Hope Mills Veteran Honored Nationally for #StillServing

Hope Mills veteran Johnathan Williams and his service dog Tank who are being honored for dedication to country and community in the VFW #StillServing campaign. The national Veterans of Foreign Wars #StillServing (vfw.org/stillserving) campaign recognizes veterans who continue to serve in their community after the military.

Williams trained Tank to be his service dog and together the duo travels the country with Soldier Solutions to raise money for Train A Dog, Save A Warrior (TADSAW), a 501c3 that provides service dogs to veterans at no charge. Tank helps Williams by calming him if his anxiety increases and protecting him from crowds.

Williams says he is #StillServing to continue helping fellow veterans get the service dogs they need so they do not become one of the 22 veterans who each day succumb to suicide.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) launched #StillServing, a campaign to highlight the many ways America’s veterans continue to serve in their local communities after transitioning from the military, in February 2020. What started as an awareness campaign has become a social movement as veterans across the country continue to step up to share stories of how they are still serving. More than 1,000 veterans’ stories have been shared through news coverage, website features and magazine and newsletter articles.

According to the 2021 Veterans Civic Health Index1, veterans average nearly 30 percent more
volunteer hours per year and outpace civilians 15 percent in charitable donations. Additionally,
nearly 40 percent more veterans belong to a group working on community issues and veterans
are more like to be registered to vote (7 percent) and have recently voted (6 percent).

Since its launch, more than 2 million people have engaged with the campaign and it has gained
the attention of individuals worldwide, recently earning a Grand Award at the 19th International
Business Association for the highest marks of more than 3,700 nominations to the business
awards.

Building on a legacy of service that spans more than a century, #StillServing represents the heart
of the VFW and its members, and conveys what today’s VFW embodies. The VFW encourages
all veterans to share stories on social media using #StillServing to show how they continue to
answer the call to serve in ways big and small. In addition, family or friends are asked to use
#StillServing in social media posts to honor a veteran in their lives who believes the spirit of
service transcends military life.

The VFW urges Americans to visit vfw.org/StillServing to learn more about the campaign, make
a shareable image honoring veterans in their lives, watch videos of VFW members making a
difference and see a collection of user-generated content.
12021 Veterans Civic Health Index