Our Name Has Changed, Our Commitment to America’s Veterans Has Grown

Fifteen years ago, a small group of volunteers in Los Angeles founded a nonprofit organization they named the Military and Veterans Appreciation Trust Foundation (MVAT). These founders, veterans all, were motivated by a belief that America’s service members and veterans needed and deserved greater support than they were receiving from the underfunded programs available to them at that time. Their mission, to do more, guides us today.

Drawing support from Los Angeles-area institutions and individuals, beginning two years before MVAT was established, they put on annual golf tournaments to raise funds to be distributed to other veteran-serving nonprofit organizations. That tournament, now known as the Heroes Linked Golf Classic, continues to be a yearly highlight.

We have come a long way since those beginnings. Today, we are a national nonprofit offering invaluable programs that support our Heroes—those serving veterans, their spouses, and Gold Star families.

When it became clear that the little that was being done to support our veterans and their spouses with regard to their post-service careers - which for the vast majority will last far longer than their time in uniform - was insufficient, we created the Heroes Linked program, which we launched in 2018.

In 2021, we bestowed our first annual Distinguished Service Award on our founder and long-time Board Chair, Don Schwarz, for his incredible commitment to the welfare of America’s veterans and their families. Since then, the award has been presented to leading veterans advocates and award-winning actors Joe Mantegna in 2022 and Gary Sinise in 2023.

In 2022, we launched the Heroes Home Repair program to provide no-cost home repair so that service-disabled veterans could comfortably and safely remain in their homes.

By early 2023, the Heroes Linked program counted more than 2,500 Veterans and Advisors engaging in mentoring, advising, and skill building, with a further 77,000 receiving actionable information every month via email. Additionally, along with listings of key veteran resources at the federal, state, county, and municipal levels, a daily average of 3,900 veteran-friendly job listings appear on Heroes Linked daily.

By the end of 2023, we launched Gold Star College Care, a new program that will provide the children of Gold Star Families with supplemental financial support to help them afford the many costs associated with higher education.

These changes reflected our steadfast commitment to doing even more for America’s veterans, those serving, military spouses, and Gold Star families.

And now, as we prepare to greet 2024, we have changed our name to best reflect this further strengthened commitment to a national audience.

We are now Heroes Linked.

And our Heroes Linked program is now known as the Heroes Network.

2024 will be a critical year in our growth and, therefore, our ability to assist even more veterans and their families, Gold Star survivors, and those currently serving. We know we can count on you to support our efforts.

Together, we are a community of care and support.