It’s hard to believe that two years have come and gone since this newsletter became a reality. It was born from the Pandemic. The COVID-19 Pandemic was shocking, saddening, and has left all of us changed forever. The world’s progress and any comfort that we had was compromised. Almost seven million people worldwide lost their lives. On top of that incredible loss, so many businesses had to close their doors, and many are still struggling to regain their pre-COVID positions.
We thank God that Veterans’ Outreach survived and still stands ready to help veterans in their time of need. In the early days of COVID, when we were all hunkering down, we shut down our offices for about one month. I had recently hired Kathleen, a part-time assistant to help with Heroes’ Passage development, but that was halted. She asked me if she was going to be laid off – I told her to let me think about it. As I did, I realized that this shut down time was an opportunity to finally develop a goal of mine – the VetNet Newsletter.
I didn’t expect to be shut down for long, and fully expected Veterans’ Outreach to survive and go on as before. I asked her if she ever had ever developed an online newsletter?
She told me never, and I asked her if she would like to try. Lots of research and trial and error led to our first newsletter in April of 2020! She stuck with the program and has been developing and growing since then, up to approximately 8,000 subscribers and growing.
We had a big setback in August of 2022 when Kathleen suffered many injuries from a horse accident. She loved her horse and riding, but it nearly took her life. During her toughest time of recuperation, our Social Media Director and Graphic Design Specialist, Elisha, took over and kept the newsletter coming out monthly.
After a relatively short time, Kathleen showed amazing grit by pulling herself back into the “saddle” of the newsletter development. We thank Kathleen for her amazing determination.
Through this publication, we shine a positive lens on the service and sacrifice of America’s military veterans. We highlight and celebrate special dates in history. We provide an inside view into the daily activity of our service to veterans in need through the “Spotlight” stories. We keep our readers up to date on upcoming special events. I write an editorial each month that comes from my heart and I hope has touched yours.
So, anyone can receive our newsletter in their email by signing up on the website, www.veteransoutreach.org. It’s a great way to keep up with developments to enlarge and enhance our mission to help veterans. Please check us out carefully and hopefully you can find a niche for you to come on board and become a monthly sponsor.
The hard fact is that we can’t help a veteran without raising the funds to answer the plea for help.
“And the truth is that all soldiers pay with their lives. Some pay all at once, while others pay over a lifetime.” by J. M. Storm.
May God bless America and especially the veterans, our heroes!
John Ely
” To Serve and Honor”
President Veterans’ Outreach
