In the summertime, the most exertion many of us are willing to commit involves turning over some hamburgers on the barbecue. But a new brewery with a special mission is making helping veterans as easy as cracking open a bottle of beer.
Navy veteran Paul Jenkins and Marine Corps veteran Mike Danzer founded the Veteran Beer Company in 2012 with the goal of easing the veteran employment crunch by creating a company that would employ veterans and generate profits that could be donated to charities that help veterans. They began selling their two varieties—Blonde Bomber and The Veteran—on Veteran’s Day in 2013, and the company has been expanding ever since.
“We only anticipated to sell about 2,000 cases our first year,” Josh Ray, regional director of Veteran Brewing Company told Nicole Johnson of Valley News Live. “After four months, we did over 30,000 cases, and we’re pretty close to approaching 60,000 cases right now.”
Beer drinkers can now find Veteran Beer Company’s brews for sale in Indiana, Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Ten percent of the profits go to veterans’ charities, and the rest is channeled back into the company. Veteran Beer Company, which brews its beer in Cold Spring, Minnesota, employs only veterans, and plans to hire more vets as it continues to expand.
“Some of the things that veterans are promised aren’t really always followed through on,” Ray said. “With this, it’s really our opportunity to give back.” And anyone planning to buy a six pack to celebrate a lazy summer afternoon can give back too.
MORE: When This Marine Couldn’t Find A Job, He Started A Business To Help Other Returning Vets
Tag: Wisconsin
While Her Owner Serves Overseas, This Dog Serves Her Country at Home
To say that the Cook family has a deep responsibility for national service is an understatement.
Alan Cook is an Air Force veteran. His daughter Danielle Cook is currently a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force. Danielle’s mother and grandfather served too. And the line of service in this family doesn’t stop there — now that Danielle is deployed overseas in Afghanistan, her dog Harper helps veterans suffering PTSD through a program called Circle of Change.
Harper lives with Danielle’s dad and visits the Dog Den, a doggy daycare center in Madison while Sergeant Cook is gone. Workers at the Dog Den thought Harper would be a good candidate for the Circle of Change program. “She is very shy and fearful, but at the same time she is gentle. She’s the perfect dog for our veterans program,” Dog Den employee Deborah Crawley told Gordon Severson of WAOW.
In Circle of Change classes, veterans suffering from PTSD teach dogs who have behavioral problems how to relax and follow commands. This training helps the dogs overcome their fears. Another beneficial outcome? The veterans find their PTSD symptoms are often eased by working with the animals, too.
Desert Storm veteran Mike Weber, a participant in the first six-week Circle of Change course, said working with the dogs helped him feel better. “My way of handling my problem was just to avoid everything. This has really helped me come back out and kind of get me back on track,” Weber told Severson. “It’s such a great program and it really has helped me bond with not only the animals, but other vets and volunteers.”
“We’re a military family all the way down to the dog now,” Alan Cook told Severson. “My daughter is just so proud of Harper and thinks it’s a great thing. It gives her something to do while my daughter is away overseas.”
MORE: This Organization Knows How To Simultaneously Save Veterans and Dogs
Meet the Kid Who Turned a Health Scare Into Inspiration (Again, and Again)
A type 1 diabetes diagnosis didn’t stop 11-year-old Anja Busse of Antigo, Wis. It inspired her.
Rocked by the diagnosis six months ago, Busse knew what would make her feel better: an American Girl doll going through the same experience.
But there wasn’t one.
So Busse created an online petition urging the company to create accessories that a type 1 diabetic like herself might use. So far, Busse has garnered over 3,000 signatures.
“I feel so different now and my whole life has been turned around,” she writes. “I just want everyone to feel good about themselves no matter if they have something ‘wrong with them’.”
Among her wants: a glucose meter, an insulin pump, and “pick-me-ups”— snacks that diabetics keep on hand to control their blood sugar.
“There are thousands of girls with diabetes and it’s really hard for some of them getting diagnosed,” she told Lisa Haefs of the Antigo Daily Journal. “It’s easier with a doll that looks just like you. You have someone to take care of.”
According to the American Diabetes Association, about 1 in 400 people under the age of 20 in America have type 1 diabetes.
Busse isn’t the first child to ask American Girl Doll for more diversity.
