The Heroes Support Network
The Heroes Support Network is a virtual community center based in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
The goal of the Heroes Support Network is to connect the active duty, reserve, retired & veteran military communities with the business and civilian communities locally. More then just a Google search, more than just a listing of static information, the Hereos Support Network staff works hard every day to centralize and provide helpful information to both the military and civilian communities in a personal way through cultivated and trusted relationships.
HSN strives to work with local & national businesses in Southwestern PA to increase the numbr of offerings available to our military community and their families. We also meet regularly with local Veteran support organizations to insure that all information provided on the network is up to date and pertinent to the needs of our military.
Join a chat forum, search for military discounts, find out what our local professional sports teams do in support of our military, use our support organization interactive search tool to determine which organizations your service record qualifies you to work with, check out the community calendar for upcoming events, listen to local Veteran stories & get tips on how to record your Veteran's story, and much more!
How The Network Was Founded
The need for a way to connect our active duty & reserve military communities with our veteran & civilian communities was identified during meetings of the Air Force Community Partnership Program (AFCP), a national initiative headed locally by the Air Force's 911th Air Lift Wing based in Coraopolis PA.
The Air Force created the AFCP Program to explore opportunities to achieve shared value and benefit through partnerships and shared services with other government agencies, local communities, and the private sector (including both for-profit or not-for-profit entities). Currently, 51 Air Force installations are using the AFCP Program process including the 911th Air Lift Wing based in Coraopolis PA.
As part of this process, once the need for something that more effectively connected our military and civilian communities together was identified, the partnership conducted numerous focus groups with active duty & reserve military members from all branches of service, military spouses, veterans, local small business owners, larger corporations & professional sports teams as well as veteran support organization representatives. Following discussions in those groups, the members of the partnership committee assigned to the project determined the most effective way of meeting the needs of all of the groups studied was to build a virtual community center. From this revelation emerged the creation of the Heroes Support Network.
The next step was partnering with a not for profit organization in Pittsburgh already doing great things for our military community. Heroes Supporting Heroes, founded by Chief Master Sergeant John Lee and his wife Sheri, was a natural fit for the Network and its goals. Heroes Supporting Heroes is a not for profit organization that supports stable and safe housing for military members and their families as well as Veterans and senior citizens. Heroes Supporting Heroes also provides a variety of support services for service members' families during times of deployment. Heroes Supporting Heroes saw the Network as an opportunity to exponentially expand the number of active duty, reserve and veteran service members they help in our community of southwestern PA. They were able to raise the funding through generous benefactors to develop the network and are now the proud owners of the Heroes Support Network. The Network will assist thousands of members of our military and civilian communities to connect with each other and vital services and levels of support in southwestern PA.