~ DSoS Staff
An open letter to the Dark Side:
There comes a time in the life of every non-profit organization when we must appeal for help. Now is that time for us. Allow me to explain.
Many of you are familiar with us, but for those who aren't, we help Active Duty Military, Veterans and First Responders in crisis. We post funny memes to get people talking, and thus learn who is struggling. We stay up late into the night talking with veterans and first responders who are fighting their own darkness.
We also provide emergency financial assistance to AD, Veterans and First Responders. We've provided food and gas cards, locked in temporary housing for homeless vets, paid utilities, and assisted with necessary renovations for a chair-bound vet so he could actually use his own home.
How are we different from other such organizations? It's often hard to find assistance for issues not related to utilities or food. We fill in those gaps. We help with car and home repairs, and other issues that are necessary but hard to find assistance for. We also follow up with them and ensure they're connected to other resources they may need such as employment, mental health or legal resources etc. Our services are delivered very quickly, often same day.
All of us on staff are volunteers. None of us take a a dime of compensation. This year, our first year providing financial assistance, 78% of our funds went directly to help Veterans and First Responders. The rest went to start up and overhead: application/licensing fees, postage, a new modem, and other overhead. Next year, with that infrastructure in place, we anticipate that 85% to 90% of our income will go directly to assistance for Active Duty, Veterans and First Responders.
This is where you all come in. We need your help to continue helping our nation’s heroes. No hard sell, no guilt trip. Just, if you're so moved, we encourage you to go to our website and hit the donate button. Your donation will feed a vet or first responder, keep the heat on in the winter time, or some other necessity.
This is your chance to be part of the solution!
Thank you!
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