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Well, that felt good.
And Just Like That - A Half Million Dollars in Veteran Debt Erased!
In excess of a half-million dollars in unpaid Veteran Debt will be abolished this Christmas season, thanks to an unusual teaming by New York’s Staten Island Performing Provider System, (SIPPS) Service Member Veteran and Family Task Force (SMVF), the private charitable foundation, End Veteran Debt (EVD), and public benefit corporation, ForgiveCo.
The SMVF Taskforce, co-led by Michael Matthews, Director of Veteran Programs for the SIPPS, chose this radical way to bring attention to the impact that debt has on America’s warriors and to publicly identify debt as an upstream social determinant of suicidal risk in the Veteran community.
To address a military and veteran suicide rate that is at least twice that of the civilian population, the SMVF Taskforce and its military and civilian community members knew that it was time to try something new.
That “new” was SMVF and EVD developing a pilot “Operation Debt-Day” campaign to raise both awareness and money. Thanks to ForgiveCo, veteran debt can be purchased on the open market for pennies on the dollar, a true "force multiplier," nearly $610,000 in debt will be retired by tlolhis effort.
‘Tis the season…is abolishing more than $500K in veteran debt possible? A
“Even though the EVD-SMVF campaign has ended,” EVD founder and Navy Veteran Jerry Ashton predicts, “more people learning about this important project will likely result in additional donations that will enable even more debt to be abolished before year-end. That will mean a brighter 2026 for people whose bills we erase.”
“This test campaign was proof of concept that civilian and military communities can join together to address the issues of debt and suicide risk in a powerful way", Michael declared.
Every dollar of debt relieved has two benefits,” Michael elaborates. “First, it takes debt burdens off the minds and backs of our veterans, improves their financial state, and helps raise their sense of self-respect. The second benefit is that of reducing the overall rate of Veteran suicide.”
“We could add a third – the galvanizing within the Staten Island and Long Island communities that contributed time and money to achieving these goals, such as the Staten Island North Shore Rotary Club, the Food is Medicine healthcare company, Epicured, and the Road Home Foundation for Injured Warriors and Families.
Continuing a legacy – Jerry Ashton and Craig Antico
The SMVF campaign made possible a gratifying reunion of two men whose lives since 2014 have been devoted to improving the well-being of their fellow Americans, Jerry Ashton and Craig Antico, the principals of EVD and ForgiveCo. That was the year these two former collections-industry executives teamed up to co-found the nationally respected 501(c)(3) charity RIP Medical Debt (since renamed Undue Medical Debt).
From 2014 through 2025, UMD has erased nearly $24 billion in medical debt for more than 15 million Americans. Jerry and Craig, having achieved every goal they had set, left UMD in different years to focus their debt-forgiving talents elsewhere. Craig launched ForgiveCo as a public benefit corporation in 2022, and Jerry established End Veteran Debt as a private charitable foundation in late 2023.
About End Veteran Debt
End Veteran Debt (EVD) is a 501(c)(3) private charitable foundation established in October 2023 (Employer Identification Number (EIN) 93-3739030) by Jerry Ashton, a Navy veteran and journalist. EVD’s two-fold mission is to end veteran debt and reduce veteran suicide. EVD partners with civilian and service organizations on “Operation Debt-Day” campaigns to raise funds for both local and national efforts to meet this mission. This work is complemented and promoted through educational summits and EVD’s media platform, “Now Hear This.”
About ForgiveCo
ForgiveCo provides business advisory services to corporations for acquisition, administration, and cancellation of consumer debt, alongside advisory services in branding, goodwill creation, and bulk debt management – "Transforming debt into goodwill™." They amplify a brand's equity by erasing billions of dollars of debt for millions of people, activating community and hope in individuals. To learn more, please visit: forgiveco.com.
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