Our Motivation to Serve: TacticalGear.com and The Mission Continues

September 20, 2014
Laura Malm

Recently, Mission Continues Fellow Leon White visited the TacticalGear.com headquarters to tell us a little more about the nonprofit our company proudly supports. A former Marine who lacked direction after returning to civilian life, White explained how the organization gave him a sense of purpose again. Through The Mission Continues, Leon works closely with Mission: St. Louis, a growing local nonprofit that aims to build relationships with at-risk inner-city kids in order to battle poverty and revitalize the community.

“The Mission Continues gives me a chance to do the only thing I want to do, and that’s serve my country,” said White to a room full of TacticalGear.com employees.

Mission Continues Fellow Leon White shares his story with TacticalGear.com employees

White told our staff about the courage, camaraderie and fulfillment instilled in him by The Mission Continues.

As a St. Louis-based company, we have the privilege of witnessing the work White is doing with Mission: St. Louis to empower and transform the neighborhoods our staff members call home. His visit provided an excellent reminder of why we align our company’s mission with this organization.

Since 2012, The Mission Continues and TacticalGear.com have been standing together. After hearing The Mission Continues founder and former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens speak at a conference, our CEO, Chad Weinman, was so moved, he decided to utilize our company’s resources to help.

Through the use of custom software, we added a donation button to our checkout page to make donating to the cause simple. With a single click, every customer has the opportunity to financially support the organization. This addition has raised nearly $40,000 for The Mission Continues since its installation. If the customer is unfamiliar with the organization, we also provide them the opportunity to learn more about The Mission Continues.

TacticalGear.com customers can donate during the checkout process

“We’re constantly wondering how we can give back to our nation’s veterans,” Weinman said. “Fulfilling veterans through service is a wonderfully intuitive concept, and we’re proud to partner with an organization that exemplifies that commitment.”

The motive for our continued support of The Mission Continues stems from our participation in its local service projects. These projects not only help to better the neighborhoods our staff calls home, but also give us the invaluable opportunity to connect with the veterans our store serves. These citizens are not only our customers, but also our courageous comrades in the battle to transform our city into a better place.

“It’s amazing how many people show up to these service projects,” our marketing specialist, Stewart Norman, said. “When everyone bands together, we accomplish so much.”

TacticalGear.com employees volunteering at a Mission Continues Service Project in honor of 9/11

Over the past two years we’ve joined The Mission Continues in multiple projects, such as helping revitalize the St. Louis Fire Department and cleaning up the Powder Valley Conservation Center.

“The mindset of a veteran is to go above and beyond, so often we get more done than planned,” Norman said.

This firsthand look into what the organization does for our customers, friends and city motivates us to serve alongside The Mission Continues. We’re committed to supporting the organization every step of the way and by promoting its vision to our customers. The spirit of The Mission Continues serves as a constant reminder of the virtue and character our customers, many of them veterans, possess. We’re proud to be a part of it.

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Lauren Malm is the Social Media Specialist at TacticalGear.com, an online superstore of military and tactical gear that has raised nearly $40,000 for The Mission Continues.