Easter Seals Disability Services

Easter Seals NH Launches Veterans Count Club Provider Program

Businesses Offering In-Kind Goods & Services to Military Families Encouraged to Join

Military service presents many challenges to service members, veterans and their families. To help overcome these challenges, Easter Seals NH has launched a new program—The Veterans Count Club Provider Program—that gives businesses and individuals the opportunity to provide in-kind goods and services to help military families statewide in need throughout the deployment cycle.

In 2007, Easter Seals NH Veterans Count partnered with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and the New Hampshire National Guard to implement a program that offers support to military families dealing with deployment. It became apparent early on that there was a need to help those families deal with emergency financial situations; so the Veteran Count Club was formed.

The Veterans Count Club—which supports services provided by Easter Seals Veterans Count—is an individual and corporate membership organization created to ensure veterans and their families do not have to endure personal struggles after sacrificing so much for our country. The Veterans Count Club provides financial assistance to veterans and their families in need of emergency services.

Veterans Count Club Provider Program is an offshoot of the Veterans Count Club and is for any individual, business or organization willing to commit to providing $300 or more in needed services and/or products through any combination of in-kind contributions, discounts and/or monetary gifts for a period of one year.

The program recently welcomed its first two charter members 48HourPrint.com and CCA Global Partners.

“The generosity demonstrated by our Charter Veterans Count Club Providers lays the groundwork for others who may wish to join us in this critical effort of donating in-kind services and products to veterans, service members and their families,” said Pat Bernard, VCC Advisory Board Member and Committee Chair for the Provider Program. “With New Hampshire facing its largest military deployment in the state’s history—nearly 1,800 soldiers before the end of the year—the need is greater than ever for the community to come together to support them and their families during the challenging times ahead.”

Chairman/Co-CEO of CCA Global Partners Howard Brodsky said making the donation of flooring to a military family in need was an easy decision to make.

“Veteran’s Count Club is a tremendous organization that works on the behalf of Easter Seals to support our troops in so many different ways. CCA Global Partners is happy to be part of the launch of the Veterans Count Club Provider Program,” said Chairman/Co-CEO of CCA Global Partners Howard Brodsky. “We supplied a product that a veteran and his family were in need of and to be able to say that we have helped improve a veteran’s life is a great feeling. We were honored to be part of this effort.”

48HourPrint.com President and CEO Ray Pinard agrees and acknowledges his donation of printing services to help promote the program was a natural fit for this Army veteran.

“Too often, we fail to remember that someone serving in the military often has a family back home that has special needs during periods when their loved one is deployed,” said 48HourPrint.com President and CEO Ray Pinard. “Easter Seals NH is committed to doing whatever they can reasonably do to help service members and their families. As an Army veteran myself, I am more than happy to be able to offer the services of 48HourPrint.com to support the mission of the Veterans Count Program.”

All service members and their families are paired with an Easter Seals Care Coordinator who helps them to access Veterans Count Club funding and gifts-in-kind to provide direct emergency financial support that may include food, fuel assistance, utilizes, auto care, home maintenance, transportation, housing, rent, medical bills, child care, and other goods and services that promote self-sufficiency.

Easter Seals Care Coordinators currently manage more than 1,000 individual cases and that number is expected to grow to 2,000 in the coming year. Since Easter Seals launched the program, more than 1,500 military families have been served.

If you do not have an in-kind good or service to offer but would like to support New Hampshire military families, Veterans Count Club individual memberships start at $150 and go to Charter Membership of $10,000. Corporate memberships start at $1,500 and go to $25,000 and above.

If you are interested in providing help to a veteran and/or their family in need of emergency services through an Individual, Corporate or Provider Veterans Count Club membership, please contact Easter Seals Vice President of Major Gifts and Planned Giving Linda Sirak at 603.621.3456 or lsirak@eastersealsnh.org. Or, you may donate online at http://www.eastersealsnh.org/.

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IN PHOTO: Left to right Easter Seals President and CEO Larry Gammon, 48hourprint.com President and CEO Ray Pinard, CCA Global Partners Chairman/Co-CEO Howard Brodsky and VCC Advisory Board Member and Committee Chair for the Provider Program Pat Bernard. Larry Gammon and Pat Bernard present local businessmen Ray Pinard and Howard Brodsky with certificates for being Charter Members of the Easter Seals Veterans Count Club Provider Program.