VetsAid, Joe Walsh's nationally registered 501(c)3 non-profit, announces the disbursement of $250,000 in grants to various community, mid-sized and national veterans services organizations with the monies raised from their 4th annual concert event which streamed online on December 12, 2020.
To date, VetsAid has disbursed nearly $1.8 million dollars to organizations that support veterans and their families. All net proceeds from the 2020 festival will go directly to the below listed charities that have been selected through a vetting process coordinated in tandem with the Combined Arms Institute. While VetsAid has typically focused its annual grant process on the city and region its live festival visits each year, Walsh decided to adjust the search criteria for 2020’s unique virtual festival offering. Charities that focus their efforts on minority communities and those disproportionately affected by the COVID pandemic in the United States would receive some priority consideration instead and therefore, VetsAid can announce that this is their most diverse group of grant recipients to date.
“VetsAid is proud to support US veterans in need wherever they may find themselves on their journey,” Joe Walsh explains. “and as difficult as it got for all of us this past year, we do what we can to endure because the show must go on.”
The 2020 VetsAid grant recipients are:
Community Grants
1) $2,000 grant: War Vets Motorcycle Club, Myrtle Beach, SC (warvetsmc.com) – Financial Assistance & Food Assistance
2) $5,000 grant: Alaska Coalition for Veterans and Military Families, Anchorage, AK (akcvmf.org) – Care Coordination
3) $5,000 grant: VFW Post 339 (vfw339ct.org) – Community Support & Food Assistance
4) $5,000 grant: Operation Code, Portland, OR (operationcode.org) – Job Training for Tech Careers
5) $5,000 grant: Every Third Saturday, Minneapolis, MN (everythirdsaturday.com) – Direct Homeless Support
6) $8,000 grant: Smiles for Veterans, Green Valley, AZ (smilesforveterans.dental) – Free Dental Care for Veterans
Mid-Size Grants
1) $10,000 grant: Modern Military Association of America, Washington, DC / National (modernmilitary.org) – The “Restore Honor, Restore Dignity" program provides free and direct legal services to service members and veterans who were discharged from the military based on sexual orientation, gender identity and/or serostatus.
2) $15,000 grant: Foundation for Women Warriors, Southern CA (foundationforwomenwarriors.org) – The Women Emergency Veterans Services program provides personal fiscal stability to women veterans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through financial stipends to offset rent, utilities, childcare, essential household goods and other emergency expenses.
3) $15,000 grant: Minority Veterans, Seattle, WA & Atlanta, GA (minorityvets.org) – The COVID Relief Fund and Supply Drop events provides emergency assistance and community connection to support social, financial and access related needs to minority veteran communities in Seattle and Atlanta locations.
4) $15,000 grant: KidsRank, Highland Park, IL / National (kidsrank.org) – The Pride Program Expansion Plans increases direct services to military and veteran children across the country including safe spaces and social emotional skills to foster authentic connections with other military children and supportive adults.
5) $15,000 grant: Rocky Boy Veterans Center, Box Elder, MT (rockyboyveterans.org) – The Transition Assistance Center serves unemployed Native American veterans on the Rocky Boy reservation with their transition into the workforce with tribal community liaisons, home visits and comprehensive case management.
Large Grants
1) $25,000 grant: Travis Manion Foundation, National (travismanion.org) – Grounded in the field of positive psychology, the Character Does Matter (CDM) program provides a non-clinical, preventative approach to improve the mental health and well-being of both military veterans and youth.
2) $25,000 grant: Soldiers' Angels, National (soldiersangels.org) – The Veteran Hunger Relief Program provides direct support to the hungry veteran population through monthly Mobile Food Distributions in six cities across the United States, canteen vouchers for low-income veterans at VA hospitals and clinics and non-perishable box lunches for low-income and homeless veterans being treated and released from VA hospitals or at VA sanctioned Stand Downs.
3) $25,000 grant: Combined Arms, Houston, TX (combinedarms.us) – Funds to be disbursed towards launch and development of Social Impact Committee and continued rapid response to immediate and unmet needs of COVID affected clients.
4) $25,000 grant: Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, National (taps.org) – Provides grief support for Gold Star families and children and works on trauma and suicide pre-postvention for military commands, corporations and professional across America.
5) $25,000 grant: Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans, Wheaton, IL (helpaveteran.org) – The Marine LCpl. Nicholas Larson Transitional Home is an existing 13 year program and transitional housing facility dedicated to single male veterans with a focus on Vietnam era vets.
6) $25,000 grant: The League of United Latin American Citizens / Deported Veterans Support House, Tijuana, MX (lulac.org) – LULAC will manage and administer this grant towards the upkeep and support of the deported veterans currently seeking refuge in the Deported Veterans Support House (aka "The Bunker") in Tijuana, Mexico.
The grants came from the net proceeds of VetsAid 2020: Home for the Holidays, the December 12, 2020 multi-hour online worldwide broadcast event on Veeps.com of VetsAid archival performances from Sheryl Crow, The Doobie Brothers, Haim, Don Henley, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Brad Paisley, Ringo Starr, James Taylor, Keith Urban, Joe Walsh & ZZ Top and brand new performances and appearances from Ryan Bingham, Jon Bon Jovi, The 5 Browns, Jimmy Buffet, Drew Carey, Kenny Chesney, Alice Cooper, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Melissa Etheridge, Brandon Flowers, Mary Gauthier, Vince Gill, Patty Griffin, Daryl Hall, Ben Harper, James Hetfield, Jewel, Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan and Ayaan, The Lumineers, Richard Marx, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson and the Boys, Phillip Phillips, Nathaniel Rateliff, Josh Ritter, Blake Shelton, Jake Shimabukuro, Amanda Shires, Gwen Stefani, Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters, Steven Van Zandt, Eddie Vedder, Rufus Wainwright and Verdine White.