October 2026
Dear Friends of the Gift-a-Vet Foundation,
As we prepare for another year of serving Veterans residing in South Carolina Veterans Homes, I want to share both what we intend to accomplish and where we hope to take Gift-a-Vet next.
Our first responsibility remains straightforward: make sure the Veterans we serve receive thoughtful gifts and personal items that bring comfort, enjoyment, and a reminder that their service has not been forgotten. What began with 14 boxes has grown into more than 250 boxes delivered each year to Veterans at four locations, supported by individuals, businesses, community organizations, and more than 50 collection locations in the Myrtle Beach area.
Growth also brings challenges. We must collect enough of the right items, coordinate donations and deliveries, maintain dependable relationships with the Veterans Homes, and make responsible use of every dollar entrusted to us. Our goal is not simply to do more. It is to grow without losing the personal character that has always defined Gift-a-Vet.
This year, we also hope to begin taking the next step in that mission through an initiative we are calling “Welcome Home!” We aspire to provide newly arriving Veterans with a bag of useful personal and comfort items upon their arrival at a South Carolina Veterans Home. Moving into a Veterans Home is a significant transition. We want one of the first messages a new resident receives to be simple: welcome, you are among friends, and your service is remembered.
Welcome Home! is still an emerging effort. We will work with the Veterans Homes to determine what is most useful, establish a sustainable supply of appropriate items, and make certain the program can be supported over time. We would rather build it carefully and keep our promise than make a promise we cannot sustain.
None of this happens because of Gift-a-Vet alone. It happens because people throughout our community contribute an item, host a collection box, organize a drive, make a financial gift, or tell someone else about the Veterans we serve. Every one of those acts becomes part of something larger.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, our volunteers, and especially the Veterans whose lives your generosity touches, thank you for helping us continue this work. We have ambitious goals for the year ahead, but the purpose remains exactly what it has always been: to make sure our Veterans know they are remembered, valued, and supported.
David M. Nichols
Chairman, Gift-a-Vet Foundation