Kindness can take many forms. Sometimes it’s a grand gesture. Other times, it’s simply showing up for someone who needs help.
Since Patch and T-Mobile launched the Good Deeds, Great Communities initiative earlier this year, readers across the country have shared stories of neighbors helping neighbors, communities rallying around local families and strangers stepping up when it mattered most.
In Ocean County, many of those submissions reflected a strong sense of community in and around Lacey, Forked River and nearby towns — neighbors looking out for one another in ways both big and small.
As part of the initiative, Patch selected Vetwork, a nonprofit serving veterans in Ocean County, to receive a $500 charitable donation after receiving numerous submissions highlighting acts of kindness and community support in the area.
For Executive Director Tom Kislow, the recognition reflects the kind of place Ocean County has long been.
“I think specifically when it comes to our part of Ocean County — Forked River, Lacey, Lanoka Harbor — they are very community-driven,” Kislow said. “If someone is in need of something, they will be the first ones to stick their hand in their pocket or show up and help how they can.”
Founded in 1984, Vetwork originally focused on helping Vietnam veterans find and maintain employment through resume assistance, interview preparation and job placement services.
Over time, the organization evolved alongside veterans’ changing needs.
Today, Vetwork provides transportation to medical appointments, operates a food pantry for veterans and their families, offers emergency transitional housing and helps veterans navigate VA benefits and paperwork.
“We like to think of ourselves here as a one-stop shop for any veteran that comes through our door,” Kislow said. “And if there’s something we can’t help them with, we have a great network here in Ocean County that we can pull from to get them the help that they need.”
Kislow enlisted in the Marine Corps straight out of high school, serving on active duty from 1997 to 2001 before continuing in the reserves.
Coming from a military family, he said service always felt like a natural path.
After leaving the military, Kislow worked a series of jobs but struggled to feel fulfilled professionally. Years later, after helping launch another grassroots veteran nonprofit with friends, he eventually found his way to Vetwork.
“I am completely in love with my job,” he said. “I love coming to work every day and I am able to help people every day, and it just makes it all worth it.”
Ocean County is home to more than 36,000 veterans, the largest veteran population of any county in New Jersey, according to Kislow.
Many are older adults living on fixed incomes, making affordable housing one of the biggest challenges local veterans face today.
“Veteran housing is always a big one that we deal with,” Kislow said. “Especially affordable housing.”
Employment challenges, rising grocery costs and transportation needs also continue affecting many veterans and their families, he said.
For Kislow, the most meaningful part of the work comes from helping relieve some of those burdens.
“You can see it in their face,” he said. “If we are able to help them with something that’s wrong with their house or their car broke down or they don’t have money to feed their family, we can help with that.”
One veteran’s story, Kislow said, still stays with him.
After receiving a call from a local police chief about a veteran found walking along the side of the road, Kislow drove out to meet him.
The veteran, Antonio, had retired from the Air Force after serving in both the Gulf War and Iraq War. After deciding to leave Texas, he sold his belongings, packed a backpack and began walking across the country.
Along the way, a banking issue caused his VA disability payments and military pension to stop reaching him. By the time he arrived in New Jersey, he had no money and had spent weeks relying largely on the kindness of strangers.
Vetwork helped place Antonio in a hotel and worked with the VA to restore access to his benefits and back pay.
About a week later, Kislow said, Antonio called him after finally receiving the money.
“The first thing he said was, ‘How can I pay you guys back?’” Kislow recalled.
Kislow told him not to worry about repayment.
“I said, ‘If you meet a veteran down the road who needs a hand, pay it forward.’”
‘A Little Kindness Goes A Long Way’
Kislow hopes people remember that many veterans carry burdens others cannot always see.
“A lot of the wounds that they carry are invisible,” he said. “You never know what someone is really dealing with. Just show a little patience, a little kindness. It goes a long way.”
That spirit of kindness has been reflected in many of the stories shared through Patch and T-Mobile’s Good Deeds, Great Communities initiative — from neighbors helping shovel snow to volunteers feeding people in need, to a Pennsylvania woman reuniting a lost wedding ring with its owner after weeks of searching.
At Vetwork, Kislow said, that same willingness to show up for others is something he sees every day in Ocean County.
Whether it’s donating a holiday meal, volunteering time or helping connect someone with resources, he said even small actions can make a lasting impact.
“If someone is in need of something, they will be the first ones to stick their hand in their pocket or show up and help how they can,” Kislow said of the community.
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