In my last article I wrote about The Mission Continues, an organization serving veterans from Maine to Hawaii. Today I am focusing on one veteran who is serving returning veterans.
Mike Pereira is from Bellingham, Washington. He served in the United States Army from 2000 until 2006. He served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and in Operation Enduring Freedom. In July 2007, he was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder resulting from his time in Irag and Afghanistan.
Mike is the Fellowship Program Coordinator for the organization. The organization hopes to award at least 40 Fellows in 2010. The Fellowships are granted to returning veterans who want to continue serving others. His main job is to ensure that all returning veterans have access to the program.
After leaving the Army he was involved in a program in his home area. The effort, that would be later named Warriors in Service through The Mission Continues, gave veterans a chance to continue to serve others. These projects were found through Aly Hoover at the Whatcom Volunteer Center in the state of Washington. Some of them helped seniors with chores around the house; i.e. shopping, cleaning, laundry, cutting grass, etc. It was a great way for veterans to continue serving others while adjusting to life back in America.
During Mike’s time in Iraq he met Eric Greitens, the founder of The Mission Continues. After working in his home area he wanted to continue serving others and contacted Eric about becoming an employee of his organization. In September 2009, Mike joined The Mission Continues and continuing his mission of service to others.
If you would like to find out more about the organization, please check out their website, www.missioncontinues.org.
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