2023 - We at WVFV love it when we can put a great deal together!  This is USMC MSGT Matt S. who retired with 80% disability rating following 3 tours In Afghanistan and Iraq.  He is pictured with his commercial drone setup for his new company, Small World Drones which specializes in aerial photography for individuals, law enforcement, real estate and construction professionals in Southeastern USA.  Work Vessels for Vets was able to purchase the drone and accessories at cost from Vigilante Drones, a very successful company started by USMC Maj. Dave Daly who received a grant of drones from WVFV in 2020.   

“I am forever grateful for the grant and will do my best to pay it forward.  Thank you so much for this opportunity to expand my business.  Now the real work begins,” says Matt.   

Happy flying, MSGT Small!  

NEW MEXICO April 13, 2023.  Work Vessels for Vets partnered with The Semper Fi & America’s Fund to award farm equipment to "CHARLIE FIVE" a nonprofit that gives equine therapy horses to veterans and first responders throughout the American West. 

“Charlie Five is a nonprofit program that uses personal experience as a model to serve fellow Veterans and First Responders,” says Jeremy Svejcar of New Mexico.  “Our main goal is to give horses to qualifying Veterans and First Responders who have participated in equine therapy so they can continue their growth and forward motion on their own.”   Visit their programs at www.CharlieFive.org  www.CharlieFive.org  

Jeremy served in Operations Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.  When he returned from his last deployment, he had a difficult time adjusting to life back in the states.   It took a few more years before Jeremy realized just how bad off he was. He was depressed and began to withdraw from society to the point where going to the grocery store was incredibly tough. He avoided things he used to enjoy, and depression started taking over.  He began to put together a plan to take his own life.

After years of struggle, he was selected for a program that used horses to help veterans find purpose.  When he returned home, he started Charlie Five to pay it forward for the gift he was given.

USAF Captain Cody GUY of Whitefish, Montana is a graduate of US Air Force Academy who was part of cyberwarfare operations to protect our nation.  With 70% service-connected disability rating, he was medically retired after 6 years of military service. Work Vessels for Vets awarded a portable sawmill from Hud-Son Forest Equipment which provided a generous in-kind discount.  Now Cody can get on with his dream of building tourist cabins on his 40 acre homestead near Glacier National Park. 

Up, up and away, Captain Guy!  

MARCH 2023 - US Army SPC Kyle Radtke was injured in Afghanistan and is now a licensed physical therapist eager to start athletic performance and pain management practice in San Antonio, Texas.   

Thanks to help from AmericaCryo, LLC, of La Quinta, California, Work Vessels for Vets, the charity that awards equipment for injured veterans who are starting a business, Dr. Radtke’s Recharge Health & Wellness Center is offering cryotherapy services for his patients.

“I am so excited to receive this SubZero Cryo Therapy apparatus from AmericaCryo,” says Dr. Kyle P. Radtke.  “This state-of-the-art cryotherapy equipment will allow Recharge Health & Wellness to offer pain management, injury prevention, body sculpting and cryoaesthetics services for the San Antonio community.” 

$75,000 in Awards to 13 Injured Veterans in 4th Quarter of 2022

Work Vessels for Vets, the Connecticut-based charity that purchases equipment for injured veterans who are starting a business, announces their end of the year 2022 grants.  In the last 3 months of 2022, thirteen veterans in 8 states received $75,000 in equipment for their civilian startup businesses!

“This was our very best quarter in our 14-year history! We are thrilled to make a difference to so many young men and women who sacrificed and were injured in service to our country.  We are honored to help them make a new start as business owners,” said Cathy Cook, Executive Director.   

“All we ask in return is for these 13 new entrepreneurs to use their business plans to succeed, and go on to hire more veterans, serve their communities and contribute to the economy,” noted John Niekrash, President and Co-founder of Work Vessels for Vets.  Niekrash started the charity in 2008 with the gift of his lobster boat to a USMC amputee who was starting a clamming business in Narragansett Bay, RI.

Since 2008, Work Vessels for Vets awarded equipment valued at $3.7 million to 2700 injured veteran-entrepreneurs in all 50 states.   This volunteer-run nonprofit is lauded as a Top-Rated Nonprofit at Great NonProfits, and achieved the highest Platinum status at GuideStar (now known as CANDID) for its transparency and efficiency.  The administrative overhead at Work Vessels for Vets is 1%. 

