The non-profit Veteran Tickets Foundation provides free tickets to active-duty Military and Veterans to help them relax, strengthen relationships and connect with their communities.
Eight years ago, I was thrilled to attend Super Bowl XLII, which pitted the New York Giants against the New England Patriots in Glendale, Arizona. Before the game, I watched with pride as the military color guard marched on the field, but as soon as they were done, I watched them march off the field and continue right out of the stadium. Though they were an integral part of the pomp and circumstance, those Servicemembers did not get to stay to watch the game.
After making that observation, I became aware of a number of empty seats scattered throughout the stadium. Throughout the game, I continued to think about how much it would have meant to me to be able to sit in one of those seats during my time as a young sailor, and how much every single one of America’s Servicemembers and Veterans would probably enjoy sitting in those empty seats, too. So, I decided to do something to fill those seats.
That experience directly inspired me to found the non-profit Veteran Tickets Foundation — Vet Tix — with the goal of giving free tickets to Servicemembers and Veterans to help them relax, strengthen relationships and connect with their communities.
Since making that decision, it’s been amazing to see Vet Tix grow into a substantial organization that is a major part of the Veteran and military communities. Today, more than 475,000 verified Veterans and Servicemembers have officially registered as Vet Tixers and are able to enter lotteries for tickets through the Tickets for Troops program, or apply for the experience of a lifetime through Hero’s Wish. Vet Tix has provided more than 2.5 million tickets for events across the country ranging from college and professional sports to concerts and theater performances.
Read Vet Tix founder and CEO Michael A Focareto’s III VAntage Point blog.
You can learn more about our work and sign up to become a Vet Tixer by visiting www.VetTix.org.