We’ve Come a Long Way from Mission Daybreak: Announcing Operation Debt-Day
Roughly 2 years ago in June 2022, the VA announced Mission Daybreak, a contest with $20M in prize money to reward organizations or individuals who could come up with innovative ways to reduce veteran suicide. A number of us in Veteran Mission Possible (VMP) joined a list totaling 1,371 applicants. We had high hopes.
At the end of this months-long ordeal, only 40 organizations were invited to share in the $20M jackpot—40! Thus 1,331 of those contestants’ hopes were dashed. In response, VMP founders invited them to join us in creating our own Solution Provider group. In September 2022, we had our first members.
And here we are, today. Some left, some stayed, new members appeared. The shared goal is still the same – reduce veteran suicide.
I won’t go into the seemingly hopeless statistics of homelessness, PTSD, job insecurity, food insecurity, divorces, and isolation that are known social determinants leading to suicidal ideation, and the act itself.
It’s enough to know that out of VMP has come a 501(c)(3) charitable private foundation called End Veteran Debt (EVD). Its approach to reducing veteran suicide is simple and singular – abolish the upstream or current circumstances of unpaid and unpayable debt.
EVD is taking this nationally – Operation Debt-Day
On June 6, 2024, Operation Debt-Day (in tribute to D-Day, June 6, 1944) was successfully launched. The only things missing are—you and 79 others. What?
Here are the three most important links to review to understand the impact we intend to have when we bring aboard 80 organizations willing to go the distance with us to obliterate $80,000,000 in veteran debt. Symbolically, this is $1M in debt forgiveness for each of the 80 years that have passed since June 6, 1944.
This means that each partner is responsible for $1M. (Don’t faint – together we only need to co-fund-raise between $25 and $50,000 to enable the purchase and abolish $1M in debt on the open market.)
Three must-view links from the site to give you a greater insight into its importance:
- The Debt-Day Campaign.
- Now Hear This – Veteran Media Center.
- My Life is a Drain on My Family – the Michael Thorin story
You are invited to the weekly Zoom Meeting for End Veteran Debt, Noon Eastern Time, U.S.A.
