Struggling? You're not alone. Veterans Crisis Line: Call or text 988 (Press 1) · Free · Confidential · 24/7
Community & Service
Veterans leave the military with leadership, teamwork, initiative, and a desire to contribute. Operation Serve creates opportunities to put those qualities back to work in the communities veterans call home.
Why this pillar exists
44%
of post-9/11 veterans report feeling disconnected from family, friends, and their community since leaving the military.
Wounded Warrior Project · Annual Warrior Survey
1 in 2
post-9/11 veterans personally knows a service member or veteran who died by suicide since 9/11.
Wounded Warrior Project · Annual Warrior Survey
Service is what most veterans miss most about the military — showing up for something bigger than themselves, alongside people who need them. Loss of that purpose is a documented driver of post-service depression, substance use, and suicide. Meanwhile, the neighborhoods veterans live in still need volunteers.
Esprit puts veterans back on mission at ground level — school-supply drives, park cleanups, memorial activations, tree plantings — so the impulse to serve has a channel and a squad on day one.
Flagship initiative
Start with the veteran.
We don't want to sit in an office and decide what every neighborhood needs.
We want to find veterans who are already there — veterans who own businesses, coach kids, organize their neighborhoods, volunteer, lead nonprofits, or simply see something in their community and think 'someone should do something about this.'
Operation Serve gives them somewhere to bring that idea.
01
Find a veteran already connected to a community. Veterans can apply directly or someone can nominate them.
02
What does your community need? EDC learns about the veteran, neighborhood, existing work, local relationships, and proposed idea.
03
Turn the idea into an actionable project. EDC works with the veteran to determine partners, volunteers, resources, funding, logistics, and scope.
04
Bring people together. Veterans, service members, businesses, nonprofits, students, sponsors, community members, and volunteers serve side by side.
05
Execute the project with the community — not simply for the community. With them.
06
Measure the impact, maintain the relationships, and identify what comes next.
The recap
25+ community partners. 300+ backpacks. Free haircuts, vaccines, food, and family time. Back of the Yards showed up for its neighbors, and its neighbors showed up for it.
Read the full Back to School storyIn their words
Damian on why we started in Back of the Yards, how the coalition came together, and what "find, listen, build" actually looks like on the ground.
Featured story
This started with one veteran
Now we're looking for the next one. If you're a veteran with an idea for your community, or you know one we should meet, tell us.
Submission does not guarantee funding, sponsorship, or selection. EDC reviews proposed projects for mission alignment, feasibility, safety, available resources, and potential community impact.
Under this pillar
Programming that puts Community & Service into practice year-round.
Lead this pillar
Pillar Team Leaders own the calendar, recruit the volunteers, and keep the work moving between events. If you can commit real time and want your fingerprints on something meaningful, this is the door.
How to plug in
Volunteer roles under Community & Service and direct sponsorship of the Community & Service Fund. Both feed the same programs.
Volunteer
The Back to School Giveaway and every community day is built by shift-based volunteers.
Sponsor this pillar
Continued service, past the uniform.
Powers the Back to School Giveaway, neighborhood service days, and the year-round community events that keep veterans engaged in the neighborhoods where they live.
The other three pillars
Standing with veterans
The companies, nonprofits, universities, and community organizations building Community & Service alongside the Foundation.
