Desert Storm veteran Jason Tobey served in the United States Marine Corps for six years before receiving an honorable discharge and returning home. Like many veterans, he faced difficulty in this transition, searching for jobs and exploring different careers, but never finding one that was the right fit. Jason enrolled in a Goodwill microenterprise development program gaining new skills that helped him launch his own security business. Not only is his firm succeeding, but Jason is also able to pay it forward—employing other military veterans and their families as they seek to make the same transition.
Every day, hundreds of military veterans like Jason change out of their uniforms. Goodwill is proud to be one of the organizations that have answered First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s call to help these veterans and their families. Through the Goodwill for America’s Heroes and their Families program, they have served more than 51,000 veterans and family members, and helped more than 1,350 find meaningful employment.
These numbers always impress me, but what moves me even more are the real stories of people who have served our country overseas and have earned the chance to succeed here at home.
With just 1 percent of our population serving in wars overseas, it’s easy to forget that these are real people, with real stories. As our brave men and women return home, we must commit ourselves to helping each person as an individual. Goodwill is dedicated to serving veterans and their family members in a way that allows each of them to rejoin their community and continue to have a positive impact on their world.
America's veterans have put their lives on the line for us—now it’s our turn to serve them -- and their families -- as well as they've served us.