Last year, Melissa Shang, 10, who suffers from a form of muscular dystrophy, started a petition to feature a disabled girl as a “Girl of the Year” doll. She’s gained over 142,000 signatures.
Mattel, which manufactures American Girl Dolls, responded with a letter that read in part, “We receive hundreds of passionate requests to create a variety of dolls and books based on a wide range of circumstances, and we are always considering new ways to enhance our product lines.”
The uber-popular American Girl line already offers such accessories as glasses, hearing aids, wheelchairs, and an allergy-free lunch — so Busse’s request isn’t too far-fetched.
And it’s not the pint-sized activist’s only project. Busse and her parents started the nonprofit Boxed for Joy, sending care packages to kids newly diagnosed with diabetes. And the pre-teen is recruiting for the local Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund’s Walk to Cure Diabetes. She has a national sponsor, Shwings, a company that manufactures little wings to lace onto sneakers.
It’s an apt metaphor for a kid with potentially debilitating disease who keeps finding more ways to help others.
MORE: All This ‘American Girl’ Wanted Was A Doll With A Story Like Hers
These Veterans Rallied to Save a Fellow Vet From the Cold
With sub-zero temperatures and snowstorm after snowstorm, this polar vortex-fueled winter has been a rough one for much of the country. But especially for those who can’t afford to heat their homes.
The frosty situation of a 92-year-old Pembine, Wisconsin resident who was a World War II veteran was especially dire. When the Fox Valley Veterans Council learned of that the vet who served in Iwo Jima was in danger of running out of the propane he uses to heat his home, they took immediate action. Iraq veteran Sandra Meyer, who works with Fox Valley Veterans Council, told Jim Collar of PostCresent.com that the man didn’t want to leave his home. “He wouldn’t have had propane to last him through the night. He knew very well if he left his home, he wouldn’t have a home to come back to.”
The Fox Valley Veterans Council maintains an emergency fund to assist veterans in dire need, such as those who can’t pay for their rent. When Meyer told the others on the council about the World War II vet’s plight, they considered seeking federal assistance for him. Their resources have been so tapped this year that they’ve had to turn away a few vets seeking money to fix burst frozen pipes. But the council worried the elderly man would freeze to death while they waited for the paperwork to be processed, so the members voted in favor of using funds to buy propane.
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In less than a day, they secured the fuel and delivered it to the vet — despite the fact that the propane ended up costing more than they expected. To make up the difference, individual veterans contributed out of their own pockets. “There was no way to say no,” Council President Jim Strong told Collar. “It was duty driven by love.”
If you’re looking to help someone, consider donating to The Fox Valley Veterans Council, which needs help refilling its coffers so it can provide assistance the next time a veteran is left in the cold.
MORE: An 87-Year-Old World War II Vet Made A Promise at 19 to Help Someone Every Day
All These 10-Year-Olds Wanted for Their Birthdays Was to Help Vets
In Waukesha, Wisc., Mary Poblocki, Adrianna Alberts, and their friend Megan were turning 10 and knew just how to celebrate. “We don’t really need that much presents,” Mary told Yona Gavino of TMJ4. Instead, the girls asked for donations to the Veterans Employment Alliance (VEA).
Megan had the idea because both of her parents are veterans. Her mom Kathleen is proud of her daughter and her friends. “It tells me that I’m doing the right thing. It tells me that retiring from the service to be a full-time mom was the right decision,” she told Gavino.
CJ Brown of the VEA, a formerly homeless vet, is thankful for the donations that will go toward helping veterans and keeping them off the street. “Well, it’s cold out there,” Brown said. “Many of them get sick. Some of them are dying on the streets.” Admirably, Megan and her friends want to change that.
MORE: Leave it To Teenagers to Find the Most Fun Way to Help Disabled Veterans
These Guys Just Walked 2,000 Miles to Help Other Vets
Five months ago veterans Anthony Anderson and Tom Voss set out on an epic trek from their homes in Wisconsin to Los Angeles to raise money for Dryhootch, a non-profit that helps veterans transition back into civilian life, and to increase awareness about the difficulties facing returning servicemen and women. On Saturday their community threw them a welcome home party at the Milwaukee County War Memorial.
