G.I. Go Fund helps veterans transition to civilians

Since 2006, the G.I. Go Fund has been providing resources to veterans to ease their process back into civilian life.

The charity was started by a Garden State group following the death of their friend, Army Lt. Seth Dvorin, from an IED blast in Iraq.

Co-Founder and Executive Director Jack Fanous said he and his friends were guilt-stricken after Dvorin's death because they felt they did not do enough to reach out to him while he was serving in Iraq. So, they decided to take action in his honor.

"Let's turn that guilt into something serious and let's help veterans," Fanous said. "Let's not just live with the guilt."

The non-profit assists veterans in a variety of ways by helping them find employment, access housing, and secure their educational and health benefits.

Fanous said they are most proud of their jobs program, which includes training, career planning, resume writing tutorials, job fairs, and connecting vets with prospective employers.

"We really believe we are making a real impact on the employment services for veterans," he explained.

Thousands of veterans have directly benefited from the G.I. Go Fund's programs and services over the last decade. Fanous said they have found many of the issues that returning veterans contend with can be solved with solid employment.

"Housing, unemployment, financial needs, health care. All of those go away with a good job," Fanous said. "Most importantly, if we can help a veteran find a job, all of those problems go away and they take care of themselves."

Fanous credits the community support for helping to make their innovative ideas a reality.

"We might have created the program, but it's the people, who support us and the people who bring those dollars to the table, that are really out there helping veterans more than anybody."

Another game-changer for the group was a partnership formed with the city of Newark when U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) served as mayor. Booker embraced the cause and need to help veterans, even providing the G.I. Go Fund with their own office in Newark City Hall.

Fanous said the partnership served as a way to raise the profile of the issue while also giving veterans access to essential services.

"Awareness is the number one key. It can't just be veterans helping veterans. The entire community has to come together."

While the group has outgrown their Newark City Hall office, they are still offering the same level of service to veterans around New Jersey, in all of their major cities. Fanous said he hopes to continue to bridge the gap and open lines of communication between veterans and civilians.

"To make sure that the civilian population is reconnected with the veteran population."

Find out more about this groundbreaking Garden State program by visiting the G.I. Go Fund website and Facebook page.