Award-winning program helps veterans and members of the military create cherished memories, reduce stress and stay engaged with their local communities
Press Release – TEMPE, Ariz. – May 16, 2016 – Veteran Tickets Foundation (Vet Tix), a national nonprofit that provides free event tickets to the U.S. military community, announced today that it has now delivered 2 million tickets since 2008. This is the equivalent of donating enough tickets to fill Madison Square Garden to capacity more than 100 times, the Hollywood Bowl 114+ times, or Soldier Field 32+ times.
“Vet Tix was born eight years ago. I was at football game and noticed that there were still empty seats, even at one of the most attended games of the season,” said U.S. Navy Veteran Mike Focareto, founder and CEO of Veteran Tickets Foundation. “I began thinking of how many veterans were missing out on this type of ‘All-American’ experience for which they sacrificed so much and would have been thrilled to be sitting in one of those seats.”
Focareto continued, “Vet Tix has grown into a thriving word-of-mouth program. It has benefitted thousands of military families who often can’t afford tickets to events. We’ve also heard from veterans that Vet Tix is helping them reintegrate into civilian life after their service.”
Vet Tix supports all branches of currently serving military, veterans and their families, as well as the immediate families of those killed in action by distributing tickets to sporting events, concerts, performing arts and family activities in all 50 states. This includes many college and professional sports teams within the MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and WNBA, in addition to NASCAR, concert and entertainment events.
Where there are empty seats, Vet Tix seeks to fill them with people who have served our country and their families. Giving an event ticket is an expression of appreciation and recognition that honors the service of the troops today and long after their tour of duty has passed. Attending these events helps veterans reduce stress through entertainment, strengthen family bonds, build life long memories, and encourage them to stay engaged with American life and local communities.
“We are overwhelmed by the generosity of so many ticket donors and supporters who have been paramount to our tremendous growth of over 500,000 tickets in less than a year,” Focareto said. “Our 2 million ticket milestone could have been a family attending a circus event, a date night at a Kenny Chesney concert or four buddies at a Houston Astros game. Helping our veterans attend events provides positive family and life experiences after their years of service to our country.”
Vet Tix started in 2008, and distributed 1,290 tickets in Phoenix that year. The organization grew over the next six years to celebrate its millionth ticket given away in July 2015, and this quickly rose to 1.5 million tickets distributed by August 2015.
Vet Tix is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation, and it ranked as the 2016 Top-rated Nonprofit in the United States by GreatNonprofits.
