Winner of the 2020 Bridge Builder ABBY Award
Our Mission and Purpose
About DTOM 22/0
We are a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Foundation. DTOM is a military acronym that stands for Dont Tread On Me. The meaning dates back to before the founding of our nation, when in 1775 the Navy used it as the first Navy Jack. The 22 stands for the recognized average of 22 Veterans per day being killed by suicide. The 0 represents our goal. When you add up the average circle of friends and family that affects EVERYDAY is comes to 2,860, PER DAY! We are working on building up our families and the support structure to help our Heroes find their purpose again. To show these people how important they are. As a people, we must come together and find other ways to end this plague on our Heroes! What is being done now is not enough and we cannot let them be taken from us. Saying "Thank You" is NOT enough. With all they have sacrificed, it is our DUTY to take care of them . This is our plan.
DTOM 22/0 Foundation Mission Statement and Vision
The mission of the DTOM 22/0 Foundation and Veterans Ranch is to provide a safe place for healing and recovery for military service members, veterans, and their families while encouraging engaging, and positively impacting their lives through hope, faith, and family activities, and helping them learn to live again with purpose.
Vision: To end suicide among our service men and women, through mentorship, support, and building stronger families.
Purpose
Chris Reder
As Founder and CEO, at 17, I enlisted and proudly served as a Cryptologic Naval Intelligence Analyst, for 7 years in the United States Navy. My career was lost due to an unavoidable accident on my way home after duty. I spent many years feeling lost and alone and my struggles with the VA only complicated matters. A lot of that time, I admittedly, was in a pretty dark place and was not making the best decisions. I couldn't find a job that satisfied me and I had a very hard time acclimating back to civilian life, I moved around a lot and struggled as a single parent. Finally after years and years of struggling, I started to do some veteran volunteer work with a couple of different Veteran Service Organizations and saw I wasn't alone, other vets were experiencing the same things and a huge loss of comradery like I was. When you sign you name on the line to serve and give to your Nation, up to and including your life, you join a Brotherhood like no other, it may be what causes such a disconnect with the civilian sector. But, at that point, I knew I wanted to help other veterans get through some of their own struggles and show them their life had hope, they were wanted and needed in society. We need to show our Heroes with real action that there are people that care and there is a safe place to go where you are needed. So, we formed a team, because #wefighttogether, and we set out to make sure #hopeiswortheverypenny. With the main goal of helping the families being destroyed everyday and tirelessly working to end veteran suicide and build families. We need not only individuals but corporations, working together hand in hand to give back to our heroes that sacrificed so much. Sometimes "Thank You" is not enough! We need everyday Americans to put their money where their mouth is and to help. Think of where your life would be without the sacrifice of these brave heroes, It is a very small percentage of the population that protects the majority, it's time to give them a hand up and take care of them when they come home! We can no longer send our heroes to fight our battles and when they come home broken just say thank you. Help us, help them!
