The Military obviously holds a place near and dear to my heart. To this day, the men and women I served with are still some of the people closest to my heart. We trained together, we played together. We shared experiences that men and women who have not served may never be able to relate to. We know, with a wink and a nod, that there is a bond between us that will never be broken.  That is true for all Veterans. When one vet meets another for the first time, we can always count on giving each other a hard time if they were in a different branch of the service. If we were in the same branch, then we will make fun of each other’s job. If we had the same job, we will knock the other person’s unit.

However, I have noticed that for some reason my fellow men and women that have served in our Armed Forces are not being treated the way they should be.  Not by the average person. Not by you and me. I dare say that to the best of my knowledge the vast majority of people in the United States go out of their way to tell service men and women that they appreciate their service. We lift the veterans and the active duty military up in our thoughts, our prayers. We buy them lunches, we pay for their coffee when we see them. We recognize the sacrifice they have made and give them the honor they have earned.

But that is not the case with the government, it seems.  For some reason, the very government that decides to send men and women off to war, the very government that makes the soldier fulfill their pledge and place their lives in harm’s way to defend the values and ideals of this country, cannot keep up with the help needed.  We have all read the headlines. We have heard the horror stories. Veterans today are taking their lives at a rate of 20 per day.

This, in my opinion, is a black eye on our country. It is a sin that the leaders of our great nation have allowed it to get to this level, and as of right now, IF they even talk about it, that is ALL they do. There is not enough action taken to fix what they KNOW is a problem, not enough effort  towards trying to understand the entirety of the problem.  However, I cannot fix that. It is only in my power to do what I can, and even that is very limited.

So, what CAN I do?

I can make an effort. I can hope, I can dream. I can come up with a plan and try to inspire those around me to see value in that plan. Hopefully, if they see enough value, I will be able to get them to partner up with me and donate time, skill, expertise, and yes, even money, to help me to help the homeless veterans that are in our area.

As you read and look around this website, you will see that, as of right now, I have found several great people who have partnered with me toward the cause of helping veterans. Together, we have formed “Pennies For Quarters”, and our goal is to get those homeless veterans who desire to be off the streets a home while they take a year to get their lives back on track. This is an endeavor born out of a passion to serve. Not just this country, not just this community, but that part of us which has sacrificed, or been willing to sacrifice, in order to help keep it that beacon, that “Light on the Hill”.

We hope that you will pull up alongside us.

Thanks,

Matthew Rainwater
Founder/President
Pennies For Quarters
360-775-4222

“Helping those that stood for US, to stand on THEIR OWN”