Copyright © 2015  Michigan Bikers Helping Veterans
Recent Michigan Bikers Helping Veterans Allocations to Veterans in need!


Request :  A married Veteran with a 1 year and 2 month old children, their combined monthly income was less than their bills even with his VA Pension. Now the Veteran and his wife both lost their jobs. His wife’s was due to pregnancy and Veteran had an injury that was not work related. The Veteran is now back to work but not his wife. Now Credit card debt was pilling up trying to survive.
MBHV Allocation….They needed some help. To lessen the financial burden the MBHV has paid 3 months of their mortgage so they could use the money budgeted for their mortgage payments to pay down their credit card bills.


Request:  A Veteran from Jackson who was honorably discharged from the Army and is now a Michigan National Guard Soldier needed help. He’s the Father of a newborn Son. He was laid off from his job with a utility company after his job was eliminated due to new technology. His Fiance was also out of work and on unemployment. His drill pay was less than $300.00 a month. His unemployment was exhausted and his car repossessed. They were behind on his rent and car payments. He had an upcoming job interview but it required reliable transportation.
MBHV Allocation….The MBHV was able to get his repossessed car back and paid back car payments to catch him up. 


Request:  An honorably discharged veteran Air Force (78-82) is a father of 4 children. Last year he fell and injured both shoulders and was unable to work. He had surgery at the VA but still required another one. He was able to pay some smaller bills with his savings but his rent was 2 months past due. It would be at least 2 months before he could work again. Monthly Income: $400 Temp Social Security Disability and $350 for DHS Food Stamps
MBHV Allocation…. was able to pay 2 months back rent and 2 months ahead.


Request:  A married Veteran with 3 young kids, is employed, wife was not employed. Veteran US Army 95-98 served overseas. Their furnace quit and is not fixable due to it being outdated. This family had no heat and needed a furnace complete with a rewire.
MBHV Allocation….A patriotic repairman agreed to replace the furnace at cost. We were able to overnight payment and get a furnace for this family. 


Request:  A Navy Veteran, Honorably Discharged, Employed, Married, 1 Daughter 30 years old, 2 Grandchildren. The daughter, who suffered from Epileptic Seizures her whole life, passed away suddenly. She was unemployed and had no income. She and her 2 kids have lived with her parents for the last 5 years. She had no life insurance. The 2 kids are now in the care of the grandparents. Her Funeral Expenses: $8313.00. While the Veteran was getting by financially, this was a sudden and terrible unplanned expense.
MBHV Allocation….MBHV, The Forgotten Eagles, Rolling Thunder, and other organizations have agreed to chip in and help pay this expense to assist this Veteran in his time of great sorrow and need.


Request:  A female Veteran served 22 years in the US Army National Guard, has a son age 20 who lives at home. She has Stage 4 Parkinson's and also suffers from Lupus. She collects SSD but that is all she makes a month. She is currently working on a VA Pension Claim. She was behind on her rent to the extent of eviction. We were informed that she and her son would be evicted if the back rent was not received by 5pm the next day. The Veterans boyfriend gathered all he could and her son even sold his video game he received as a Christmas present to try and help. They were still $500.00 short.
MBHV Allocation…. We got a cashier’s check and overnighted it and prevented the eviction. Then the BOD voted on and approved an additional 3 months’ rent to help this Veteran that gave 22 years of service protecting our Freedoms out. 


Request:  A married, employed Veteran with 4 children had just returned home from Afghanistan in Oct. He served with the 1460th Trans Co. and was having issues transitioning back financially. The transition from his Active duty pay back to his current job pay has left them in a short fall. He was behind on his Electric/Gas bill. While he was almost keeping up with most of the expenses, he was still short.
MBHV Allocation…. Paid past due and next month’s Electric/Gas bills, and provided some information on financial services to help get him on track. 


Request:  This hero is a Pfc. in the Guard, currently works in Milan and lives in Dundee, MI. He and his fiance have a child that just turned 2 and he has Gervais Epilepsy. The little guy has been in and out of the hospital to many times to count. The doctors are still trying to find a medication to help him with his seizures. Financially they were getting by but just barely. They were really struggling to make their Mortgage this month. Although several organizations were looking into helping them out, they were still falling short.
MBHV Allocation…. Paid toward their next Mortgage Payment to help out.


Request:  This Veteran is serving with the 126th from the Michigan Army National Guard. He has deployed on more than one occasion, most recently in 2012 with the 37th IN BN. He injured his back as he was getting ready to start a new job with Fed-Ex. The company opted to hire a new driver rather than wait for him to heal up. He is currently enrolled in college and is receiving the Post 9-11 GI Bill. Normally this pays $800 a month, but because he was only in school for part of the month due to his injuries, they are only paying $500. This gives him enough money with his drill check to pay the rent and a couple of the other bills, but still falls short as he needs help with insurance and utilities.
MBHV Allocation….Insurance and utilities for a month


Request:  A married Veteran served in the US Army. He got out of the Army and is receiving a 30% disability. He works and his wife just started a new job recently. Their combined income is just barely more than their current bills. They are moving into a mobile home park to save on rent. Due to previous lower income and higher living expenses they have credit issues. They needed $800.00 to pre-pay for propane to start up at the new house. If they borrowed again that would put them further in the hole and the propane in the tank was running out.
MBHV Allocation….A call was made and $800.00 pre-payment will get their home heated again and help them on the way to a budget plan to keep above water.


