Today we’d like to introduce you to Timothy Stroud
Hi Timothy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
After transitioning out of the U.S. Army as a Combat Medic, I quickly saw that my brothers and sisters-in-arms were still struggling. They were not gravitating to the Legacy Groups (VFW, American Legion, DAV) and needed to find their “tribe” so they could stay connected. I worked with several VA hospitals and found that some have outreach programs and some didn’t. The ones that did have them were grant funded and poorly promoted. Those quickly went away and it was reported that Veterans didn’t want those services. They DID but they just didn’t want them from the VA.
To ensure Veterans and their family members were staying connected, my daughter and I founded Stay Tuned for Veterans. Our non-profit organizations guides our heroes to their Road to Recovery. We connect them to Mental Health and other resources through The Arts. We offer FREE and fun classes such as dancing, singing, podcasting, acting, drawing, becoming an author, photography, videography and so many more.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s been a roller coaster ride since we really connect with our Veterans. It’s not all karaoke and high-fives with our organization. We hear the voices of those who need to connect and we guide them appropriately. Because we work with over 500 other Veteran Service Organizations, we can connect our heroes and their families to the resources when they need them most. Even though I have 20 years of experience in non-profits, we struggle with financing since we don’t qualify for a lot of grants…yet.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m known as the bald, energetic guy with the positive attitude! I love to lift up others and I’ve been encouraging others to find their voices. We have built a great community in Texas and other U.S. States are following our lead. Since we have such a community of care, more and more Veterans are relocating to the Lone Star State. I’ve been blessed to work with some ahhhhhhhmazing people and I’m thankful that I have a team that loves to help as much as I do. One of the volunteer projects that we co-host with the Greater Houston Veterans Rotary Club is Operation Turkey. Last year, we fed 11,300 people in Houston for Thanksgiving. We delivered every single meal!
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
That’s a deep question and one of the things that matters most to me is training the next generation of leaders to be empathetic and action takers. As a nation, we built a great infrastructure with the VFWs, American Legions and DAVs but we have to be flexible on how we communicate or we’ll continue closing posts and chapters as our current membership becomes less active.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://staytunedforveterans.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/staytunedforvets/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/staytunedforveterans
- Twitter: https://x.com/staytuned4vets
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@staytunedforvets
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stroudmarketing/
Image Credits
All participants have agreed to have their faces and likenesses published.
