Mission
Purpose
“American Flag”
We at the CJ3 Foundation believe in this great country, the United States of America, and are proud of those who have selflessly served and sacrificed for it.
- Green Stripe – Represents U.S. Military Service Members and Veterans.
- Blue Stripe – Represents Law Enforcement.
- Red Stripe – Represents Firefighters and Emergency/First Responders.
“C” (Combined)
“J” (Joint)
“3” (Operations)
“Foundation”
Why And How The CJ3 Foundation Started
- For generations, Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts have been as integral to American political culture as pancake breakfasts, town squares and state fairs. In advocating for veterans — among the country’s most revered and coveted voters — the groups have wielded unquestioned power on Capitol Hill and inside the White House.
- Now, nearly a generation after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the oldest and largest veterans’ service organizations — known colloquially as “the Big Six” — are seeing their influence diluted, as newer, smaller organizations focused on post-9/11 veterans compete for money, political influence and relevance.
- The newer organizations reflect cultural shifts in a smaller community of younger and increasingly diverse veterans who are replacing the older, predominantly male veterans — many of them having served because of a draft for now long-ago wars.
- Leaner and more financially efficient than their predecessors, these newer veterans’ organizations focus on issues such as education and job training rather than on brick-and-mortar meeting spaces for veterans to gather or on resources spent lobbying in Washington.
- In addition, many officials of the newer organizations say, their goals are to integrate veterans back into civilian communities where they feel misunderstood and have lost ties, while helping civilians who have had little contact with veterans — active-duty troops make up less than 1 percent of the United States population — understand their experiences.
- At times, the politically progressive leaders of some of the organizations — many from the Vietnam era — take positions that appear out of step with more socially conservative members from previous wars. This has irritated Robert L. Wilkie, the Veterans Affairs secretary, who views these as unwelcome partisan positions, said several agency and veterans’ group officials.
Initially, Mr. Thomas was not real sure he wanted to start a charity as he is a husband, father, and grandfather with a full-time government job. The need for someone with access to appropriate resources and who has an in-depth understanding of the community was apparent. In response, Mr. Thomas decided to create the CJ3 Foundation. Mr. Thomas, with the help of some very compassionate and hardworking friends, took on the task of putting in the arduous work of building and forming the CJ3 Foundation and its support network. The CJ3 Foundation is incorporated and is an approved 501(c)(3) public charity foundation. Since its inception (and even while building and developing it, the CJ3 Foundation received a flood of individuals coming to the Foundation seeking assistance and we have built a “Dream Team” of wonderful individuals and partners with a desire to help our wounded American Heroes. The CJ3 Foundation stands ready to serve our Nation’s wounded heroes!
Mr. Thomas has absolutely no desire to replicate, compete with, nor take away from, what other phenomenal Veteran support agencies/organizations are doing, rather the CJ3 Foundation attempts to augment them and assist in eliminating the backlog by providing advocacy, mental health & wellness, service dogs, and outdoor activities to Recipients (wounded/disabled U.S. Military Service Members, Veterans, Law Enforcement, Firefighters, and Emergency/First Responders) who need them. The CJ3 Foundation works as an interlocutor for and with other VSO’s and non-profits who have like goals in order to assist veterans in need. We are merely filling a gap to prevent Veterans in need from falling into the cracks and disappearing. We have lost too many of our brothers and sisters already!