$14,000 for Army Sgt Seff Boyle of Tennessee who received a new dump trailer.  Semper Fi Fund participated in this award.

"Even the dealership wanted to thank WVFV for working with me,” said Boyle.  “I can't tell you how much it means to me to have foundations like WVFV and Semper Fi Fund in my corner with this new business.  I appreciate it more than anyone will ever know.”

From SSGT David Z of TX is 100% combat injured:   "I am a disabled veteran, I served 2 tours in Iraq as a combat medic. After being medically discharged I moved back home to Texas. Moving back home was always the plan, and to be honest we have been very blessed since moving back to our hometown. However, our dream of running a farm and ranch has had some financial snags.  I need some specialized equipment for raising poultry."

Well, Work Vessels for Vets negotiated a sizable discount from HatchingTime.com (thank you, Hatching Time)  and over $7500 worth of incubators, poultry processing equipment and accessories were delivered just before Thanksgiving.   

There was a snag, however...

SSGT Zarate reported: "The FedEx semi truck took the wrong turn and ended up getting stuck in the sand in a pasture next to our house. Our neighbor was kind enough to bring the packages over with his tractor and forks late last night. I cannot tell you how much this means to us.  Thank you so much."

Happy Thanksgiving, SSGT Z!  

From all of us at WVFV!  

Thank you, Tractor Supply Company and Manager Tyler of Elkin, NC Store

Work Vessels for Vets celebrates Veterans Day for all veterans, and especially for USMC Maj. Ron Reed of North Carolina.  We thank Tractor Supply Company for their generous discount for the 196 feet of corral fencing for his unique business.  It's essentially an Air B and B for horses in transit!  His horse guests can stretch their legs after a day in the trailer in a beautiful and safe paddock.  And there's a bunkhouse for the handlers.  How cool is that?  Congratulations, Maj. Reed.  And Happy Veterans Day to all who served.  

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022    JM “Joey” JIMENEZ, US Army is a 25-year Army retiree with 100% service-connected disability rating following combat tours in Bosnia, Macedonia, Saudi Arabia and beyond.  He earned 2 Bronze Stars during his long career in the service.

SFC Jimenez received a grant of $7500 for equipment from Work Vessels for Vets for his B’s Bees farm in Spotsylvania, Virginia.  He prepared for his new business by training with several of our partners, including Boots to Business, Farmer Veteran Coalition and the West Virginia Veterans and Warriors Agriculture program run by Captain James McCormick, past president of the National Military Order of the Purple Heart..

SFC Jimenez’s 8 acre farm is a pollinator’s heaven, resplendent with clover, goldenrod, wild blackberry and other pollen rich food for bees.  B’s for Bees also raises butterflies to add to the pollination need in America. 

The BCS walk-behind tractor and bush hog and other attachments awarded by Work Vessels for Vets for SFC Jimenez is the perfect equipment to accommodates his limitations due to injuries so he can meet essential needs for his beekeeping business. 

When the back-ordered equipment was delivered this week, he wrote:

“I accomplished more today than I have in a long time.  The hand tools were amazing (game changers), the machinery is effortless.  Thank you, Work Vessels for Vets!”  Joey Jimenez

Work Vessels for Vets is a volunteer-run national charity with the mission to equip America’s injured veterans with the tools they need to start a business or pursue career training after military service.  Since 2008, WVFV has awarded over 2500 veterans in all 50 states with more than $3.5 million worth of equipment for success.  These new veteran-entrepreneurs have gone on to create hundreds of job and contribute over $15million to the economy. 

Army SSGT Jack Williams, a triple amputee in Kentucky served in Iraq and also in Afghanistan where he was injured.  He was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor and received the Purple Heart for devastating injuries.  He loves the outdoors and founded Mohawk Adventures to take fellow veteran hunting.  Jack is an accomplished blacksmith and wants to share his skills with fellow veterans, but he needed a specialized forge.   "Blacksmithing is therapy and a good trade to know which I could pass on to other veterans to help give them a hobby and purpose in life,"   he writes in his application.  This month, Work Vessels for Vets delivered the adapted forge he needs.  Way to go, Jack!