Friend
$25
The tackle box level
- ✓Helps cover bait, tackle & fishing supplies
- ✓Cold drinks and snacks on the pontoon
Why we exist
It started at Leech Lake.
In the winter of 2022, founder Val Rasmussen attended a veteran and spouse retreat at Leech Lake, Minnesota. There she heard an Afghanistan veteran tell of the grumpy Vietnam Veteran who kept pushing him away — and how, after the older man lost his legs, he and his friends sank a flagpole in his yard and raised a flag carried home from Afghanistan to honor his platoon's fallen. Tears rolled down the old Marine's face. He passed a few weeks later; the flag was his last wish.
Watching men and women share their deepest emotions those three days — without fear of being judged — Val realized she had to act. In the spring of 2023 she founded Vets R Us, Inc. with a simple mission: help veterans understand they are not alone in their struggles, and connect them with others for friendship and support.
Time in nature restores focus, reduces stress, and helps with depression. That's why everything we do happens outside — on the water, in the field, and around the fire.
It's about caring for each other, making things better for each other, and supporting each other when we need it — even when we don't know it.
