TD Foundation's Tom Deierlein: A Veteran's Journey of Fortitude & Giving Back

Growing up in White Plains New York with eight siblings Tom Deierlein pictured below headed to West Point to make his mark and serve After being deployed in the Berlin Brigade and witnessing a global symbol of division come crashing down to create a new world order Deierlein experienced firsthand the power of the human spirit and the yearning for connection The year was 1990 and still today retelling that Berlin Wall story engulfs Deierlein into a fog of reminiscence and deep emotion that punctuates the highlight reel of his lifeIt is a life that involves overcoming a neardeath sniper attack that resulted in a traumatic spinal injury during his second tour of active duty an unexpected call to serve after he had already started his career in the advertising technology industry and twelve years after he first left the service Deierlein39s commitment to heal and support wounded warriors and fallen heroes and their families comes from a deepseated motivation inspired by his own traumatic experiences in Iraq During that tour he was deployed as a Civil Affairs Officer charged with driving the economic reconstruction of a slum city of 23 million people in East BaghdadSupported by the generosity of Deierlein39s Old Timer39s contact list representing his network of digital media and advertising industry heavyweights he was able to coordinate humanitarian aid in the form of clothes educational supplies shoes toys and medicine to help with the rebuilding of the spirit and lives of the children from this warravaged region This is the origin story of the TD Foundation which was launched in 2006 to serve the urgent humanitarian needs of the innocent children of Iraq MediaVillage39s Jack Myers an 39Old Timer39 himself had begun publishing Deierlein39s long missives about his experiences in Iraq prior to his being shot and during his long recovery familiarizing the industry both with his plight and with the efforts to create the foundation Deierlein told his story in this 2008 MediaVillage commentaryToday TD Foundation39s mission revolves around supporting innocent children closer to home amp8211 US children and families of veterans who are living check to fixed income check relying on government funds to survive above the poverty line Any unexpected life event has the potential to destroy the fragile equilibrium in household cash flow from baby cranial helmets needed after an automotive accident to buying septic tanks for a new home the need is real acute and the tragedy is lifedefining The SOS email that Deierlein sent in the summer of 2006 awakened the consciousness of the advertising industry which today continues its ardent support of the Foundation from funding their Holiday Gala to their Annual Golf event which was held successfully this year respecting social distancing rules and COVID19 health checksOne of the biggest challenges and consequences of COVID has been the impact on mental health for the veteran population this challenge is particularly catastrophic as evidenced by the 20 increase in military suicides so far this year Recently TD Foundation partnered with the organization Once A Soldier to provide funeral expenses for five veterans who lost their lives due to PTSDrelated suicide Funerals can cost almost 10000 and unfortunately the families were illprepared to cover it financially They helped offset those burdens According to Deierlein one of the most problematic trends has been the negative portrayal of veterans in advertising and scripted programming which by creating harmful stereotypes is instilling prejudices that prevent our veterans from being fully accepted into society He is encouraged by specific efforts by companies like Amazon Starbucks and Walmart who have been actively recruiting veterans creating an enviable leadership pipeline showcasing qualities of quotresilience selfdiscipline and loyaltyquot that are second nature to soldiers making life and death decisions in the battlefieldThese proactive corporate recruitment measures will help reduce the veteran unemployment rate of 68 comparable nonveteran unemployment rate is at 78Deierlein personifies resilience As a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient he serves in his dual roles as the CoFounder of the TD Foundation and as CEO of his technology company ThunderCat Technology He believes that being recognized as a servicedisabled veteranowned small business SDVOSB provides him with the ability to have a voice in a crowded market and compete more effectively He reminds us that the number of disabled veterans is very small compared to other minority groups and he is continually striving to raise awareness among the general public As he recounts his own personal experiences in the military he found less distinction being made on the basis of gender race or sexual orientation and more being made on the basis of competency technical and leadership skills the question he would ask would be quotwill I go down into combat with this personquot This quotband of brothers and sistersquot as he refers to his fellow soldiers shared a common mission and at all times that common mission ensured a laser focus on working together and getting the job done irrespective of backgroundWorking together is the very epitome of the TD Foundation as it continues to serve the innocent children and hardworking spouses of wounded warriors and fallen heroes In the words of the great statesman and leader Frederick Douglass quotit is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menquot The legacy of the TD Foundation is profound building the confidence and lives of innocent and fragile children to create wellbalanced and healthy men and women of the future That is indeed a noble mission to live byTo support the TD Foundation and the disabled veterans it supports underwrite MediaVillage AdvancingDiversityorg and the Advancing Diversity Education FundThis Veterans Day 212NYC New York39s Digital Advertising Club will host a panel discussion to help Veterans discover a career in digital advertising includingJoin us today November 11th at 530p EST httpswww212nycorgupcomingeventsveteransindigitaladvertisingAttendees will receive a resource guide and access to an assessment tool Registration is free for allOur panel features Sean Finnegan CoFounder PartnerChameleon Collective Melissa Merencillo Program Manager Live Brand Studio Twitter Nyles Thorne Associate Addressable Strategy Matterkind Carey Kight Producer CIRCUS MAXIMUS Tom Deierlein CEO ThunderCat Technology KellyAnn Hinder Program Manager Verizon Business Javier E David Editor Yahoo Finance Sean Magee Founder ampamp CEO Anchor TradingSpecial thank you to our sponsor Verizon Media and partners for supporting this important initiativeClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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TD Foundation's Tom Deierlein: A Veteran's Journey of Fortitude & Giving Back

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Raquelle Zuzarte

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