Request:  A single parent and is a SSgt. the Guard, currently works for a Car Dealership. He was recruiter for the Guard which was a full time job and is now a Car Salesman with a dealership which pays him a lot less. His recruiter position was eliminated. His family income is $200.00 less than his monthy bills as he was budgeted for the recruiter pay. He recently had to replace an engine in his vehicle. The Bill was $5700 but since he worked for a Car Dealership the cost was reduced to $4189.80. He needed the vehicle to get to work and subsequently used savings and monthly income to fix his vehicle. In the process he let some bills slip to cover the car bill, Rent, Electric and water. The Military Family Fund paid his January Rent. He currently needs assistance with his Feb Rent, bring his consumers bill up to date.
MBHV Allocation….Paid for 2 month’s rent to get this SSgt. Back on his feet and on the road to a stronger future.


Request:  A Vietnam Veteran went into the hospital in November for a leg amputation. Like most Vietnam Vets he suffers from Diabetes. While he's been in the hospital, his bank account was used up by a relative, not paid any bills for him and now was facing eviction.
MBHV Allocation….Paid for 3 months rent and back utilities. This Vietnam Veteran can go home without worrying about his bills and can concentrate on healing.


Request:  A recent National Guardsman has joint custody of a son and is currently unemployed looking for work. His car has brake issues and isn't drivable. He has arranged for temporary transportation help for this week. His only income is his drill pay. He has applied for help thru the Military Family Fund. He needs $367.56 for car repairs so he can look for work.
MBHV Allocation….$367.56 for Car Repairs


Request:  A Veteran filed a claim for hearing loss in 2008 and was denied. He appealed the decision. While he waited he was awarded a small non-service connected pension. In May of 2012 he was awarded the Service Connected Disability that he appealed back in 2008 and was paid the amount due since 2008. Now the VA is counting that as income and considers it an over payment. The VA has stopped paying him any pension trying to recoup the over payment. The American Legion and the Veteran are filing a lawsuit because they feel this is unjust. In the mean time they are trying to work out a payment plan so the veteran will get some income to live off of but that won't take effect until May of this year. Due to the confusion and red tape at the VA he is behind on Rent and Utilities and has no money on which to live on.  
MBHV Allocation….Paid rent and utilities


This is just some our allocations that were approved and still others did not meet our criteria and had to be passed on to others for possible help. This takes a lot of time and a lot of people to make this happen. From the Allocation Committee that first gathers the information and documentation to make sure all our criteria has been met, all the phone calls, contacts with Service Officers, and of course the Veterans or Soldiers in need. Then when the need is clear it goes before the MBHV Board of Directors for a vote. After thorough review, if passed, frequently special arrangements for payment must be made as we do not just give money to the individual; we pay directly to the utility, or Service Company.

And of course all this takes money. We work hard all year to raise money from events, the MBHV Booth, and the online store.

While the HEROES RIDE is our biggest event for fundraising, it does not raise any money from the ride alone.

The ride and the banquet are priced at a break-even cost.

The real financial help comes partly from the Auction, but mostly from individuals that get sponsorship's and donations. It’s the 2 or 3 cent a mile donations from friends, co-workers, or family that makes us able to help the Michigan Veterans in need.

Please, if you are making plans to ride the HEROES RIDE this July, consider getting some people to sponsor you. 2 cents a mile x 1200 miles=24.00. Get only 5 people to sponsor you and that raises $120.00 for our Veterans in need. You can see above where the money goes.

THANK YOU ALL FOR SUPPORTING THE MBHV

Here are some of the ways your donations have helped us to help our Heroes from
Michigan Bikers Helping Veterans:

To a double amputee Iraq War Veteran
To our 2 Michigan Veterans Homes
To the Widow and family of a Gulf War Veteran
To make repairs to the car of a wounded soldier
To a Marine that lost his foot in Iraq
To a soldier that lost a leg and is paralyzed
To a soldier that has TBI-Traumatic Brain Injury due to a car bomb
To a soldier that lost a leg due to an IED
To build a wheelchair ramp for a returning wounded soldier
To the Jacbetti Vets Home to repair wheelchairs
To a soldier to be with his wife during cancer surgery
To the wife of a Michigan KIA to help pay bills
To an Army Veteran and PGR Member for medical bills
To a disabled Veteran to purchase transportation to get to and from therapy for injuries from serving in Iraq
To get power back on to keep a Veteran from having his son removed by social services because of no heat
To a Soldier that lost both legs and an arm in an IED explosion.
To the PATRIOT HOUSE, a home for Homeless Veterans in Gaylord, Mi
To help an Afghanistan War Veteran keep his home
To a Disabled Gulf War Veteran and his family in need until the VA can arrange help
To an Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran in critical need.

These are just a few examples of the help your tax deductible donation provides. There are more of our recently returned wounded and forgotten Veterans that need help.

Won't you please Help Us Help Our Heroes?

We are a 501 (c) 3 Non Profit Organization and need your support.
All of our staff are volunteers and receive no pay for their work.

To make a donation to Michigan Bikers Helping Veterans, please send checks to:

Michigan Bikers Helping Veterans
750 Mary Ln
Harrison, MI  48625

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