Spencer Kympton, president of the Mission Continues, a nonprofit group dedicated to empowering veterans, wants to change the way we perceive men and women coming home after military service. “The general population believes that this generation of veterans need our thanks, they need our gratitude, they need things from us,” Kympton says. “What they deserve is a new endeavor and a way to serve us.”
The Mission Continues was created with the belief that veterans want to continue to serve their country when they return home, and that helping others will help them in their transition back to civilian life. To accomplish this, the nonprofit places vets in six-month service fellowships across the country in organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Since it was founded in 2007 — by
Eric Greitens, a Rhodes Scholar and former Navy SEAL — the Mission Continues has had about 1,000 fellows. “We’re seeing it has professional impact, it has improved their relationships and it’s improving their health and well-being,” Kympton says.
Editors’ note: Since the original publication of this story, Spencer Kympton, President of the Mission Continues, has become a NationSwell Council member.
MORE: Meet The Soldiers Turned Roadies Coming to a Stadium Near You