With less than 100 days until our V-Soft Cares Annual Charity Golf Scramble this summer, we wanted to give you a better understanding of what our charity partner, Warrior Battalion, is all about. What better way to learn about a charity dedicated to ending veteran suicide than by sharing a just one of the many stories on how this organization has changed the lives of our military heroes. We spoke to Kenny Soto, a member of the Air Force Security Forces, about the impact Warrior Battalion has had on his life.
Kenny Soto is a 29-year-old active member of the Air Force Security Forces in the Kentucky National Guard. He has been active for 13 years now, since 2013. Kenny has three kids with his wife Allison. In Kenny’s free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and playing music. He plays both drums and guitar.
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Kenny Soto's three kids: Zoey, Mason and Maverick.
Though he's been blessed with a wonderful family, times weren't always easy for Kenny. In 2015, he was in the middle of planning his wedding, but the family was struggling financially. He had only been on active duty for four years at that point and Kenny remembers it being a stressful time.
“One day I got a random call from a charity representative who told me they were (through an anonymous donor) going to pay $7,000 towards my wedding costs,” Kenny said. “I thought it was a joke, but they were a lifesaver and really helped with everything.”
Kenny Soto on his wedding day with his bride, Allison.
The donation made a huge difference for their wedding and went toward covering the cost of food, venue, wedding dress and more.
The donation meant so much to Kenny and his family that he knew he had to give back in any way he could. He currently serves as a volunteer for Warrior Battalion and has helped take on various construction projects, such as building a privacy fence for one of the retreat locations used for veterans and their families.
Kenny is happy to be a part of an organization with such a strong dedication to veterans and helping them during times of struggle. Started by Troy Yocum, who lost his own WWII veteran grandfather to suicide, Warrior Battalion has strong roots for providing support and services to veterans and their families.
“Troy Yocum has made it clear how much he dedicates himself to the service of others,” said Kenny. “There is literally ALWAYS something going on with Troy. You can’t get on social media without seeing something him and his organization are doing in an effort to better someone else’s life.”
At V-Soft, we are thrilled to work with Warrior Battalion for this year’s charity golf scramble. Warrior Battalion’s mission is to end veteran suicide. Their main pillars for accomplishing this goal is through suicide prevention trainings for veterans and their families, peer mentorship programs, and retreat homes.
The V-Soft Cares Annual Charity Golf Scramble is in it’s 7th year and taking place this June. The V-Soft Cares initiative was started by V-Soft President, Purna Veer, in order to make a greater impact in the communities where we live and work. If you’d like to participate in this year’s scramble held at Valhalla Golf Club, there are still opportunities for sponsoring, donating items and playing. Visit the V-Soft Cares website for more information.
