\u201c40 Years of Giving\u201d has been a heartfelt experience felt by all of the Nice Guys. Throughout this time, the Nice Guys have been dedicated to our mission: to provide a \u201chand up, not a hand out\u201d to San Diego County\u2019s residents in need. Our community reaches out to us, through social services, community organizations, religious institutions, as well as directly from individuals in need.<\/p>\n
We have no paid staff, or overhead. Instead, all of our members give of their time to volunteer and to contribute to our cause, in whatever way possible. Each request for assistance is carefully reviewed by the Charity Committee and the Board of the Nice Guys. We make certain that funds are awarded to those individuals, who truly need \u201ca hand up\u201d.<\/p>\n
The San Diegans, who receive support and encouragement from the Nice Guys, are then able to be more self-sufficient; to lead productive lives; and, to participate as a part of our community. So far this year, the Nice Guys have received over 400 requests for assistance. 146 of those requests have been funded for fellow San Diegans, in need of a \u201chand up\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Nice Guys collect and refurbish many used computers. We also receive new computers, generously donated to us from within the computer industry. Requests for computers and printers are sent to the Charity Committee. Each year, we provide 400-600 computers to San Diegans in need. Most of these computers are given to college students, who might not otherwise have this important tool to help complete their education.<\/p>\n
Throughout the year, the Charity Committee receives numerous requests from San Diego\u2019s families in need. The parents and children of many of these families are invited to attend our annual Community Christmas Party.<\/p>\n
Each year, the Nice Guys choose one case, which stands out as being exemplary of what we try to do for others. This year, it is Marine Corporal Jose Armenta\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
Jose joined the Marines in 2007, at the age of 18. His expertise was handling the much needed and valued canines in the military. Four years later, August, 2011, both of Jose\u2019s legs were blown off by an IED, while serving in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
In June, 2012, Jose adopted his war dog, Zenit, from the military. Zenit is documented in the June, 2014 issue of National Geographic. The magazine\u2019s cover is entitled \u201cHERO DOGS\u201d.<\/p>\n
Jose was medically discharged at the rank of E4 and received a Purple Heart. Currently at the age of 25, with an incredible, upbeat personality, he is a full time college student, majoring in business. Prior to that, he was fully employed at MCRD, as an emergency dispatcher. He is married, with a two month old son, named Dean.<\/p>\n
The original request to help Jose came from someone at the VA Chula Vista Outpatient Clinic. The request was to make the concrete in the back and side yards of his house wheelchair accessible. This was a project not covered by the VA. Nice Guy Ted Rossin jumped in and contacted three AGC SD subcontractors: Jerry Green Prestige Concrete, Tom Brown Sierra Pacific West, and Byron Klemaske T.B. Penick. They all immediately agreed to help, without even knowing this Marine\u2019s need. Everyone met at Corporal Jose\u2019s house in April, 2014. They assessed the job and went to work. The side yard and backyard were completed by these three Super Stars, by the middle of May, 2014. The cost would have been a $10,000 project. Instead, the cost was $900, paid by Ted Rossin. The remaining cost was absorbed by these three generous contractors.<\/p>\n
Once the Nice Guys completed the exterior, Nice Guy Ted Rossin asked Jose, \u201cHow is the inside of the house going?\u201d Jose replied, \u201cIt is not going.\u201d He had applied for a VA SAH grant in August, 2013. Due to the VA\u2019s backlog of cases and the requirement for the contractor to be VA approved, the construction time to accomplish this was not known. Jose was experiencing extreme physical difficulty going into rooms of his home. Through the Nice Guys donation of $60,000; the Semper Fi Fund of $20,000; and, some other private donations, Jose\u2019s interior wheelchair accessible home modifications are currently being completed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201c40 Years of Giving\u201d has been a heartfelt experience felt by all of the Nice Guys. Throughout this time, the Nice Guys have been dedicated to our mission: to provide a \u201chand up, not a hand out\u201d to San Diego County\u2019s residents in need. Our community reaches out to us, through social services, community organizations, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":264,"featured_media":0,"parent":116,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PdF6SH-fM","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sdniceguys.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/978"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sdniceguys.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sdniceguys.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sdniceguys.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/264"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sdniceguys.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=978"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.sdniceguys.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3692,"href":"https:\/\/www.sdniceguys.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/978\/revisions\/3692"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sdniceguys.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sdniceguys.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}