Nonprofit will mark holiday with 24-hour 'Vet-A-Thon' featuring veteran stories, experiences

When members of the nonprofit Veterans Breakfast Club were brainstorming ideas for Veterans Day, one member suggested a 12-hour livestream illustrating the group’s mission of preserving veterans’ stories and sharing them with future generations.

“We brought it to our board and they said, ‘Great – let’s make it 24 hours!’” said club founder and executive director Todd DePastino. “It’ll be streamed live on our YouTube channel, and anyone can come into the Zoom room and ask questions, or share a tribute to a family veteran.”

Beginning at midnight Thursday, the “Virtual Vet-A-Thon” will honor veterans nationwide with community tributes, veterans telling their stories, military trivia, archived videos and interviews, giveaways and guest hosts from around the world.

DePastino said even the time slots in the wee hours filled up quickly.

“We had quite a few Marines fighting it out for time slots like 3 a.m.,” he said with a laugh. “One of our board members, a Marine who’s served since 9/11, will have a conversation with his father, a fellow Marine who served in Vietnam. And this is the first time they’ll be sitting down and talking about those things.”

DePastino said the VBC has played an important role in not just preserving veterans’ stories of their wartime experiences, but also in getting some veterans to open up in general.

“It’s remarkable how often veterans don’t really share their military experience with their kids,” he said. “I think some veterans find it difficult even to begin to share those stories with family, because there just isn’t the language to convey that experience.”

The Vet-A-Thon will feature several fathers and children who share a military background, discussing their experiences.

In addition to streaming a full day of veteran-centered content, the Vet-A-Thon will also serve as a fundraiser to match a challenge grant offered by the Pritzker Military Foundation, which is sponsoring the event along with FedEx and Westinghouse Electric. The foundation will match new sponsorships and donations up to $25,000, in order to help VBC continue its mission. So far about $9,000 has been raised.

DePastino said the Vet-A-Thon is the ideal way to honor veterans during the holiday.

“I think the best way to thank veterans is to listen to their stories and remember their living history,” DePastino said. For more on the Vet-A-Thon, or for the Zoom meeting link, see VeteransBreakfastClub.org/vet-a-thon.