VetStrong volunteers sort through furniture donated to veterans.
(July 6, 2018) -- A UTSA alumnus and U.S. Army veteran is helping fellow veterans make their house a home. James Pobanz ’14, ‘17 is a co-founder of VetStrong, a nonprofit that provides furniture and other home essentials to previously homeless veterans.
Pobanz and co-founder Barbara Walz saw a need to give back to the military community after learning that recently rehoused veterans had places to live but no beds, chairs or tables. Walz, a nurse at a veterans hospital, noticed that these circumstances impacted their health.
“A house is more than just an edifice,” said Pobanz. “It’s a place where one finds comfort, solace and strength. We want to help our veterans successfully reintegrate back into society, and furnishing a house is one way to do that.”
Pobanz garnered enough community support to assist veterans and families in Bexar County. Thanks to the generous support of the community and city leaders, VetStrong was able to acquire a warehouse to store donations.
VetStrong is also teaming up with TXServes San Antonio, a coordinated network of public, private and nonprofit organizations serving veterans, service members and their families in San Antonio and Bexar County. TXServes provides thousands of service members, veterans and their families access to a continuum of providers for emergency services, employment, recreation, financial capabilities and more. When someone reaches out for help for donation of furniture, TXServes sends a request to all nonprofits that deliver this service. VetStrong can accept the request and offer assistance.
VetStrong officially launches in July with a ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 7 at its warehouse located at 1735 Babcock Rd. in San Antonio. Donations of lightly used or new household items such as lamps, beds, couches, nightstands, linens and chairs will be accepted.
Learn more about VetStrong or email the organization.
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Join the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventThis event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
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