For the past couple of years, I had been hearing about some great things that an organization called Merivis had been doing for veterans and vet spouses in the Salesforce ecosystem.  They were training folks up with not only the technical skills, but also the soft skills and professional network that they needed to succeed.  Earlier this year, I got the opportunity to go a step further from just admiring Merivis from afar, and I got to be a coach during one of the May cohorts.  Over the span of a month, I got to jump in to the process for one Merivet, John, one on one and a few of his cohort mates through office hours to share my experience.  I was hooked.  I had finally found a place where I could use my expertise to serve a group of people I was passionate about seeing succeed.          

Right after that cohort finished, at the TrailheaDX conference, I finally got to meet John and a bunch of the Merivis family members in person.  Hearing the stories of careers boosted and lives changed reiterated the fact that I needed to double down to do anything I could to help Merivis and its mission.  I've continued to coach and advocate for Merivis as the year has gone on, and I've connected with many more members of this amazing community of vets, vet spouses, and advocates.  I've seen new careers start.  I've seen careers grow.  I've seen a family that rallies around each other to celebrate successes and comfort each other with temporary setbacks.  

As this giving campaign started being discussed, I realized I needed to double down yet again and help Merivis continue on their mission by helping to raise money.  The money raised in this campaign will go to further expand Merivis' efforts to serve the veteran and vet spouse community by giving them the tools they need for a great career.   I'm putting the first $100 down (edit: or $99 due to a quirk on how the donation was processed ;)) the toward my goal of $1000.  This is part of an overall goal of $60,000.  Please join me in supporting this community's success.