First and last name:
Debbie Schultz
Town/state in which you live:
Are you a veteran? If yes, please include the branch and dates of service:
I am not a veteran. My second husband, was with the NYS National Guard and deployed twice to Afghanistan. I was married to John during his second deployment. He was Army, Combat Engineer
When did you start volunteering at the Travis Mills Foundation?
I started volunteering in August of 2022.
What inspired you to sign up as a volunteer?
I wanted to do something to help our veterans. I especially wanted to be involved in an organization whose mission supported helping families so that they could stay together.
If you signed up with friends, family, or co-workers, please include details:
I did not sign up with anyone. My grandsons, however, have helped out at TMF events. My granddaughter, 19 months old, is my copilot on Friday Airport drop-offs.
Please share details about current/past employment - if you’d like:
In 2021, I retired early from New York State Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). The majority of my career with OSC was auditing municipalities, school districts, fire districts, and Justice Courts on Long Island. The goal of the audits was to determine if they were in compliance with NYS law, they were properly following their policies and assets were safeguarded.
In what areas/departments at the Retreat/Foundation have you volunteered?
I have volunteered in the kitchen, pool, waterfront, driving to the airport, tie dying with families, TMF office, assisted Volunteer coordinator, and I have volunteered at numerous TMF events and third party events. I participated in this past years 4th of July Parade.
What do you enjoy most and why?
I enjoy serving breakfast to PATHH participants. These individuals have taken a very courageous step in attending the PATHH program in order to learn how to grow from traumatic stress. I’m sure that not only families but lives have been saved through this work.
I loved kayaking with the families this past summer. The lake, for the most part, is a very calming place. The number of dragonflies always astonishes me.
There are so many things.
Do you have a favorite story from volunteering that you’d like to share?
Since volunteering, what have you learned about TMF that you didn’t know before?
Please include other volunteer work you do/have done:
While living on Long Island, NY, I was a volunteer with the Middle Island Fire Department for 7 years. I was with Company 4 – EMS. I assisted with patient care and driving the ambulance.