint:
https://www.rallypoint.com/organizations/my-veteran-community
Google+:
https://plus.google.com/u/1/100858168390267043210
VolunteerMatch:
https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/org862356.jsp
Our Website (Under Construction):
www.myveterancommunity.org
My Story: Hello and thank you for viewing my campaign! I am Justin Sowell, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served 4 1/2 years as a 0311 Rifleman with 1st Batallion 1st Marines (1/1) out of Camp Pendleton, California. I conducted two tours of duty overseas. My first deployment was with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) where we traveled to many countries in Southeast Asia, the middle east, and east Africa. My second deployment was an eight-month stint in Afghanistan with the R4OG Element where we assisted in cleaning up and shutting down FOB's and PB's and helped in gear retrieval and retention.
Upon my return, I received a two-week crash course in becoming a civilian before receiving my honorable discharge and setting off to enjoy my newly gained freedom. I quickly went to work in the oilfield and bounced around between a few different companies trying to find something that offered a decent future for my family and I. As my job perspective started to look grim, I started trying to find resources to help me find something decent. I was also having a difficult time trying to navigate through the VA system and find resources that offered a decent mentoring program to help figure out what to do with my life. The more veterans I talked to, the more I realized I was not alone. The majority of veterans I spoke to were having a difficult time transitioning, connecting to resources, and navigating the VA system. It's like jumping through flaming hoops just to survive. We were all starting over from square one while everyone else had moved on with their lives. Did I think surely there was an organization that could point me in the right direction or something? I kept drawing blanks or getting minimal results.
After failing to secure a job that was adequate enough to build a career, I decided I needed to go back to school in order to have any real future. I started brainstorming an idea for an organization that would help veterans connect to existing resources. Shortly after, my wife and I found work at a local nonprofit that assists children, which offered us financial stability and the ability to focus on furthering our education in the process. After seeing what it took to run a successful nonprofit, I further developed my plan and launched My Veteran Community, Inc.
I held a local fundraiser that raised $3,500 to pay for our incorporation and 501(c)3 filing fees. I then set out to further develop my plan and how to properly assist the military and veteran community so they don't have to go through the same flaming hoops I did.
My Veteran Community, Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization incorporated within the state of Texas which is intended to help veterans, service members, and their families.
Our mission is to create, connect, and unite our members with life-empowering resources during and after civilian transition.
Our vision is for all veterans, service members, and their families to have access to the resources they need to achieve success during and after service.
Reasons for Fundraising: I am raising funds to pay for startup costs, a website, liability insurance, further development of our programs, and any other costs needed to get this organization operational so we can start assisting members of our community. Your funds will go directly towards building the infrastructure needed to properly connect veterans, service members, and their families to existing resources that are difficult to find.
List of Programs to be Offered:
Interactive Website: Most websites are basically online brochures. Our website will connect members to resources all over the nation, pinpoint their location on a map, offer detailed information about the resource, ways to connect with the resource, and a way to rate and post reviews on resources to lead other members in the right direction. We will also host blogs and forums where members can discuss important topics and issues to help overcome obstacles. Additionally, we will have a community calendar where members can search local events hosted in a specific area (city, state, zip code). We are also looking at a host of other tools that will be useful to our members on a daily basis like free educational courses, a way for employers to post job listings, a living memorial (a calendar that posts a bio of deceased veterans and service members on the anniversary of their death), and more!
Advocacy Program: This program will help members connect to an appropriate resource for a specific obstacle. (i.e. if a member cannot find a job then we would connect them to a resource like NextOp, LSVA, Operations Job's, etc. so they can find a job).
Mentoring Program: Most mentoring programs only focus on career development and enhancement. That is great and all, but what about the whole picture? My mentoring program is based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and creates an individualized experience that focusses on meeting the member's definition of success. We look at where the member is when they start, where they want to be in say 5 to 10 years, and then develop S.M.A.R.T. goals to help them achieve success as they defined it. We will connect them to resources along the way and track their success, re-evaluating goals as needed.
Community Charter(s): The Community Charter is a committee board formed by local community leaders who lead local organizations, businesses, and so on into working together as a team to better serve the local military and veteran community. The idea is to identify the major issues the community faces, identify possible solutions, and then collaborate to make it happen. The Charter can also serve as a way to assist new or existing resources that might be struggling to serve their mission due to lack of support and/or resources.
Community Engagement Team (CET): A CET is a group of members formed with a specific purpose in mind that helps facilitate camaraderie, community involvement, and to help raise funds for the organization as needed. They can be formed for a number of things like running marathons, cycling, competition shootings, a bowling league, a Bible study, coping with TBI and PTSD, and so on. The main goal is to get our members out of their homes and involved in life to network and build a support base.
Emergency Fund: A fund set up as a last ditch effort to assist members in need that cannot find the assistance they need from other resources.
Community Outreach Center(s): A facility that offers onsite assistance, a family friendly atmosphere, social events, and a safe place for our members to relax.
Click the link below to verify our 501(c)3 nonprofit status:
https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/pub78Search.do?ein1=47-2508085&names=My+Veteran+Community&city=&state=All...&country=US&deductibility=all&dispatchMethod=searchCharities&submitName=Search
Thank you for your support and donation!
For more information visit us on:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MyVeteranCommunity/
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/10092076/
LinkedIn/Groups:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8467933
RallyPoint:
https://www.rallypoint.com/organizations/my-veteran-community
Google+:
https://plus.google.com/u/1/100858168390267043210
VolunteerMatch:
https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/org862356.jsp
Our Website (Under Construction):
www.myveterancommunity.org
Organizer
Justin Sowell
Organizer
Cypress, TX
My Veteran Community
Beneficiary