Wisconsin Veterans Chamber awards over $20,000 to veteran serving nonprofit organizations

MILWAUKEE- The Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce announced Thursday the organization would be donating more than $20,000 to three Wisconsin based nonprofits serving veterans, service members, and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds were raised for the Chamber’s COVID-19 Nonprofit Relief Fund in partnership with Lift for the 22, an organization providing health and wellness programming to military veterans. In addition to Lift for the 22, the funds will be donated to Milwaukee Homeless Veterans Initiative and the Center for Veterans Issues, Inc.

“Service providers across Wisconsin provide critical care and support to vulnerable veterans and their families, and they have been forced to close or scale back their services due to the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis,” said Saul Newton, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce. “There’s no way to express our gratitude for every person, business, and organization that has contributed to this campaign. We know that our nonprofit partners need support now more than ever, and the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce is incredibly proud to be a part of a community that steps up to make sure we get through this together.”

The Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce includes more than 100 service organizations among its members. According to a survey the Veterans Chamber conducted of the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic’s impact on nonprofit service providers, respondents reported short term or temporary housing forced to shut down or reduce capacity, food pantries closed or scaled back, employment resources overwhelmed by increased demand, and disruption of services for health and wellness care and treatment. These responses echoed a report published by the Bob Woodruff Foundation of the impacts of Coronavirus on the nation’s veteran population and service providers, which concluded that “economic challenges could eliminate a landscape of organizations that serve veterans.”

“Veteran service providers need our help to make it through this crisis and deliver the care and support depended on by so many needy and at risk veterans,” said Newton. “While we are proud to be able to offer some support to our nonprofit partners serving veterans and their families, we know the need remains great and there’s more work to be done. We will continue to work to ensure that Wisconsin’s veterans community can continue to serve those who need support the most.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.