Voss told Jesse Ritka of 620 WTMJ, “Neither of us really had any time to decompress after our deployments so the beginning idea was to take the time to work on yourself, better yourself by walking. Anderson and Voss’s beards grew long during the 2,000 mile walk, and blisters came and went, particularly during a footsore stretch in Iowa and Nebraska.
Anderson and Voss were aiming to raise $100,000, and finished $20,000 short of their goal, but are still accepting donations. And they’re still educating people about how everyone can help veterans. Anderson told Ritka, “Don’t watch the stories on the news and say well I’m informed now. Take that information and go out and do something with it. Try to change the lives of your neighbors, your friends, your co-workers because that’s where veterans are.”
MORE: This Veteran Suffered A Traumatic Brain Injury. Now He’s Got A Chance to Win A Medal
What This School District Administrator Did Will Warm Your Heart
Wisconsin’s Two Rivers School District will keep the services of their superintendent for absolutely no money at all. According to the Associated Press, school official Randy Fredrikson has given up his entire $170,000 salary and benefits for the school year.
Instead, the 58-year-old grandfather will be working for free as a thank you to the district that employed him and his wife for 26 years. “I came to Two Rivers and I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll be here three to five years,’ and here we are,” he told the AP. “It was good for our family, certainly the school board always treated me well. It just worked out. I thought, well, I can do this in return.”
MORE: The Radical School Reform That Just Might Work
Fredrikson won’t be receiving health or dental insurance, but since he’s officially retired, he’ll be getting state pension. He’ll also keep his $3,270 stipend as the varsity boys basketball coach. Fredrikson’s move to forgo his salary — believed to be a first in the state — was not intended to draw attention. As School Board President Bob Bergeon told the AP, “He kind of quietly just goes about and does a lot of charitable things, noble things, and nobody knows about it.” Well, we certainly noticed and, hopefully, others will too.
This Injured Veteran Healed Himself. Now He’s Bringing His Secret to Others
When Ted Schlueter returned home to his family farm in Deerfield, Wisc. after sustaining a serious head injury in the Vietnam War, he struggled to make a new life for himself. What he eventually found was that training horses helped him heal his mental and physical wounds, and through techniques he learned at a 1989 Natural Horsemanship seminar in Chicago, he became an expert humane trainer, forgoing the use of whips, bits or similar tools. Along with his business partner Paulette Stelpflug, he established Freedom Stables, where he’s rehabilitated dozens of horses. Now he’s helping disabled veterans, too. AT EASE, A Therapeutic Equine Assisted Self-confidence Experience benefits soldiers suffering from head injuries or PTSD by teaching them how to interact with horses and giving them a safe space to recover. “We help families mend their relationships after people return from duty,” Schlueter told Dori Dahl of The Cambridge News and Deerfield Independent. “The horses help provide a common ground to begin again.”
MORE: How This Navy SEAL Uses His War Wounds to Help Other Soldiers
This Non-Profit Is Teaching Immigrants Much More Than Just Language
The Burmese Immigration Project is a nonprofit organization in Milwaukee that helps new arrivals from Myanmar learn English and settle in to their new lives. As volunteer coordinator Becca Schulz explains in this video, people fleeing ethnic conflict in Burma often end up in places they’d never imagined—like Wisconsin. The 35 volunteers in the Burmese Immigration Project use English immersion to teach immigrants the language, and provide kids with tutors twice a week to help with homework. Another part of their mission is introducing the kids to American culture—so the Burmese Immigration Project takes the kids to Brewers games and the zoo, and throws parties for their families to experience Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and Halloween.
Families Who Lose Their Homes Often Lose Their Pets, Too. So This Wisconsin Woman Set Things Right
Jennifer Lengel runs a dog boarding and grooming business in La Crosse, Wis. But when she discovered recently that pet owners who lose their homes are often forced to choose between getting housing in shelters and keeping their beloved dogs, she decided to create a nonprofit to help out. Her group, Homeless Hounds, provides free care and shelter to dogs until their families are able to reclaim them. Dogs can stay as long as they need to, and owners can come in to visit their pets whenever they want. The nonprofit, which relies on donations from the community, launched this year and so far has helped care for 30 dogs. To date, 16 pets have been returned to their families.