Iraq War Vet Shares Story; Urges ARM Industry to Support Military Veterans

After a distinguished military career that included combat duty in Iraq, Stephen “Corey” Davis came to ARMing Heroes for help late in 2010 in response to the organization’s call for applicants for its No Debts for Vets annual fundraiser and grant program.  A series of events related to his service left the family deep in debt and reliant upon credit cards to pay for living expenses.  Last year, he received a grant that made quite a difference.

Yesterday, Corey sat down with ARMing Heroes to talk about the grant he received and what it did for his family.  Listen to this 7-minute interview below:

ARM Industry $8,000 Short, Less Than Two Weeks to Go!

As of November 1, ARMing Heroes has secured slightly more than $17,000 in pledges and donations from people and companies shown on the ARMing Heroes website: http://www.armingheroes.org/arming-heroes/donors.

The current No Debts for Vets Charity Fundraising Drive ends at midnight on Friday, November 11, 2011 – less than 2 weeks away!  The goal of the drive is to raise $25,000 for military veterans and disburse grants in time for the holidays.  The organization is only $8,000 away from this goal.

Tax deductible donations are now being accepted online at www.armingheroes.org and via mail to PO Box 353, Collingswood, NJ 08108, payable to ARMing Heroes.  Only funds received by 5PM on Friday, November 11, 2011, will count toward this year’s goal and the recognition bestowed on various companies in the preceding categories.

Call to Action: Be Like SouthWest Credit

Southwest Credit held a drive among its employees during this year’s campaign and raised more than $6,000 in pledges and donations, to include employee totals and corporate matching dollars.  This medium-sized company did all that it could and more.  If just 1% of the more than 5,000 companies participating in the ARM industry matched what Southwest Credit was able to accomplish, the result would be more than $300,000 in dollars available to help military veterans.

Southwest Credit CCO David Schieszer summed up why his company went above and beyond.  “Southwest Credit is proud to play a small role in recognizing true American heroes by pledging $6250 to ARMing Heroes. When presented with the opportunity to be one of the first ARM organizations to participate in this charity, the entire management team rallied around the idea. All funds were raised internally by the employees of SWC and via a donation from the company itself. Times are tough for everyone, but the employees of SWC recognized the value of this charity and did an outstanding job of setting a goal for other ARM related companies to reach.”

ARMing Heroes is now running its second annual No Debts for Vets Charity Fundraising Drive.  The drive starts on September 11th each year and ends on Veteran’s Day, November 11th. Just like last year, ARMing Heroes will again recognize all donors, where permitted, by listing each donor on the ARMing Heroes website.  Additionally, ARMing Heroes will recognize those companies with the highest ratio of dollars donated per employee, combining corporate and employee funds, in various categories to include:

• Large collection agency (Over 1,000 employees)
• Mid-sized collection agency (101 to 1,000 employees)
• Small collection agency (Under 100 employees)
• Healthcare sector agency
• Financial sector agency
• Telecom and/or utility sector agency
• Government sector agency
• Higher education sector agency
• Commercial sector agency
• International agency
• Branch office
• Debt buyer
• Attorney firm
• Vendor, Letter Services Sector
• Vendor, Technology Sector
• Vendor, Data Services Sector
• Vendor, Other
• Media outlet
• Association

For a summary of the organization’s activities since its founding, review the press release section of the ARMing Heroes website here: http://www.armingheroes.org/press.aspx

ARMing Heroes was founded and began operating in March 2009.  The organization’s mission is to serve the needs of U.S. military veterans, including their spouse and children. ARMing Heroes fills a charitable niche by linking people identified with employment, credit, and financial counseling needs with the accounts receivable management industry, an industry uniquely poised to help in these areas.  Persons interested in volunteering their time and others interested in applying for benefits or pledging other forms of support are encouraged to contact the organization at www.armingheroes.org.

What Can I Do Right Now to Help?

• Visit www.armingheroes.org and join our One for a Warrior Program, sign up to help in other ways, or donate now.
• Friend us and post this article to your page on Facebook.
• Tweet about this article on Twitter.
• Join our group on LinkedIn, the ARMing Heroes Veterans Charity Supporter / Assistance Center.
• Comment on this article online and ask us to contact you.
• Forward this article via email to your key contacts.
• Print this article and fax it to your local congressional office and ask them to post our website on theirs as a resource for vets.