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Dear Volunteers,
We broke records this month for the number of calls we received on our 1-800 number. The awareness of our program keeps spreading and we welcome the ability to keep helping our veterans.
Many of you have expressed an interest in having more opportunities to meet-up with other volunteers in your area, and we listened. Our new Outreach Coordinator, Nathan Cross, is using some upcoming veteran-focused events throughout the state as opportunities for volunteers in the surrounding area to meet up with him and each other.
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Check out the list farther down in the "Regional Volunteer Meet-Ups" section, and reach out to Nathan if you are interested in attending one in your area!
Stephanie Zarb
Program Manager
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Volunteer Veteran of the Month
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Jon Luker was our Volunteer of the Month for June! He has been making tremendous contributions to the program ever since he became a volunteer in July 2012. Jon has always shown the utmost dedication to helping fellow veterans, often going out of his way to meet in person with individuals he’s assisting.
Not only is he an excellent volunteer
who consistently logs his interactions, he’s helped recruit many other v
olunteers into the program.
Read more about Jon...
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We are thrilled to welcome these new volunteers to our team this month. Our new Outreach Coordinator, Nathan Cross, is actively and successfully recruiting throughout the state.
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Ben Clark
Marine Corps Veteran, Jackson
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John Drake
Navy Veteran, Clinton Township
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Marcus Ecie
Army Veteran, Brownstown
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Jim Hause
Army Veteran, Rockford
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Jesse Pahman
Army Veteran, Grand Rapids
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Cassandra Parks*
Air Force Veteran, Ann Arbor
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Dennis Patrick
Army Veteran, Ashley
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Ethan Smith
Army National Guard Veteran, Livonia
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Chris Wilson
Marine Corps Veteran, Mount Pleasant
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Thank you to choosing to volunteer with us and welcome to the team!
(*Cassandra is also our new Administrative Assistant.)
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Top interaction log submitters in June:
Carl Underhill - 16
Steve Alguire - 13
Robert Calhoun - 9
Gabe Gallias - 7
Ron Springer - 7
Cliff Tholen -7
Most events attended and logged in June:
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Thank you for taking the time to submit your logs and using the website to communicate with us. These submissions are key in helping us continue to serve Michigan’s veterans.
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This Month's Training Anniversaries
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The following volunteers are celebrating their training anniversaries with the program this month:
Seven Years!
Bob Short
Five Years
Roland Lindh
Jon Luker
Four Years
Rebecca Mott
Alfonse VanHese
Three Years
Chris Baeumler
Ron Kazmierczak
Two Years
Dee Harris
Larry Hebert
Joel O'Connell
One Year
Monica Alderman
Gabe Gallias
Cynthia Horvath
Mark Reynolds
David Rojas
Ken Wood
Jim Wurn
Thank you for your service!
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Regional Volunteer Meet-Ups
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We hope you can make it to one of these upcoming events. You will have a chance to meet and get to know other volunteers in your region and our new Outreach Coordinator, Nathan Cross. If you are interested in attending any of these, contact Nathan at crossna@umich.edu or (734) 998-5827.
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Upper Peninsula Volunteer Meet-Up @ the
UP State Fair
Saturday, August 14 | Escanaba
Southeast Michigan Volunteer Meet-Up @ the
Selfridge Air Show
Saturday, August 18 & Sunday, August 19 | Selfridge Air National Guard Base
Mid-Michigan Volunteer Meet-Up @ the
Civil War Muster
Saturday, August 26 & Sunday, August 27 | Jackson
Don't see a meet-up scheduled in your region? Not to worry! Nathan is looking for possible events in the Grand Rapids and Northern Michigan regions to schedule for meet-ups. Reach out to him if you know of any upcoming events you think would be ideal for these or other regions (his contact info is above).
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New Searchable Support Call Note Tool
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Did you know that you can access a collection of our most commonly referenced publications online? We use an online publication tool called issuu to display our past support call notes and Resource Guide. You can check us out on issuu here and access a handy how-to guide on how to use and navigate it here.
But wait... There's more! Cassandra Parks recently created a searchable Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that catalogs past support call notes available on issuu. She will be updating this searchable spreadsheet regularly, and you can access the most up-to-date version of it here.
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Interested in Representing Buddy-to-Buddy at an Event?
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Would you like to represent Buddy-to-Buddy at a veteran-focused event in your community? Do you know of an event that you think someone from Buddy-to-Buddy should attend? If so, contact Outreach Coordinator Nathan Cross at crossna@umich.edu or (734) 998-5827.
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Administrative Assistant Cassandra Parks (who is now also a volunteer!) with volunteer Adam Obanjoko at the Capitol in Lansing for a veterans town hall event
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Outreach Coordinator Nathan Cross touring Silver Stars, a housing facility for low-income veterans in Battle Creek
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Buddy-to-Buddy is part of Military Support Programs and Networks (M-SPAN),
a portfolio of military mental health programs within the University of Michigan Depression Center.
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