Every Third Saturday New Veteran Center
Minneapolis, Minn. (Star Tribune, Every Third Saturday): Co-founders of Every Third Saturday (a veteran’s support center and company), Jessi and Tom McKenna, are in the process of building a new headquarters that will be designed for the use of veterans and other community members. The ultimate purpose of the building is to provide a safe, welcoming, and comfortable environment for all veterans, but especially those who struggle with their mental health, PTSD, and homelessness.
This mission is especially important to co-founder, Tom McKenna, as he has his own experiences with PTSD after serving in the Marine Corps. McKenna touches on the effects that serving can take on your mental health and how ultimately the effects can often lead to suicide within the veteran community, which is exactly what he intends to combat by building the new Every Third Saturday headquarters. The building will be equipped with a coffee shop that will be open to the public, the cafe will be named “Rick’s Coffee Bar” in memory of a veteran who died by suicide. Additionally, there will be a patio which will be made available for use by veterans and their families. Veterans will also have exclusive access to a fitness center.
McKenna explains that the fitness center will remain private for use by veterans to allow for accommodations that go hand-in-hand with PTSD that vets experience. Examples include, not being comfortable in an environment with unknown people dropping weights and making startling noises, triggering stressors for vets with PTSD.
Other current projects that ETS has been working on include a Warriors Path course. This program is designed to offer soldiers that deal with PTSD a path of healing for the betterment of their overall health. As the course is an intense 12-week process, a veteran that is enrolled may not be able to commit their time to wherever their place of work is, ETS agrees to pay the enrolled veteran a salary matched to what the veteran’s employer would pay so that financial needs do not get in the way of a veteran that wants to improve their quality of life, especially if living with PTSD.
To cover the cost that it takes to keep the Warriors Path running, a golf tournament was held, solely for fundraising purposes. Proceeds raised from the golf tournament will specifically go to the financial support that ETS offers to those who enroll in their Warriors Path course. LockLeed International had the honor of being participants and sponsors in the ETS golf tournament fundraiser. There was not only an impressive silent auction, but also a delicious lunch and dinner was served to participants of the golf tournament by ETS. 164 golfers enjoyed food, golfing, games, and the silent auction.
Post golf tournament, Tom McKenna shared the history of Every Third Saturday and how the non-profit came to be. He shared that it started nearly 11 years ago and began with passing out necessities to veterans that fell victims to homelessness. The McKenna’s would do this ‘every third Saturday’ which is where the organization's name originated. As Tom and Jessi focused on the growth of ETS, by 2016 they became an official non-profit organization. In 2017, the company moved to its current location, just blocks away from the Veteran’s hospital, which is also not far away from the new location ETS is in the process of constructing. Tom was asked how 2021’s 2nd annual golf tournament differed from 2020’s 1st, he shared that this year was much bigger: there were more players, sponsors, and money raised.
If you or a veteran you know struggles with PTSD, you are encouraged to utilize the ETS facility and support system, especially if post traumatic stress disorder is affecting your productivity and effectiveness in the workplace.
For more information visit everythirdsaturday.org
