Famous actors surprise vets by telling them their debts have been paid off in honor of Veterans Day
A Veterans Day campaign donates $25 every time someone tweets “Thank you for your service” and pays off vets’ debts.
- A Twitter initiative has honored U.S. vets by donating money every time someone tweets “Thank you for your service” on Veterans Day.
- The donations have helped 11 well-deserving veterans to pay off their mortgages.
- The campaign urges people to seek other meaningful ways to praise those who fought for the country.
Veterans United Home Loans launched a special campaign called “Make It Mean More,” Newsner reports. To honor Veterans Day, the company decided to donate $25 for every tweet that says, “Thank you for your service.”
The money raised from the campaign would be used to pay off the home loans of the well-deserving veterans who have given so much for the country.
We've been turning every "thank you for your service" tweet on #VeteransDay into $25 toward paying off Veterans' homes! Watch us surprise these deserving #Veterans with help from our friends @GarySinise, @JoeMantegna, @iamjrmartinez, @RobertIrvine & more: https://t.co/uuoQSdjXJE pic.twitter.com/ODZab4Cgh4
— Veterans United (@veteransunited) November 11, 2020
As soon as the grateful tweets started piling up, honorable veterans were surprised by famous actors informing them that their mortgages had been paid off.
The incredibly thoughtful initiative was backed up by actors such as Gary Sinise, J.R. Martinez, and Joe Mantegna, who are known for advocating for the welfare of veterans.
In a touching video, Gary Sinise breaks the wonderful news to Bill Day – a Navy veteran and single father. Sinise says:
“I get to be the messenger to tell you that you’re gonna get your entire mortgage and your loan paid off by Veterans United. You’re not gonna have to worry about any of that.”
Bill, we can’t say thank you enough for all you’ve done for this country. So on behalf of thousands of grateful Americans, instead of just saying thank you, we’re paying off your mortgage. And we thought we might as well get @GarySinise to deliver the news! #MakeItMeanMore pic.twitter.com/JcpqN1xnDf
— Veterans United (@veteransunited) November 11, 2020
The Navy was deeply moved and broke down in tears after hearing that he no longer has to worry about his debts. Further in the video, Day shares that one of his four children is “severely autistic,” and the family has been having serious issues that would be resolved by the tremendous help they get from the campaign.
In another emotional video, actor Joe Mantegna also had the honor of telling a respectable veteran his mortgage had been paid off thanks to the numerous Twitter “Thank you” messages. Ryan and his wife, Stefani, were thrilled to hear the amazing news. Mantegna told the family that Veterans United has chosen them to be among the veterans whose home loans will be covered. The actor himself burst into tears seeing the couple’s genuine reaction.
Like many #Veterans, Ryan and his wife Stefani have been through a lot, but overcame it all together. They’ve been praying the quiet house they found would be their forever home. Today, we’re thrilled to help make those prayers come true. #MakeItMeanMore pic.twitter.com/MK2IsU1zQt
— Veterans United (@veteransunited) November 11, 2020
Out of 90,943 tweets, the initiative has raised $2,273,575 for the admirable U.S. veterans.
The campaign has fully paid the mortgages of 11 deserving veterans. Moreover, the company has used its heartfelt message to urge people to do more than just say a simple “Thank you” for the ones who fought for the country. They have also pointed out the Veterans Community Project, Homes For Our Troops, and the Gary Sinise Foundation, as other organizations “that help change the lives of Veterans.”