Injured vets find safety net online

Injured vets find safety net online
Chicago Tribune - United States
Web site connects potential donors with ex-soldiers struggling with pain and bills
By Sara Olkon Tribune reporter
March 2, 2009




MOLINE, Ill. — The requests are often humble: A disabled veteran in Decatur needed help with an overdue winter fuel bill. A soldier in Minnesota asked for a box spring and mattress—"it doesn't have to be new." A combat medic from Moline asked for clothes for his four young children.

Desperate for help and hobbled by federal bureaucracy, the men went public with their needs, recently posting their stories to total strangers on USATogether.org, a non-profit group created by a Silicon Valley entrepreneur to help injured veterans.

Strangers are coming to the aid of soldiers with things such as auto repair, a new washing machine or lodging for family while a soldier recuperates at a Veterans Affairs hospital far from home. Potential donors can read a soldier's profile and either help financially or donate goods and services.
click link for more