“It makes me feel good to do something,” shares Eric. Eric has been volunteering at MSC’s William J. Wood Veteran House (WJW) for the last two years.
After college, Eric joined the U.S. Army. Stationed at Ft. Lewis for most of the time, he was in military intelligence and his last assignment was at University of Washington as an Assistant Professor of Military Science. After ten years, getting married and adding a son to his family, Eric felt it was time to transition careers and entered the technology field in the private sector.
Then, the September 11 attacks happened. Eric felt pulled back and joined the U.S. Army Reserve.
Eric continued to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve for 20 years. Then, one day while lifting weights in his garage, Eric suffered a stroke. He was in the hospital for six weeks and was in intense rehabilitation therapy for a year and a half. In November, it will be five years since his stroke and Eric still sometimes struggles with communication and reading.
No longer able to work, Eric was looking for something meaningful to do with his time and a Veterans Affairs staff member suggested he look into volunteering with MSC at WJW. Now Eric fills his time by helping the veterans and their families at WJW.
“I’ve been through some of the same experiences so we have a connection,” shares Eric. Eric volunteers about 15 hours each week and spends a lot of that time driving veterans and their families to the food bank or on other excursions. He also staffs the front desk and has worked in the computer lab.
“WJW helps veterans by giving them a chance, a roof over their head, and a lot of opportunities if they want to take advantage of them,” shares Eric.
“Eric is a great asset to us here at WJW. To have someone of his military rank (Colonel) here helping us is an honor and a privilege,” shares Alan Clapper, services coordinator at WJW. “I admire his stability with our veterans and his compassion towards them. Eric is always quick to have a serious conversation or to just joke around like he’s always been here. We are very blessed to have Eric here and he’s become one of our own.”
