Veterans don’t just need programs — they need a community that notices them. If you lead a business, a congregation, a nonprofit, or a local office, this election season is a natural moment to turn goodwill into something a veteran can actually feel. Here are five ways to do it, none of which require a budget or a committee.
1. Make it easy for your people to vote
Give your team the time and encouragement to vote — and to help a veteran family member get to the polls. Share nonpartisan, trustworthy resources like Michigan.gov/Vote. You don’t have to take a side to help people participate; you just have to lower the friction.
2. Learn the one sentence that changes lives
Most veterans who are missing out on benefits, care, or housing don’t know where to start. You can fix that with a single question:
“Have you connected with Mi Service Matters yet?”
That one referral can unlock support a veteran has been eligible for all along. Keep our name handy — in your break room, your bulletin, your welcome packet — and point people our way.
3. Hire and keep veterans on purpose
Veterans bring leadership, reliability, and mission focus that any workplace is lucky to have. Look into Michigan’s veteran hiring and retention resources, and take an honest look at whether your workplace actually welcomes them — from how you read a military resume to how you support a Guard or Reserve member called away.
4. Open your doors
A church hall, a break room, a community center — offering space for a resource event helps us reach dozens of veterans and families in a single afternoon. If you have a room and a heart for this, let’s partner up.
5. Say it out loud
Recognition matters more than people think. A genuine thank-you from a respected local voice — at a meeting, from a pulpit, in a newsletter — tells a veteran that their service still counts here, in this town, today. That belonging is often the first step back toward asking for help.
Leadership is really just showing up where you’re needed. If you’re ready to put your influence to work for Michigan’s veterans, partner with us — we’ll make it easy and worth your while.
Mi Service Matters is strictly nonpartisan. We don’t support or oppose any candidate, party, or ballot proposal — we just want every veteran and family to be able to vote and to get the help they’ve earned. Always confirm current rules and deadlines at Michigan.gov/Vote or with your local clerk.
Stuck in the maze? That’s exactly what we’re here for.
We help Michigan veterans, service members, and families connect to the benefits, care, and community they’ve earned — free and confidential. One conversation starts it, with a real person on the other end.